As birthday bashes go, this was one to be remembered. It marked a major milestone, plenty of people were in attendance, and some of the biggest names in the history of Colorado women’s golf took part. And, for good measure, there were some oversized birthdays cards and, of course, a cake commemorating the occasion.

Such was the scene at the Inverness Hotel & Conference Center on Saturday as the CWGA kicked off its centennial celebration as the centerpiece of its annual meeting.

More than 230 people attended the event, with at least 125 clubs around the state represented. Those on hand included at least eight current or past presidents of the CWGA (pictured below, from left: Juliet Miner, Jan Ford, Robin Bartlett, Joanne Braucht, Kathryn Davis, Pat Kuntz, Joanie Ott and Mary Lee Browne), one Colorado Sports Hall of Famer (Joan Birkland), several Colorado Golf Hall of Famers (Birkland, Kim Eaton and Maggie Giesenhagen), and the first two CWGA executive directors (Giesenhagen and Robin Jervey). Also in attendance were leadership from the CGA, Colorado PGA and the Colorado Open Golf Foundation.

“It was so much fun,” said Miner, the current president of the CWGA, which serves about 17,000 members. “We were so happy to have everyone here. The best part was watching the past (CWGA) presidents sit together and talk about old times, even though many of them didn’t serve that long ago. And the people who couldn’t be here like Judy Bell and Lynn Zmistowski, they were in our videos, so that was so great. People were inspired by the presentation. I think everyone enjoyed reflecting” on the last 100 years.

That reflection took the form of a 10-minute video that was shown publicly for the first time at the annual meeting. Besides featuring some historical highlights of the CWGA and noting what the association does to fulfill its mission, the video included some thoughts by women who have played major leadership roles over the years. Most notable was World Golf Hall of Famer Judy Bell of Colorado Springs, the first female president of the USGA.

“The CWGA is one of the most respected women’s golf associations in the United States,” Bell noted. “Its reputation has grown over the years right along with its membership. In all my years with the USGA, I was always very proud of the Colorado Women’s Golf Association.

“Happy birthday, CWGA. I wish I was there to blow out the candles.”

One of the centerpieces of Saturday’s centennial celebration was honoring key volunteers, outstanding players and other exceptionally “valued friends”. Receiving the highest awards were Lynn Zmistowski (volunteer of the century), Carol Flenniken (golfer of the century), and Bell, Giesenhagen and Jervey (centennial honorees). (Jervey and Giesenhagen are pictured at left.)

Zmistowski has served more than 30 years on the Course Rating Committee and in 2009 she received the USGA’s Ike Grainger Award for more than 25 years of volunteer work on USGA committees. “Lynn Z”, as she is known, represented Colorado on the USGA Handicap Procedure Committee for 25 years. She was the first captain of the Colorado’s Girls Junior Americas Cup teams, serving in that capacity in the late 1970s and early ’80s. In addition, she’s been an outstanding player, having captured five major individual CWGA championships. She’s been inducted into both the Colorado and Minnesota Golf Halls of Fame.

Flenniken has won more major CWGA individual championships than anyone (15), with eight Stroke Plays, four Match Plays and three Senior Stroke Plays. Before becoming a mainstay in Colorado, she won the 1960 U.S. Girls’ Junior, the 1962 Women’s Western Amateur and the 1964 British Ladies Amateur.

“Thank you to the CWGA for this great honor,” Flenniken said via messenger to annual meeting attendees. “Golfer of the Century, Wow!. … I have fond members of playing in CWGA championships over the years and I cherish the many friendships I have made along the way.”

Bell was the first female president in the history of the USGA (1996-97), was selected the Colorado golf Woman of the Century, and has been inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame, the Colorado Sports Hall of Fame and the Colorado Golf Hall of Fame. She competed in 38 USGA championships and shot a then-record 67 in the 1964 U.S. Women’s Open. She both played on and captained U.S. Curtis Cup teams. And in June, Bell will receive the USGA’s highest honor, the Bob Jones Award.

Giesenhagen served as the first executive director of the CWGA (1988-92) before spending 19 years working for the USGA. A U.S. Girls’ Junior runner-up and the 1965 Big Ten champion, she played in three U.S. Women’s Opens and nine U.S. Women’s Amateurs and claimed the 1974 CWGA Match Play title. She was inducted into the Colorado Golf Hall of Fame in 2002.

