Description
Since May of 2017, the Western Washington Golf Course Superintendents Association has annually presented its Distinguished Service Award at its Fivesome/Tournament Auction, its biggest golf event of the year. The Paul Backman Memorial Distinguished Service Award, named after the man who tirelessly led the association for more than a decade as its executive director, honors those who have made special contributions to the Northwest Golf industry in the field of Turf Management.
Mr. Backman, who died in April 2010 at the age of 41, was the Executive Director of the WWGCSA for 12 years. During that time, he worked closely with the other golf associations in the state and coordinated efforts to have golf represented by a lobbyist in Olympia and spearheaded efforts for a golf economic impact study to be done in the state.
He worked closely with superintendents in the region, having graduated from Oregon State University with a degree in horticulture and later earning a master’s degree in plant pathology and biological disease control at Penn State University. He also attended Western Washington University and played on the Vikings’ golf team. He worked at Overlake Golf and Country Club and was the assistant superintendent at Everett Golf & Country Club before becoming the executive director of the WWGCSA.
Criteria and Process
Criteria:
Annual recipient will be honored for special contributions over the past year and/or a lifetime of service to the golf industry in the region as it relates to turf professionals. The recipient of this award does not need to be a golf course superintendent, but needs to advance the profession by being a guiding light for superintendents as well as an example to the public at large of the contributions superintendents make to the golf industry and the protection of the environment.
The annual recipient should possess and display the multitude of qualities that it takes to be an industry leader, including but not limited to the ability to work with and motivate others, the ability to communicate effectively, the knowledge and desire to be environmental stewards, the knowledge and background of science to be able to balance the use of chemistry and the needs of the environment to the desire of golfers.
Nomination Process:
A call for nominations will be made each Summer, and nominations must be submitted by September 30 in the form of a letter of recommendation for consideration for the following year.
Selection Process:
The final determination of the annual recipient will be made by the Board of Directors of the Western Washington Golf Course Superintendents Association, and should be completed by October 15 of each year.
Honoring Process:
The Award will be presented at the Annual Meeting of the Association each year.
Recipients
2023—David Phipps
2022—Kip Kalbrenner
2021—Gwen Stahnke
2020—Randy Moen
Randy Moen had spent most of his adult career as a Union Sheetmetal/HVAC worker. But in 2007 he started volunteering at American Lake Veterans Golf Course. Back then, the course had only 9 holes and was having difficulty finding the resources to be maintained well. Randy reflects that that’s when “I decided to put a little more effort into the appearance of this beautiful course.” Randy became the Superintendent at American Lake Veterans Golf Course in 2014. At about the same time, Jack Nicklaus donated the design work which led to the development of the course’s back 9 in 2015. The ALVGC website explains that the course exists solely because of dedicated volunteers. Combined with the gift of golf legend Jack Nicklaus, the nation’s only golf course designed for the rehabilitation of wounded and disabled veterans now offers our deserving veterans a first class, entirely ADA-accessible, 18-hole golf course. Randy believes that “with Nicklaus’ gift, the help of 40 eager grounds volunteers, and an awesome mechanic named Bob Funseth (who has volunteered at American Lake for 20 years) we have made ALVGC into a premier golf course. In 2019, we had over 36,000 rounds played.” Of course, it’s more than that. Randy’s infectious attitude and enthusiasm has made it easy for the WWGCSA and others to rally behind his, and his large crew of volunteers, efforts to make the American Lake course a special one. Randy has overseen dramatic change as well as an influx of outside help to assist in the transformation. The result has included a significant upgrade in the facility to be fully accessible to veterans of all physical abilities, which included the March 2019 installation of Power Tees, which assists veterans’ ability to more easily take advantage of the driving range. In recognition of his contributions to the ongoing development of the American Lake Veterans Golf Course, its contribution to the lives of our veterans, and the collective contribution that his efforts and the Course itself brings to the reputation of the game of golf, the WWGCSA is proud to present its 2020 Paul Backman Memorial Distinguished Service Award to Randy Moen. As you would expect, Randy recognizes that he and the course have received a lot of help, saying “We could not do this without the continued support from the GCSAA, the WWGCSA, the OGCSA, Washington Rock, Turfstar Western Equipment (Toro), Ventrac and all of our great, wonderful, unselfish supporters. Thank you all for contributing to this Paul Backman Memorial Distinguished Service Award and the recognition. This award means the world to me! Thank you.”
