AGA Board of Directors President: Walker Grant of Alexander City (Top Left); Newly Elected Directors to the AGA Board of Directors: Sam Audia of Birmingham (Top Center); Bernadette Beavers-Forrest of Hoover (Top Right); Chris Nix of Vestavia Hills (Bottom Left); 2022 Sadie Roberts Award Recipient, Susan McDaniel (Bottom Center)

HOOVER, AL (Feb. 22, 2023) – On Saturday, February 18, 2023, the Alabama Golf Association (AGA) held its Annual Membership Meeting, Annual Board of Directors Meeting, and Annual Awards Luncheon at the Country Club of Birmingham, in Birmingham, AL.
 
Annual Membership and Board of Directors Meetings
 
At the AGA Annual Membership Meeting, Walker Grant of Alexander City was elected President of the Board of Directors and began serving the first of two one-year terms. Previously, Grant served as the association’s Vice-President (2021-2022) and has been a member of the board since 2008. An active amateur golfer, he holds two AGA Championship titles: 2014 Alabama State Senior Four-Ball Championship and 2017 Alabama State Senior Four-Ball Championship. Grant also won the 2022 Southeast Mid-Amateur Four-Ball Championship (Senior Division) title at his home club, Willow Point Golf and Country Club, with partner Robert Nelson of Fairhope.
 
Other elected officers include: Joey Dzwonkowski of Mobile (Vice-President), Susan West of Tuscaloosa (Secretary), and Derrel Curry of Birmingham (Treasurer).
 
Steve Hudson of Birmingham concluded his elected term and now assumes the Immediate Past President position. Under Hudson’s tenure, the AGA witnessed record tournament participation, successfully launched Alabama’s first golf-themed license plate available to the public and expanded junior golf initiatives across the state with the launch of Junior Golf Alabama which is a joint initiative between the AGA and Alabama-NW Florida PGA Section.
 
The AGA also elected three new members to the Board of Directors: Sam Audia of Birmingham, Bernadette Beavers-Forrest of Hoover, and Chris Nix of Vestavia Hills.
 
Re-elected AGA Board of Directors members are: Alan Allgood of Fairhope; Jan Berry of Madison; Flip Bradley of Owens Cross Roads; Forrest Crabtree of Mobile; Patrick Drummond of Birmingham; Joey Dzwonkowski of Mobile; Freeman Fite of Anniston; Nancy Gavin of Jacksons Gap; Walker Grant of Alexander City; Brinson Holder of Point Clear; Joey Holley of Troy; Hoyt W. Howell, Jr. of Anniston; Sharon Kellum of Leeds; Lucie King of Tuscaloosa; Larry Kniseley of Daphne; William V. Lewis of Tuscaloosa; Chris Marr of Mobile; William C. McGowin of Montgomery; Chris Nix of Vestavia Hills; Will Pearce of Selma; John Goldasich of Birmingham; Will Swift of Birmingham; Sam Vann of Dothan; Philip Weaver of Tuscaloosa; and Susan West of Tuscaloosa.
 
Three additional board members were elected to serve the first of two one-year terms on the AGA Executive Committee, along with the four officers: Immediate Past President Steve Hudson, Will Swift of Vestavia Hills, and Chris Marr of Mobile.
 
Sadie Roberts Award
 
Susan McDaniel of Hoover received the 2022 Sadie Roberts Volunteer of the Year Award. McDaniel is the current President of the Ladies Birmingham Golf Association, serves as the Alabama representative to the Women’s Southern Golf Association Board of Directors and has been a dedicated volunteer with the AGA since 2011, serving countless hours as a rules official in her dedication to the game of golf. Award is named after Miss Sadie Roberts who was the driving force to establish the Women’s Alabama Golf Association (WAGA) in 1929. Her leadership and passion led to presiding over women’s golf in the state for 22 years. The award has been presented since 1976 to deserving volunteers that have served WAGA and the AGA.
 
About the Alabama Golf Association (AGA)
The Alabama Golf Association is a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit educational organization founded in 1915 whose mission is to serve and promote amateur golf in Alabama. AGA membership consists of 120 member clubs represented by over 25,000 individuals. The activities and services of the Alabama Golf Association are governed by a Board of Directors consisting of Alabama golfers who wish to serve the game and the association through service.
 
AGA is the USGA’s Allied Golf Association for golf in Alabama delivering core services such as conducting national championship qualifying, administering the USGA Handicap system including the GHIN Handicap service, course & slope rating, and education. The AGA annually conducts 23 championships and team match competitions for men, women, juniors, and seniors. The AGA also conducts Alabama high school golf championships and inside the ropes operations for the SEC Men’s Golf Championship. In addition to competitions, the AGA administers the Alabama Golf Foundation that provides college scholarships, supports grow the game initiatives such as Youth on Course Alabama and Junior Golf Alabama along with investing in turfgrass research through the Alabama Turfgrass Research Foundation.
 
Since 1980, the AGA has managed the affairs of the Southern Golf Association which includes conducting the Southern Amateur Championship and Southern Junior Championship, in conjunction with the Board of Directors of the Southern Golf Association.
 
For more information about the Alabama Golf Association, visit www.alabamagolf.org.
   
Media Contact:
Savannah Snowden
Manager of Media, Marketing & Communications
Alabama Golf Association
205-803-6524
savannah@alabamagolf.org