“I had the pleasure of following the incomparable Maggie Giesenhagen (as CWGA executive director),” Jervey said. “She was an outstanding golfer, a pioneer for women’s golf. She was a Rules expert and basically phenomenal at everything she did. I just want to commend Maggie for the influence she had on golf in the state — and for what everyone around the country tried to copy.”

Jervey was the executive director of the CWGA for 22 years (1992-2014), was a rules official at the Masters, U.S. Open, U.S. Women’s Open, U.S. Senior Open and other USGA national championships, and served as president of the International Association of Golf Administrators before taking a job as director of event management for JBC Golf — and the Legends Tour, the 45-and-over LPGA senior circuit. Jervey, who served on the USGA Rules of Golf Committee, received the 2015 Distinguished Service Award from the Colorado Golf Hall of Fame.

“The CWGA has been a fabulous organization and Robin took it to new heights,” Giesenhagen said. “She came in at the right time for the CWGA. She took the CWGA right into the 21st century.”

In addition to Zmistowski, the CWGA recognized longtime stellar volunteers (pictured above, from left) Jan Ford, Georgene McConagle, Juna Orr, Jan Fincher, Ouida Neil, Karla Harding and Braucht. Volunteer honorees not pictured are Joan Scholes, Sally Lou Schultz and Zmistowski.

Besides Flenniken, outstanding players who were honored Saturday included Eaton, Lynn Larson, Birkland, Marcia Bailey, Phyllis Buchanan, Zmistowski, Janet Moore and Sally Hardwick. (Pictured at left are, from left, Birkland, Eaton and Larson.)

All in all, the centennial event “was very impressive,” Jervey said. “It was a great celebration. I loved the video they put together. It was nice to hear from people who are still involved and those who have been involved in the past.”

Jervey, who oversaw 23 annual meetings in her time as executive director, admitted it was an unusual feeling to return to the event. It was the same for the former CWGA staffers and interns who were on hand Saturday: (pictured with Jervey from left, Dawn McConkey, Ginger Washco, Kim Schwartz, former USGA P.J. Boatwright intern Bridget Coulton, Jennifer Cassell and Edie Bell.)

“I was telling the (old) staff, ‘Did you guys have deja vu on your drive into Inverness this morning?'” Jervey said. “I’m not wearing a (CWGA) blazer and I didn’t have to be here in the dark setting up, so that part was nice. But it definitely felt like old times.”

The annual meeting was the first of three events during the year in which the CWGA will celebrate its centennial. Others will come during the CWGA Stroke Play at Denver Country Club in early August, and a centennial celebration tournament Sept. 21 at Hiwan Golf Club.

Handing Out Accolades: In addition to its centennial activities, the CWGA on Saturday gave out several annual awards.

The volunteer of the year honors went to CWGA board members Phyllis Jensen and Nancy Wilson, who are heading up the association’s centennial-year activities this year. (The two are pictured at left.)

The previously announced CWGA players of the year for 2015 were Jennifer Kupcho (Player of the Year), Kim Eaton (Senior Player of the Year) and Mary Weinstein (Junior Player of the Year). For more on their accomplishments last year, CLICK HERE.

Receiving the President’s Award on Saturday was Chad Leverenz, who’s played a key informaton technology role as the CWGA set up its new offices at the end of 2014 and beginning of 2015.

Also, the CWGA noted the contributions of retiring board of director members Joanie Ott, Patricia Latta and Patrish Bergamo.

In addition, the association recognized the Raccoon Creek Golf Course’s women’s nine-hole group for selling more than $1,000 worth of Evans Scholars bag tags, helping caddies receive college scholarships. That amount was the highest for any women’s golf club in Colorado. Overall, CWGA clubs raised in excess of $4,000 for the Evans Scholars in 2015, almost $1,000 more than in 2014. Among the Evans Scholar chapter houses is one at the University of Colorado.

Auction Raises $7,171 for LPGA*USGA Girls Golf: The silent auction that was held in conjunction with the CWGA annual meeting on Saturday raised $7,171 for LPGA*USGA Girls Golf. That total was about $1,000 more than at the same event last year.

