2018 Yearbook

90 LETTER FROM THE PRESIDENT ANDY BURTON IGAF PRESIDENT Dear IGA Foundation Friends & Supporters, We continued to accomplish a lot with the IGA Foundation in 2018. We raised a good amount of money that we gave back to the game and those that play it, including introducing an all new program to help get more kids to play. We partnered with and launched the Youth on Course program here in Iowa in 2018. Youth on Course is a na- tional program that begin in Northern California, but has since moved across the country. The premise is that we subsidize rounds of golf for kids ages 6-18, so that the kids themselves pay no more than $5 for a green fee. While we did get a bit of a late start to the 2018 season, we were happy to get nearly 20 golf courses to partici- pate in the program, which saw nearly 100 kids sign up and nearly 300 rounds get subsidized. We have been spending a good deal of time during this offseason to sign up even more courses so that there will be plenty of options for kids all around the state in 2019. Our goal is to double the number of kids and at least triple the number of rounds that get played. If you have a child or know of someone that is between the ages of 6 and 18, please tell them about the Youth on Course program. You can read about it in greater detail on the sub- sequent pages of this report or at our website, iowagolf.org. There is also a place where you can donate money to help us pay for the subsidies! Part of our mission is to preserve the history of the game of golf in our state. We continued to do that, as we al- ways have, with the induction of another class of Iowa Golf Hall of Fame members in April. Charlie Burkart, Tom Chapman, Sr, Larry Gladson, Ivan Miller, and Bill Sheehan brought the total membership in the “Hall” to 79. We were thrilled to welcome them during an induction ceremony at Glen Oaks CC in April. A new way we are working to preserve the history is through a partnership with Hall of Fame golf writer Rick Brown. Rick has spent 2018 researching and writing a book on the history of golf in Iowa. As I type this letter (January, 2019) the first draft of the book has been completed and we are in the middle of a fairly extensive edit- ing and design phase. We are hopeful to have the book published sometime this summer. We will make it avail- able for purchase through our website but also through many golf shops at our member clubs and courses, so be on the lookout for more information. We know it’s going to be a great read and enjoyed by all who love golf in our great state. Along with the programs I just mentioned, we continued to award scholarship money to deserving Iowa high school seniors, provide financial support to the Iowa Turfgrass Institute and ISU Turf Extension Service, and pro- vide assistance to other junior programs such as The First Tee and the Iowa PGA’s Swings with Kids program. We would not be able to do any of this without the financial support of donors like so many of you. “Thank You” for your help and continued belief in our mission as we help bring the game of golf to as many people as pos- sible. I look forward to seeing you all on the links this summer.