NJSGA Conducts Second Volunteer Appreciation Day
Some 48 NJSGA adminstrators, staff and volunteers took part in the second NJSGA Volunteer Appreciation Day on Thursday, Sept. 9, at the Montclair Golf Club at Rock Spring in West Orange.
“We consider Volunteer Appreciation Day a small token of recognition by the NJSGA for volunteers, who do an essential job for our organization without pay,” said Dan Meehan, NJSGA president. “We could not conduct our many tournaments without them. We also recognize our course raters who do another important job for the NJSGA.
“The NJSGA board members had discussed the need for the board to meet the volunteers and to have an interaction with them in a very casual setting,” Meehan said.
The initial Volunteer Appreciation Day took place at Navesink Golf Club in 2015. The event at Rock Spring was played in best-ball-of-four format.
Terry Fitzpatrick, 68, of Wyckoff, has been an NJSGA tournament volunteer official for 10 years. He had been a sales director in the power tool industry and is currently a member at Packanack Golf Club in Wayne.
“I was looking for something to do other than play golf, so I decided to help the NJSGA. I enjoy watching good golfers play. I also like vsiting country clubs I’ve never seen. I enjoy the friendships with other volunteers.
“The NJSGA conducts wonderful tournaments and I’m glad to be part of it even in a small way. It’s a very professional association. I never expected a golf organization to be as professional as a big industry when it comes to rules seminars or power-point presentations at its annual meeting.”
As far as Volunteer Appreciation Day, he noted, “I love it. Last year it was at Navesink and now Rock Spring. It’s a great day of golf. It’s a more relaxed setting to have fun with other volunteers. I’ve also gotten to attend the annual meetings and play courses like Plainfield, Morris County, Canoe Brook, Galloping Hill and Shackamaxon,” Fitzpatrick said.
Carol Graybeal of Chatham, a member at Fairmount, is a volunteer official with both the USGA and NJSGA. Formerly a 12.4 handicap, she played in many Women’s New Jersey Golf Association and Women’s Metropolitan Golf Association events.
“I’ve been with the NJSGA since 1986. Honestly, I just love the game. Once you’ve played in tournaments, you understand the pre-preparation it takes to run an event and that there are so many moving parts. You need a lot of people to conduct a tournament,” she said.
“I think Volunteer Appreciation Day is great. Last year at Navesink was spectacular. I love the golf course here at Rock Spring. It’s one of my favorite courses. This day gives you a chance to talk to people and congregate under a relaxed format.”
Course-rater Dave Moriarity of Bayonne, who plays at East Orange Golf Course in Short Hills, has served the NJSGA for six years.
“I enjoy working as a course rater,” said the former driver for UPS. “It’s interesting being a course rater, something I never knew about. The biggest perk is playing great golf courses. This year, I’ve played Twin Brooks, Atlantic City, Ridgewood and Navesink.
“Volunteer Appreciation Day is a really nice thing the NJSGA does. We don’t get paid and we give up a lot of our time. This gives us a chance to see a lot of people we don’t normally see, other volunteers, staff members and board members,” said Moriarity, 64.
The team of Dan Juffey, Fred Gambarella, Bill Faust and Jim Kellert came in first at 14-under par. Kellert led the way with five birdies, two of them net eagles.