Juliet Miner will officially become president of the CWGA on Jan. 1, and you could make a strong case that she’s the right person at the right time to take on the job.

After all, in 2016 the CWGA will celebrate the 100th anniversary of its founding, and the association faces its share of challenges, so a go-getter seems to be the order of the day.

And, by all indications, Miner fits that bill.

She’s high-energy and passionate about the game, playing 110-140 rounds of golf per year in addition to holding down a full-time job as a criminal defense attorney and being married for 27 years. She’s also upbeat about her new role and is ready and willing to volunteer the time and effort necessary to guide the CWGA team in the right direction.

“I am so enthusiastic about golf,” Miner said in a recent interview. “And I can’t say ‘no’.”

She later indicated that she can indeed say no, but seldom does if the cause is right. Which sounds ideal for someone heading up a volunteer board of directors and providing big-picture guidance for the association.

“She’s an avid, avid golfer; she just loves the game, and it shows,” said CGA executive director Ed Mate, who notes Miner has served on the board for CommonGround Golf Course, which is owned and operated by the CGA. “That’s fundamental. She really loves the game of golf. She’s bright and passionate, and the other thing is, she’s really forward-looking. (With her), you don’t just do things because that’s what you’ve done in the past. And Juliet always has a smile; she’s friendly and outgoing.”

Miner, a Colorado resident since 1983, joined the CWGA board at the beginning of 2012 — at the request of then-CWGA executive director Robin Jervey — and has been vice president the last two years as Joanie Ott was president. Now a 10.8 handicapper with four holes-in-one to her credit, Miner has competed in CWGA championships for more than two decades. She served as club president at Perry Park Country Club during the 1990s and now calls the Golf Club at Bear Dance and Plum Creek Golf Club her home courses. Over the years, she’s also been affiliated with clubs at Wellshire, Inverness, Patty Jewett and Lone Tree.

All of which should serve Miner well as she and the CWGA gear up for the association’s 100th anniversary.

“It’s an amazing privilege to be president during the centennial year,” said Miner, who will serve a two-year term. “We want to mark the achievements of the past and look to the future.”

When it comes to golf, the aforementioned is just a part of Miner’s resume. She grew up in Nevada, Iowa (population about 4,000-5,000 back then) where her dad taught her to play golf at age 14. “We would play golf until dark, then go play bridge until we went home,” she noted.

As an adult, she’s played golf all over the world — including in Abu Dhabi, Colombia, Mexico, Italy, Germany and Scotland. And her self-described “crowning achievement” was caddying for Stephanie Martin on the Ladies European Tour’s Italian Open and German Open circa 2000 as a birthday present to herself (she was serenaded with “happy birthday” on the putting grew at one event by LET players).

And Miner still enjoys being at tournaments, whether she’s competing, volunteering or spectating. In fact, earlier this year she served as the captain for the team representing the CWGA at the Girls Junior Americas Cup in Cheyenne, Wyo. (At left, she’s pictured at that event with PGA of America national secretary Suzy Whaley.)

“I’m a very happy person and I love my golf,” she said.

But while the game is definitely an important part of her life, Miner has very diverse interests. Besides law, she’s studied library science and Japanese. And in the early 1980s while going to law school at the University of Iowa she served in the Army Reserve, focusing on strategic intelligence.

“I’m interested in everything,” she noted.

Now, as the president-elect of the CWGA, which includes about 17,000 members, a big priority will be planning for the association’s centennial. But she also wants to emphasize the fun of the game — even the fun of volunteering in the golf realm (including for the CWGA — CLICK HERE).

Giving back to the game is certainly something Miner knows about. Besides serving on the CWGA and CommonGround boards in recent years, she’s been on the associaton’s Course Rating Committee. And last year, she was a hole captain (left) at the BMW Championship PGA Tour playoff event held at Cherry Hills Country Club.

The bottom line is, Miner is certainly well-versed when it comes to Colorado golf, which should serve her well over the coming two years — along with that go-getter attitude.

Note: Coming up next week, we’ll profile the new president-elect of the CGA.

When Ann Guiberson attended the CWGA Annual Meeting on Saturday at the Inverness Hotel and Conference Center, she was expecting to see just a smattering of people she knew from back when she worked for the association.

