Greetings LPGA Amateurs Southern Maryland Chapter Members:

Happy International Women’s Day!  I hope you and your loved ones are well and you are ready for another fantastic year.  According to USGA, next Monday, March 15, marks the beginning of the official golf season in Maryland. YEAH!!!  We have been busy over the winter planning for more fun, more fellowship, and witnessing more fabulous plays on the greens with all of you!  Here is our notional calendar for the year: 

LEAGUES

• 1st Sundays - Sunday Divas League (For New Golfers, Open to All) - May to October
• 3rd Saturdays - Tour League - April to October

Our League Chairs, back by popular demand are Odessa Scott and Jasmin McDuffie, respectively.  For those of you who volunteered already to host a Tour League day, THANK YOU!   If you have not already but are interested, please see the email sent to you at 4:58 p.m. on February 19, 2021. We are finalizing the plans and a list is forthcoming with additional information (e.g., names of volunteer hosts, dates, times, locations, Sign-up Genius, etc.)

ADDITIONAL EVENTS

• Spring Social (Top Golf) – March 28
• Virtual Season Kick Off – April 3
• Summer Social (Swing and Sip) – July
• Fall Golf Getaway - October 8-11
• End of the Year Event (and Volunteer Recognition Awards Ceremony)– December 11
• Golf-Related Community Service Project – TBD

Our first event of the season, the Spring Social, is March 28 from 11:45 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. at Top Golf National Harbor. There will be friendly competition and prizes. Additional details will follow in a separate email.

Our next event is the Virtual Season Kick-Off.  If you are interested in volunteering to help plan this event, please send an e-mail to me by this Saturday, March 13 at Maria_Price_Detherage08@yahoo.com.  Simply type “VOLUNTEER FOR KICKOFF PLANNING” in all caps in the subject line.  Nothing else is needed in the body of the email.  The Planning meeting will be Tuesday, March 16, 2021 from 6:30 – 7:30 in the evening.  The details will be sent to the volunteers.  If you have ideas but will not be able to attend the planning committee, feel free to send them to me also by Saturday, March 13.   

CINDY THOMPSON has agreed to serve as our Communications Chair.  Thank you, Cindy!  Please join me in welcoming her to her new role.  We are also looking for other volunteers.  If you…

• Are great at written communications and marketing, we would love to have you assist with our chapter communications
• Are IT Savvy and can help develop surveys, you would be great for helping us canvass the interests of our chapter
• Would love to plan or host an event, you can help us make our events extra special
• Are great at recruiting, you can help build our chapter membership
• Are a seasoned golfer willing to be a golf buddy or mentor (or situational mentor) to a newer member or new golfer, we need you
• Would like to host a chapter happy hour on a Friday evening (e.g., 1^ST Fridays Happy Hour), you will make lots of new friends here 😉
• Are you a social media buff, you can help capture and post our events?
• Just want to lend a hand, we can always use your assistance.

Whether you are interested in serving as a chair, shadowing a chair this year so you can step into a chapter leadership role next year, supporting a committee, or simply helping here and there, there is a place and space for you.  At the End of Year Event, we will recognize all our volunteers.  Simply send an email to me at Maria_Price_Detherage08@yahoo.com with “HAPPY TO VOLUNTEER” in all caps in the subject.  Please include the following information in the body of the email:

• NAME
• EMAIL ADDRESS
• PHONE NUMBER
• I am interested in volunteering for (this can include more than 1) __________
  More about me.  I am (here, please include whatever you want us to know – e.g., your special interests, skills, knowledge, experience, abilities, etc.) _________
• Preferred mode of communications: Text, Email, Call
• Best time to contact you____________

Last month, your chapter’s board members, Jewel Pearson (Director/Chair of Events) and Pamela Wilson (Director of Finance and Records) attended the LPGA Amateurs Virtual Leadership Summit.  We had the pleasure of engaging with chapters across the country as well as representation from the Bermuda Chapter and the Vancouver Chapter.  We learned a lot and look forward to sharing many of the golden nuggets with you.  

Finally, I leave you with this… For Black History month, the Golf Channel on their Golf Central segment featured Langston Golf Club.  As part of this celebration, several local men and women golfers who have supported Langston were interviewed.  To see this informative piece, click on the link here: How Langston Golf Club included African Americans

Please enjoy this piece of history, then, we invite you to dust off the clubs, and…

Let’s have some fun!

Maria Price Detherage, Chapter President