There was a nice bit of centennial symmetry at work on Wednesday.

One hundred years ago this month — in September, 1916 — the CWGA held its first championship. Twenty-eight women competed at Colorado Springs Golf Club (now known as Patty Jewett Golf Course) in the debut of the event we now call the CWGA Match Play.

Almost exactly a century later, the CWGA put the other 100-year bookend in place on Wednesday by hosting a Centennial Celebration Tournament at Hiwan Golf Club Club in Evergreen.

The association capped off its yearlong celebration of its 100th anniversary with, appropriately, a fun round of golf at a course that is about as Colorado as can be.

Eighty-eight players enjoyed the mountain setting — elk bugling and all — in the final major festivities marking the CWGA’s centennial.

“This was the culmination of our centennial,” said CWGA president Juliet Miner. “We couldn’t have asked for a better day, weather-wise; better turnout; better food; better hospitality. We’re so fortunate to have it here. And it gives us a chance to reflect what a good year it’s been and how grateful we are for the participation and volunteers. We’ve had great support.”

Among those participating in the golf and/or lunch that followed on Wednesday were past CWGA presidents Jan Ford, who chaired the association’s 75th-anniversary celebration, and Kathryn Davis; current president Miner; Colorado PGA president Leslie Core-Drevecky; CGA executive director Ed Mate; Colorado Open Golf Foundation board member Melissa Hubbard, mother of PGA Tour player Mark Hubbard; and a host of other CWGA supporters and volunteers and board members.

In other words, it was quite a cross section of the Colorado golf community, especially on the women’s side.

The CWGA started the year with three major centennial-related events on the agenda. In February at the CWGA annual meeting at The Inverness Hotel & Golf Club, exceptional players, volunteers and friends of the CWGA from over the years were recognized and a video history of the association was shown. Last month, Denver Country Club hosted the CWGA Stroke Play Championship, and a celebratory 100th anniversary luncheon and awards ceremony followed the final round. Then there was Wednesday’s Centennial Celebration Tournament in which CWGA tournament/flight winners, volunteers and board members from the last couple of years, among others, were invited for a fun round of golf and lunch.

“I think this is a really special day because this is the first time this year (non-tournament players) got to do what we love, which is play golf,” said Laura Robinson, executive director of the CWGA. “Every other time, we got to watch or celebrate with a luncheon, but this time we got everyone out there playing golf. It was a lot of fun.”

Robinson and CWGA vice president Kathy Malpass are both members at Hiwan Golf Club and helped facilitate this third leg of the centennial celebration. Malpass returned home to Evergreen just in time for the event as she has been on the road the last two weeks — first at the U.S. Women’s Mid-Amateur in Erie, Pa., as a member of the USGA Women’s Mid-Am Committee, then competing at the U.S. Senior Women’s Amateur in Wellesley, Mass., where she made match play and competed in the round of 64 on Monday.

But making it back for the Centennial Celebration Tournament was a priority for Malpass both because she’s a CWGA board member and as a member at Hiwan.

“This (event), I fought hard for it,” she said. “I think we need to give back to the people that spend countless hours trying to make things happen for us: the rules officials, the tournament people and the grinders — the ones that play in our events and they win their flight, but you don’t ever see their name in the headline. So I’m really pleased with how we’ve done that.”

Two women who made all the centennial-related events come together and run smoothly were CWGA board members Nancy Wilson and Phyllis Jensen (together at left), who have co-chaired the Centennial Committee. They also made sure the events complemented one another and drew a variety of “constituents”, if you will.

“What we (at the CWGA) tried to do, we were successful with, which was to involve and engage all of our members,” Malpass said. “The annual meeting (draws) a lot of presidents of clubs, some of whom don’t play in our events, and they don’t know a lot about us, so we reached out to them and got them involved. The Stroke Play, what a field! Oh my gosh. It gives me chills just thinking about caliber of player that was there. And for Jennifer (Kupcho, the 2015 and ’16 champion) to play so well and break the (Denver Country Club women’s course) record set eons ago by Babe (Zaharias) … that engages the younger player and the higher-caliber player. And then this.”

In essence, the centennial celebrations have been both a look back and to the future.

“I feel like this has been a really special year because we focused on how far we’ve come — on the history, on the amazing women who contributed to supporting golf in Colorado,” Robinson said. “We hope it continues just as successfully for another 100 years.”

Added Miner: “We don’t plan to rest on a laurels. We’re ready for the next 100 years.”