After all, it’s been 15 years since she departed Colorado to take a job at the USGA.

“I thought I’d see a handful of people that I knew from 15 or 20 years ago, but I saw dozens,” Guiberson said after the meeting. “The players’ names are familiar to me. Many volunteers are still the same; they’re still volunteering and giving back to the game. So I’m very comfortable here in Colorado.”

That’s part of the reason Guiberson (pictured above) was hired this week to become just the third executive director in CWGA history. She’ll officially succeed Robin Jervey on April 1, about two weeks after Jervey bids adieu to Colorado after a 22-year run as the CWGA’s top staff member.

Jervey will move back to her old stomping grounds on the East Coast, where her fiance Scott Whitcomb works and resides. Jervey will handle tournament operations for the Legends Tour, the 45-and-over LPGA senior circuit. Officially, Jervey’s title will be director of event management for JBC Golf, a Boston-based management company. (For more about Jervey’s departure, CLICK HERE and see below.)

While Jervey is moving back East, Guiberson — her right-hand person at the CWGA from 1995 to ’99 — is returning to guide the CWGA after 15 years on the East Coast. Guiberson was introduced to the membership at Saturday’s meeting, and she’ll spend the next week working with Jervey on making a smooth transition. Then after attending the Women’s (golf) Association Roundtable Meeting with some CWGA staff and board members March 10-12 in Phoenix, Guiberson will return to her home in Rochester, N.Y., and get ready to move back to Colorado.

Jervey believes she’s leaving the CWGA in very good care.

“I’m happy to turn it over to Ann,” she said. “She’s excited to come back to Colorado. I know her heart is in the right place. The CWGA will be in really good hands.

“She’s wonderful with detail. Nothing will be undone. She’s the kind that will make sure everything is just right. I know we got along very well when we worked together because we both had that same quality of checking all the boxes.

“Her temperament is excellent. It takes a lot to fluster her. Working with volunteers is kind of an art that you learn over time because you’re working with a ton of different personalities. The (USGA) has thousands of volunteers around the country. I think she really enjoys that. It will be great to bring her here because we’ve got our pool to work with and we rely on them heavily to get everything done.”

Guiberson — an All-Big Eight golfer and Scholastic All-American at the University of Nebraska where she played from 1988 to ’92, and an assistant coach at NU and Colorado State University — worked for the USGA from 1999 to March of last year, when her department was realigned. For those 14 years, she was the director of regional affairs for the East and Great Lakes Regions, covering nine states and the District of Columbia and encompassing roughly 30 golf associations. For much of her time at the USGA, she also was the director of the USGA Women’s State Team Championship.

“With the USGA I wore many different hats,” Guiberson said. “I might be giving a presentation, working on a website, marking a golf course, recruiting volunteers. I’ve done a lot of different things. At the CWGA, I worked in the day-to-day, then I went to work at the USGA in more of a strategic position. Now I’ll be coming back and working in the day-to-day as well as the strategic, so I can blend the experience of those two positions.

“I’m excited to get back to Colorado. It’s really returning home for me.”

It was Guiberson’s work with the USGA that helped set her apart for the CWGA executive director job.

“Just look at her resume and the experience she had with the USGA,” said CWGA president Joanie Ott, part of a five-person group that selected Guiberson. “She has all the tools that we’re looking for. Her interview was incredible. She has a fine sense of humor, and her attention to detail, her skill set, her expertise, it just came out. It was head and (shoulders) above other candidates. We’re just thrilled to have her.”

When Guiberson worked at the CWGA in the 1990s, she and Jervey were the association’s only staffers (compared to now, when there are five women on staff). That was also a time in which golf was growing considerably. The number of female golfers in the U.S. jumped from 5 million in ’95 to 5.4 million in 2000, and courses were opening on a regular basis. But from 2005 to 2012, the ranks of female golfers dropped from 7 million to 5 million, and no new course has opened in Colorado since 2009.

“The staff is larger, and it’s more sophisticated,” Guiberson said of the CWGA. “They’re expanding their programs. Golf was booming back in that time; it was doing well. There were golf course openings in Colorado. It seemed like every couple of weeks we were working with a new club. Now, there’s a different set of challenges with golf overall — participation, affordability and access and making golf fun and welcoming. That’s all things the (CWGA) is working on. … Everyone is interested in getting more women and players out there to play golf. What every association in the country is addressing every day is membership — growing membership and also retaining membership. That will be a priority.”