Read 2019—Larry Gilhuly
When it comes to pillars of the NW golf industry, one name stands alone. Larry Gilhuly has served superintendents, green committees and state golf associations as the NW agronomist for the USGA over the last 35 years. A strong resume for certain, but for so much more, Larry Gilhuly was deemed the 2019 recipient of the Paul Backman Distinguished Service Award, presented at Sahalee Country Club to close the Annual Fivesome festivities.
A native of Kelso Washington, Larry began his golf career in 1968 at the Longview Country Club. Larry earned the Chick Evans Scholarship for Caddies in 1970, then he earned a Bachelor of Science degree in agronomy and turf science from Washington State University. In 1973 he became an intern at Seattle’s Broadmoor Golf Club, then became assistant [Superintendent] at the Seattle Golf Club in 1975. Larry then joined the USGA Green Section in 1983 where he has remained since.
In his career, Larry has visited courses in fourteen states and eight countries including the Canadian provinces of British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba. He has easily tallied over two million miles by car and air and has seen over 1,100 unique golf courses.
David Phipps, the GCSAA’s Northwest Regional Representative, was asked to present the honor to Larry, and explained how it was the “so much more” than Gilhuly’s resume which defined his contributions to the WWGCSA. “Larry’s warm personality and incredible sense of humor has endeared him to everyone whom he has met. His insight into golf course maintenance has been instrumental in assisting the superintendent and has assured the success of those whom have had the privilege to work with him.”
Phipps continued, “Larry has been a proponent of junior golf in the State of Washington and helped ward off a tax that would have put a burden on all high school golf teams who received complementary access to local golf courses. He has also been a huge proponent of The First Green, assisting in field trips wherever and whenever he could. However, retirement will probably not keep Larry away from that. It is with great honor that on behalf of the Western Washington GCSA, this award is given to Larry for his extraordinary career in the golf industry.”
Read 2018—Steve Kealy
Steve Kealy was the recipient of the annual award at the 2018 Fivesome Tournament and Auction at Fircrest Golf Club.
Our host Superintendent John Alexander and his staff put on a show this year with their superb course conditions! After a beautiful day of golf at Fircrest, Steve was handed over the award presented by the WWGCSA Board, which was accompanied by some tears in the crowd. This is just the most recent award in Steve’s 30 year career as the superintendent at Glendale Golf & Country Club. Over the years he has proven to be one of the best communicators in the industry for environmental stewardship and the importance of the superintendent in the golf community at large. Steve has also played an important role in the development of the First Green Program which is dedicated to the education of youth with regard to turfgrass management and the world of agronomy. Steve provides numerous hours of community service, donating his time and talents to educate local area high school students on agronomic and environmental issues. This award was extra special to Steve as he was a very close friend of our late Director Paul Backman, who worked tirelessly to promote our profession in the local golf industry. Steve seemed to think this award was far too soon in his career, however everyone that knows him thinks it has probably come too late. Congratulations Steve, you deserve it!
Read2017—Paul Colleran
The first recipient will be Paul Colleran, who was a shining example to others within the association of the dedication, commitment and skills needed to be a highly respected superintendent. Mr. Colleran was the first superintendent at Aldarra Golf Club, starting in the development stage of the course and served for 15 years before he died from brain cancer in October of 2014 at the age of 54.
Mr. Colleran was the superintendent at Tacoma Country & Golf Club for 10 years before taking the position with Aldarra. Both golf courses have been known for being in impeccable condition under his leadership. He grew up in Bellevue, and then played two years on the golf team at the University of Oregon. He then took a year off from college to work on the greens crew at Broadmoor Golf Club, and after that enrolled at Oregon State University and earned a degree in turfgrass management.
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