As part of Wednesday’s festivities, money was raised through merchandise sales and other means for the 2018 Girls Junior America’s Cup, which will be played at Hiwan Golf Club. For instance, for $20 (with Westerra Credit Union matching the donation), players could utilize one of the “long hitters” from the CWGA staff — Kate Moore (left) or Aaron Guereca, depending on the hole — to hit potentially imposing shots for them.

Meanwhile, since this was a tournament, there was a contest involved — in this case a variable best-ball, with each group counting one ball on par-5s, two balls on par-4s and three balls on par-3s.

Here are the top three finishers in the gross and net divisions:

Gross: 1. Jo Ann Higgins, Darlene Evans, Harlene Bowman and Constance Brodt 152; 2. Linda Loveland, Lucille Moreno-Peacock and Lourdes Swanson 153; 3. Marie Schriefer, Debbie Mills, Dana Rinderknecht and Hee Chung 153.

Net: 1. Janine Lowe, Katherine Rojas, Ellen Thomas and Mary Jo Turner 121; 2. Kirk Huggins, Jeanne Surbrugg, Jennifer Cassell and Melissa Hubbard 124; 3. Carol Iwata, Maureen Fujiki and Anne Mursch 125.

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.

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.”
 

Establishing a solid connection with someone is often simply a matter of having the opportunity to make an impression in person. 

The CWGA realizes this, and in the first five months of this year it’s trying to put its best foot forward in a half-dozen large-scale public events that can help the association attract new members and solidify relationships with existing ones.

One of those events took place Saturday when the CWGA held its annual meeting at the Inverness Hotel and Conference Center. With 315 people signed up and more than 300 in attendance — an increase of about 70 from last year — it was just the kind of face time the association was hoping for, particularly with membership having dipped somewhat in recent years.

“It’s huge attendance — right at capacity,” CWGA executive director Robin Jervey said. “That’s a good sign. It means people are finding it worthwhile.”

Jervey speculated that changes in the Rules of Golf effective Jan. 1, and this being the first year of a new USGA handicap certification cycle, spurred attendance as educational sessions on both topics were on the docket. But whatever the case, it was an ideal opportunity for the CWGA to connect with people who have a built-in interest in the game.

Another such opportunity was at the Denver Golf Expo earlier this month. There, 555 attendees filled out surveys that the CWGA will use to focus their future services and to possibly add membership.

And there are several more such CWGA events on the horizon before we get to the prime golf season.

— The association will team up with the PGA Tour Superstore in Greenwood Village for a CWGA Night the evening of April 4 at the Superstore. There, attendees can do some discounted golf shopping, receive free swing analysis and practice in the hitting bays, partake in some refreshments and get some CWGA and rules information from the association’s leadership.

The CWGA and CGA also will be represented at an Expo being held at the Tour Superstore on March 10.

— The association will host three CWGA Experience events around the state in May, including one on the Western Slope for the first time. The Experience features group instruction from some top-name LPGA/PGA professionals, as well as some socializing. It’s also another chance for the CWGA to promote its Affiliate Membership, which is meant for women who aren’t interested in competitive golf or in getting a handicap.

The first CWGA Experience will be May 5 at CommonGround Golf Course in Aurora. Then there will be two on May 19 — at the Country Club of Colorado in Colorado Springs and at Bookcliff Country Club in Grand Junction.

Jervey and new CWGA president Kathryn Davis plan to make the trip over to Bookcliff.

“It’s a good opportunity to see the members face and face and to show we care,” Jervey said.

Davis sees the CWGA’s off-season efforts to connect with and build membership as being integral to the association’s success.

“We see a lot of people during golf season, starting usually in April or May,” she said. “But this is definitely the slow time, so it gives us an opportunity to connect and do some face time.”

At the CWGA Annual Meeting on Saturday, the event featured a business meeting and six educational breakout sessions, including those focusing on the Rules of Golf, handicap certification, and roundtables for club presidents from around the state.

“The educational seminars provide a great opportunity,” Davis said. “That’s one of the things (at the annual meeting) where people come away saying, ‘I got to come’ versus ‘I had to come’.”

In their roundtable sessions, the club presidents had a chance to share practices that have proven to be effective, as well as to discuss challenges they face. “And we try to see how the CWGA can help them grow and operate more effectively,” Jervey said. “It’s exciting to get some face time with club presidents.

“The event is really about the members — how they learn from each other and how we can help them.”

Here were some of the other highlights of the day:

— A Colorado junior golf silent auction was held throughout the morning, and it raised approximately $8,000, minus consignment fees, for junior programs in the state, benefiting both girls and boys.

“Thank you very much for supporting Colorado junior golf,” Davis said at the brunch.   