While Guiberson has some familiarity with the golf market in Colorado, she will take some time learning how the landscape has changed, and getting to know the CWGA staff and volunteers, the clubs that have opened in Colorado in the new millennium, as well as local PGA professionals.

“The CWGA is a leader in promoting women’s golf,” she said. “I’m confident everything is going to be pretty solid. And we can come in and take a look at where we can expand and what we need to do to increase our membership at this point.”

Guiberson, a 4.0 handicap and a former regular at Willis Case Golf Course who competed in the U.S. Women’s Amateur in 1996, also plans to uphold the CWGA’s long tradition of running first-class state championships and national qualifiers. In addition, she’ll be part of the leadership of the CGA/CWGA-owned CommonGround Golf Course, and she’ll be at the forefront of the CWGA’s plans to celebrate its 100th anniversary in 2016. That just touches on a few of her many duties.

But Guiberson knows it won’t be easy to follow in the footsteps of Jervey, who is one of the longest-serving executive directors in Colorado golf history.

“As I was sitting through the meeting, I was thinking all the things Robin Jervey has done over the last 22 years,” Guiberson said. “She’s done a lot. Those are going to be very big shoes to fill.”

Fond Farewell for Jervey: If there was any question how much Jervey is appreciated for her 22 years as CWGA executive director, it was answered at Saturday’s Annual Meeting, the last Jervey will preside over before heading East for a new job.

When she closed her remarks by noting her impending departure, those in attendance at Inverness gave her a 20-second ovation.

Two of those in attendance, Colorado Golf Hall of Famer Kim Eaton and former CWGA president Pat Kuntz, thought so much of Jervey (pictured at left) in her time with the CWGA that they made a special trip from their residence in Tempe, Ariz., to attend Saturday’s meeting.

Not surprisingly, Jervey became emotional when she spoke about leaving in the final minutes of her business-meeting address.

“It’s been an honor and a privilege to serve you for the last 22 years,” she said. “Colorado is an amazing state filled with outstanding people. I will cherish my experiences here and all the wonderful friends and acquaintances I’ve made. … Thank you very much.”

Ott then presented Jervey with “a medallion for you to remember us by.”

Meanwhile, Saturday marked the final day for fellow staffer Kelley Mawhinney, the CWGA’s tournament and junior golf operations manager, who is moving to Charleston, S.C., after three years with the association, the last two as a full-time staffer.

CWGA Annual Meeting Notes: A total of about 240 people attended Saturday’s meeting, with 96 clubs from around the state represented (see photo below). … The three members of the CWGA board of directors who stepped down from that role at the end of 2013 were recognized for their years of service: Kathryn Davis, Karla Harding and Sue Romek. Davis is a former CWGA president. … Also recognized was Jan Fincher, who received the CWGA Volunteer Award at last fall’s Colorado Golf Awards Brunch. … Jervey announced that the CWGA will hold a season kickoff party on April 10, from 4-8 p.m., at the PGA Tour Superstore in Greenwood Village. Admission is free. … Also noted was a new series of social golf outings at CommonGround Golf Course this year, called Monday Mixers. For more information on these and a multitude of other social golf events, CLICK HERE. … Janene Guzowski of Lakewood Country Club, a director for the Western Golf Association, gave those in attendance a brief preview of the BMW Championship, the PGA Tour FedEx Cup playoff event that will be held at Cherry Hills Country Club the first week of September. “It is rockin’ awesome because I went to the one in Chicago last year,” Guzowski said. “It’s going to blow Denver away.”

While Ott would no doubt like to lower her handicap index from its current 23, she takes some pride in being that “average golfer”, especially given that she’s just about to embark on a two-year term as president of the CWGA.

“I bring that perspective,” Ott said in a recent phone interview. “My background is in education — as a teacher and an administrator. I bring the lifelong learning element to the table.”

That goes not just for her professional background, but for her history in golf. Ott, 66, began playing the game when she was 12, becoming a regular — along with her two sisters — at Old Warson Country Club in St. Louis.

