Kevin Purcell Named Executive Director; Effective Jan. 1

Kevin Purcell, the General Manager for Golf Courses in Bergen County, will become the Executive Director of the New Jersey State Golf Association effective January 1, 2015, NJSGA President Frank O’Brien has announced.

Purcell replaces Steve Foehl, who served since 1989 as executive director and is stepping down at the end of 2014. Foehl will still be involved with the association in special projects.

“We were very impressed with the quality of the candidates who applied for the job of executive director. The process was thorough and difficult. Kevin Purcell distinguished himself because he has headed a golf organization in our state since 1996 and we felt his amount of organizational experience and the total responsibilities he handled in that function blended very well with who we were looking for,” O’Brien stated.

On his job, Purcell managed nearly 200 employees at five golf courses and helped provide a full golf experience for 20,000 Bergen County golfers. He also oversaw a full adult tournament schedule and an award-winning junior program.

Among his achievements are the creation of the Bergen County Amateur Championship, which has nearly 500 yearly entrants, the Pioneer Tour Junior golf program with 700 participants, a 51-team high school program, and the AllPar Autistic Golf Program. He has also developed a successful revenue producing adult tournament schedule and a rules of golf seminar for high school coaches and Pioneer Tour participants.

“I have been dreaming about this kind of position since I was a teenager. I have enjoyed every minute of my former position and look forwarding to aiding golfers in the entire State of New Jersey,” said Purcell, 50.who resides in Rockleigh.

“What is most important in the future for the New Jersey State Golf Association are the relationships with our partners, our players, our allied associations and our member clubs. I would like to strengthen our position in all of these areas,” said Purcell, who served as an NJSGA Board member since 2003.

“I feel a big part of my role will be to bring sponsors on board who want to identify with the NJSGA. The staff at NJSGA is terrific and I very much respect their efforts and look forward to working with them. I wish to strengthen my relationships with the staff and the NJSGA Board, allowing us to move forward in the future together.”

Purcell, a graduate in business administration from the University of Tulsa, has been recognized by Golf Inc. for his golf-course renovation and by Golf Digest for his initiatives in junior development.

“Kevin brings his experience, his personality, his contact level and his ability to manage and oversee a budget to the executive director position,” O’Brien stated. “He’s also conducted tournaments. With what he had to offer, he has given us a person with an outstanding golfing background. His enthusiasm is contagious, which is a great plus for us, our members and our member clubs.”