The money raised comes on the heels of the CGA/CWGA Used Club Sale at the Denver Golf Expo netting a record $16,000 for junior golf developmental programs .

— Dawn McConkey, the CWGA’s director of member services until leaving the position for a new job a few weeks ago, received a CWGA medallion honoring her for 12 1/2 years of service for the association. Only Jervey, who recently reached her 20th anniversary as the CWGA’s executive director, has spent more time employed by the association.

McConkey (pictured at left) bid an emotional farewell Saturday, saying she “knew almost nothing about golf” when she started at the CWGA as a USGA P.J. Boatwright intern.  Since then, the Greeley resident proudly noted that she put 330,000 miles on her car during her years with the CWGA.

“People who I’ve worked with have made this career very rewarding,” she said.  “… This whole golf world has been like a second family to me. It’s given me a chance to meet so many interesting and valuable people.

“The CWGA has been an outstanding place to work. They’re an outstanding bunch of people.”

McConkey’s new job is with the Department of Communication Studies at Colorado State University.

Her duties at the CWGA will be split among several staffers. Kim Nissen, formerly the director of rules and competitions, has been promoted to assistant executive director and she will handle the association’s outreach programs. Kelley Mawhinney, the CWGA’s Boatwright intern last year, was hired as rules and competitions manager and will be mentored by Nissen. And Edie Bell will play an expanded role as course rating and handicapping manager. Rounding out the CWGA staff are Jervey, accounts manager Ginger Washco and new Boatwright intern Megan Skelly.        

— Also feted Saturday were members of the CWGA board of directors whose terms ended in 2011, including Joanne Braucht, the immediate past president of the CWGA, who spent a decade on the board.

Another CWGA mainstay, Colorado Springs resident Twyla Walter (pictured at left), was presented the CWGA Volunteer of the Year honor. Walter spent 10 years as a CWGA volunteer (2001-2011), serving on the CWGA board and the tournament committee and being the nine-hole chairperson.

“She was also the go-to person anytime we had something going on in Colorado Springs,” Jervey noted.
 

That was evident in her days as a University of Texas volleyball player, as well as when she ran her own consulting business that often served Fortune 100 and 500 companies, and as she’s brought her golf handicap index down more than a dozen strokes over the last four years.

“I’m one of those very competitive people,” Davis fully admits.

The CWGA hopes that attribute — and others Davis possesses — will serve the association well as she becomes the CWGA president on Jan. 1. The longtime Coloradan, who will succeed Joanne Braucht in the CWGA’s top volunteer post, is expected to serve two consecutive one-year terms.

“She has a real go-getter personality,” CWGA executive director Robin Jervey said of Davis. “I think she’ll be a great leader for us.”

Davis’ business background figures to be a big plus for the CWGA. For about 30 years until she retired four years ago, Davis’ consulting firm advised clients on leadership, executive and management development and strategic planning, among other things. She also has experience in banking- and marketing-related matters.

Besides that business experience, Davis brings an out-of-the-ordinary perspective to the CWGA presidency. She only took up the game a little more than a decade ago, when her husband became a member at the Country Club at Castle Pines, which remains Davis’ home club.

“She brings a little bit different perspective coming to the game as an adult,” Jervey said.

And it didn’t take long for Davis to take an active role with the CWGA as she joined the board of directors at the beginning of 2008. Since then, she’s served as treasurer, then vice president.

“I became involved about the time I was retiring (from the consulting business), and I wanted to be involved with the community,” Davis said. “And it was an opportunity to use some of my skills. It’s been a huge learning curve for me both with the game and the CWGA. But I was brought in not for my knowledge of golf, but of business.”

Davis has lived in Colorado since 1976, but nowadays she spends much of the cold-weather months in Arizona. And because she’s also a member of the Arizona Women’s Golf Association — and knows some of the leadership there — she may be in a position to share some things with the CWGA that the AWGA might do particularly well.

One of the issues Davis said she’ll be focused on as president of the CWGA is trying to bolster membership after several years of decline. That drop goes hand-in-hand with the recent downward trends the National Golf Foundation has reported. The NGF said the total number of golfers in the country dropped from 30 million in 2005 to 26.1 million in 2010. And the number of female golfers in the U.S. has declined even more, percentage-wise — from 7 million to 5.4 million over that same five-year period.

Davis hopes that ever-stronger strategic alliances with the CGA and the Colorado PGA can prove productive in battling such trends.

“I think that can benefit all three organizations,” she said. “They’re all faced with the same challenges as far as declining numbers of golfers. Three heads are better than one if all three of us can come up with ideas that increase the number of golfers that are out there in the state.”