“I was really lucky that I had parents who really loved the game,” she said. “Golf was important to my family when I was growing up.”

The amount of golf Ott played waxed and waned over the years, largely depending on her career. But when she retired from the Aurora Public Schools in 2001 — though she did contract work for another decade, largely recruiting teachers — Ott joined Heather Ridge, a course on which she now lives.

But suffice it to say her fondness for the game never left her, which is one reason she now finds herself in the top volunteer leadership position for the CWGA. Ott officially will succeed Kathryn Davis as president on Jan. 1.

“Joanie is a very soft-spoken individual, but very well respected,” CWGA executive director Robin Jervey said. “She’s not a boisterous type of individual, but when he speaks, I always listen because she has something (important) to say.

“She’s really good at working with people and she’s mentored a lot of volunteers over the years. She has a great personality in working with others, and she’ll be a great person to work with the leadership of the CWGA.”

Ott discussed her vision for the CWGA for the coming two years with COgolf.org. (A feature story on new CGA president Phil Lane was posted on COgolf.org last week. To read it, CLICK HERE.) 

“I’m looking forward to the next two years,” Ott said. “We’ve got a lot of challenges ahead, and I’m looking forward to working with the (CWGA) board and the membership.”

While Ott will be moving up to the president’s seat in 2014, there will be one newcomer to the CWGA’s Board of Directors, Jennifer Cassell of Denver’s City Park Golf Course. Meanwhile, leaving the board after years of volunteer service are Davis, Karla Harding and Sue Romek. Cynthia Evans stepped down from the board earlier this year. To see brief biographies on all of the members of the CWGA Board of Directors, CLICK HERE.

Among the top priorities Ott set forth heading into her term are:

— Increasing CWGA membership.

As has been the case with many golf associations since the economic downturn started five-plus years ago, the CWGA experienced a membership drop in recent years, though it leveled out in 2013. Ott would like to see a jump in membership.

“I want the face of the CWGA to be the face of everyone (regardless of golf ability level),” Ott said. “Sometimes I think we’re known as an organization that does tournaments for golfers. We do do that, but we’re also interested in connecting with women who may not have a handicap or may not be interested in tournament golf.”

Ott said the CWGA has made some inroads with events such as the CWGA Experience — golf outings that combine small-group instruction with some fun social interaction with other women interested in the game — and other similar golf outings. But she’d like to make more progress in promoting women’s golf.

— Getting more girls involved in the game. The number of girls — and women — playing golf has dipped significantly since 2005, at a greater rate than among males. Female golfers dropped almost 29 percent from 2005 to 2012, while the number of golfers overall have decreased 16 percent, according to the National Golf Foundation.

“We need to work at getting more girls interested in the game, and that’s a challenge,” Ott said. “It’s one of our goals.”

One recent step in the right direction was the Girls Golf Fair that took place at CommonGround Golf Course in May. The CWGA, Colorado PGA and other golf organizations put together the event, which was attended by 81 girls.

— Speaking of CommonGround, given that it’s the home to many community-outreach and growth-of-the-game programs, getting it back to full strength is one of the foremost issues at hand for the CWGA and CGA. CommonGround, which opened in 2009, is owned and operated by the two golf associations.

September’s flooding did significant damage at CommonGround, which is operating as a nine-hole facility — in addition to the nine-hole Kids Course — while the eight affected holes are restored.

“What CommonGround is going through after the flood is very challenging financially for the CWGA and CGA,” Ott said. “That’s a tough ticket. It’ll be difficult to work our way through that, but I’m sure we’re up to the task.”

Ott began working with the CWGA as a volunteer six years ago, when she joined the Course Rating and Handicap Committee. She became chairperson of that committee two years later and has served on the Board of Directors for the last four years overall, including the last two alternating as secretary and vice-president.

Professionally, the University of Colorado graduate was a teacher and administrator in the Aurora Public Schools, and an administrator at Arapahoe High School in Centennial. After retiring as the director of instruction for the Aurora Public Schools in 2001, she spent a decade doing contract work, primarily focused on the recruitment of teachers.

“I’ve found in my career that one of my strengths is I’m able to empower others,” Ott said. “To be frank, I’m a pretty good leader. That’s one of my strong points.”