Minnesota Golfer - Summer 2024 - 4

EDITOR'S
LE T T ER
Golfers Doing Good
Things in Minnesota
W
hether you knew it or not, if you posted a score on
June 1, you triggered a $5 donation toward Youth
on Course MN (YOCMN) as part of the inaugural
Golf Day Minnesota celebration. Thank you.
Hopefully Golf Day will be the first in a long line of fruitful
fundraisers for the Minnesota Golf Foundation, whose vision
is, in part, to foster more sustainable participation among
youth and underserved populations.
Island View Golf Club, the 2023 MGA Member Club of the
Year, played host to Golf Day, where one of the Foundation's
partners, KFAN Radio's " Tee-to-Green " program, broadcast
live from the golf course. Among the program's on-air guests
were Solomon Hughes Sr. Golf
Academy's program director Greg
Jameel and fellowship team member
Isaiah Beech, golf journalist Matt
Ginella and MGA executive director
Jon Mays.
With more
than
17,500
kids
enrolled in YOCMN, and 100,000
rounds forecasted for this year, the
proceeds raised through Golf Day
represent a significant subsidy to
keep this important and fast-growing
pipeline program sustainable.
Another way to make the game
New to the Foundation this year
is the Jim Mendesh
Memorial Scholarship for high school seniors or graduates
with a strong connection to golf who plan to pursue a vocational
or technical school degree. The two-year award honors
Mendesh, a self-taught craftsman who possessed a strong work
ethic and a passion for hands-on work.
The last time the MGA published an economic impact study
more accessible is to provide the
tools to play. The Foundation and
one of its partners, 2nd Swing Golf, is
now in its third season of providing
golf equipment to the Minneapolis
Parks and Rec junior golf programs
and the Solomon Hughes Sr. Golf Academy. More than 30 sets
have been donated to date, and another 20 sets are earmarked
for distribution this summer.
Originating under the aegis of the Minnesota Women's Golf
Association Scholarship Foundation, the Women's Scholarship
has awarded more than $700,000 to 82 high school seniors
since the early 1990s. The scholarships have proven transformational
for many women-like Samantha Lee, a geneticist
who lives and works in Utah in the biotech industry (see Joe
Oberle's profile on pages 32-33).
4
MINNESOTAGOLFER Summer 2024
11,245: The number
of rounds posted
by MGA members
on June 1 during the
inaugural Golf Day
MN celebration
(2018), the charitable impact of the game amounted to $64
million in net proceeds and in-kind contributions. The average
golf facility hosted 11 charitable events each year, which
raised almost $16,000 per event. The MGA has partnered with
the National Golf Foundation to complete another economic
impact study this year, and there
is little doubt that the charitable
impact will be even more significant
given the boom in golfer participation
since 2020.
Whenever I'm on the road, I can
usually spot a few vehicles bearing
the golf specialty license plate, Play
Golf Minnesota. The plates, a collaboration
between the MGA and
Minnesota PGA Section, account
for about $200,000 in annual donations
apportioned between the
two association foundations, plus
a grants program managed by the
Section. The MGA actively promotes
sales of the plates through
this magazine and via a twicemonthly
member email.
If your
vehicle sports a PGM license plate,
thank you-the contribution represents a significant renewable
source of support for the foundation and the good things
it's doing for golf in Minnesota.
See you on the tee.
W.P. Ryan, Editor-in-Chief
mngolf.org
http://www.mngolf.org
Minnesota Golfer - Summer 2024

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Minnesota Golfer - Summer 2024
