Developing tomorrow's golfers today: an exciting year for the National Minority Junior Golf Scholarship Association

Black Enterprise, Sept, 2004 by Laura Carlson

Mastering the art of golf is not easy. It requires both a sense of discipline and the ability to focus--characteristics that are also integral to competing in the game of life. The National Minority Junior Golf Scholarship Association (NMJGSA) has successfully fostered these principles since the organization's incorporation in 1984 by its founder and president, William Dickey. Scholarships, mentoring, and golf training have been the core of Dickey's strategy for creating a niche for minority youth in this nontraditional sport. Dickey has received impressive awards from such organizations as the PGA, USGA, and the PGA Tour for his exemplary efforts on behalf of junior golfers over the years.

Dickey has continued his mission with the Bill Dickey Invitational Junior Golf Championship, which involves top minority junior golfers in the country, ranging in age from 12 to 17. The annual three-day event features a corporate challenge and a 54-hole Junior/Am. During the evening sessions, competitors gather to hear from speakers who can assist them in their college and career preparations. The NMJGSA looks forward to this year's featured presenters: Lourdes Perez-Berkeley, executive director of the Michael J. Berkeley Foundation; Steve Hogan, head professional at Miller Park Golf Course in Omaha, Nebraska, and founder of Hogan's Junior Golf Heroes; and Earnie Ellison, PGA of America's director of business and community relations.

Twenty years after its inception, the association is still making tremendous strides toward the academic excellence and golf skills of minority youth. To help promote the program even further, the NMJGSA named Janita Gordon as the new executive director in September 2003. Meanwhile, BLACK ENTERPRISE and Pepsi continue to make major contributions to the NMJGSA, providing them with much needed finances.

Gordon has spent her career working with colleges and universities as a senior development officer, responsible for securing gifts from individuals, corporations, and foundations. Her most recent post was as director of development for Arizona State University's College of Engineering and Applied Sciences. There, she worked with the president's office and the ASU Foundation to secure a $50 million gift to endow and name the school the Ira A. Fulton School of Engineering. Her goal is to emphasize that NMJGSA is not a golf organization but rather an organization that uses golf to build and develop today's youth.

"We work with junior golf programs nationally to find talent," Gordon says. "We are not only looking for kids with an interest in golf, but we are looking foremost for those kids who demonstrate academic strength and leadership potential. We have discovered over the years that students who receive scholarships from NMJGSA are extremely successful. We have also discovered that kids who are talented junior golfers display high aptitude in the classroom, making them viable prospects for scholarships."

The association is making its mark by creating paths for some of tomorrow's leaders. Kimberly Diana Reed Brown, an NMJGSA scholarship recipient, will receive a Bachelor of Arts degree from Yale University this year She will also be joining the US. Golf Association's Fellowship in Leadership and Service program upon graduation. This extremely competitive program will catapult Brown's success as she graduates from college.

Since the NMJGSA depends heavily on private sponsors, it's important that the generous donations keep coming. So far, 2004 has been a profitable year. "Realizing the rate of success, our stakeholders this year have increased their generosity through an increase in contributions," says Gordon.

Though the proceeds of this year's East/West Golf Classic have not yet been given out, NMJGSA traditionally gives $200,000 annually to students "This year, the 22nd Annual East/West Golf Classic was not only a competition between amateur golfers east and west of the Mississippi River, but it was also an awesome opportunity to meet some impressive minority scholarship recipients and alumni," Gordon says, referring to Willie Toney, head pro at Oakland, California's Metropolitan Golf Links and one of the association's first scholarship recipients. Toney shared how his experience with NMJGSA has influenced his career and family life.

The East/West Golf Classic concluded with the announcement of the largest individual gift ever contributed to the association--$30,000 from Calvin and Tina Tyler. The couple stated that their generosity was stimulated by the outstanding accomplishments of the students who benefit from the work of NMJGSA. The Tylers' notable gift joins contributions from sponsors such as the Manshantucket Pequot Tribal Nation, Volvo, ING, Tiger Woods Foundation, Office Depot, State Farm Insurance, Anheuser Busch, United Parcel Service, PGA, the USGA, PGA Tour, and Nike.