(Award winners listed in reply #5)
Tonight I will announce the winners of the 2019 Al Stanger Memorial Scholarships. We will be awarding a total of $17,500 to outstanding students pursuing careers in golf.
But before I do that, I'd like to acknowledged some people who have helped.
The IRS requires us to conduct a formal process to award $$$,
Our process is two fold, first our trustees screen the applications. The trustees for the Greenscape Methods Foundation are my three oldest children.
Ryan is currently managing a finish crew for GM at Memorial Park. He graduated from Cameron University in 2014 with a degree in Environmental Science.
Elyse is an 8th grade English teacher, graduate of Texas A & M, and a new mom.
Anna is an incoming Freshman at the College of Engineering at Texas A & M.
Once the applicants are screened, they are passed onto our judging panel. This year we had six judges. Two are "permanent" judges.
Mike Nuzzo is the designer of Wolf Point and knew Al well.
Brandon Critedon has been the Ranch Manager at Wolf Point for 20 years and is a leader in the Texas cattle industry. He has bred stock that has won major awards at all the big shows in Texas.
This year we had 4 people from the golf world help us.
Jason Harsh is the Golf Division Manager for the City of Houston. He oversees 7 courses that hosted just north of 200,000 rounds last year. Among those courses is Memorial Park Golf Course which was inducted into the Texas Golf Hall of Fame in 2016. The Houston Open returns to Memorial Park in 2020 after being renovated in 2019. Jason joined the City of Houston in 1997 after stints at Sand Hills and Champions Golf Club. He is a Turfgrass Science grad from Texas A & M.
David Normoyle and Dottie Pepper.
We met David and Dottie while working with Kye Goalby in the fall of 2018 at Saratoga Golf and Polo Club in Saratoga Springs, NY.
David, former USGA Historian, is one of the most accomplished Historians in golf. After spending most of the 2000s with the USGA, he formed Normoyle Historical Consulting in 2010. David works with a who's who of clubs around the world including Oakmont, Muirfield, LACC, Cherry Hills and many others to preserve and promote their unique histories.
Dottie, BA Furman University '87, is unquestionably one of the finest players of her generation. She played the LPGA tour from 1988-2004 with 17 wins including 2 majors and represented the USA on 6 Solheim Cup teams. She also served 3 years as an independent director on the PGA of America Board of Directors, and has covered every major golf competition, both amateur and professional, in her 15-year broadcasting career.
Ran Morrissett hardly needs me to list his bio here. He grew up in a golfing family, and formed this website with his brother John in the late 90s. Ran recently assisted Tom Doak in his new editions of the Confidential Guide and has served as the President of the Tufts archives in Pinehurst, NC. Ran has played golf in over 35 countries.
And I'd like to recognize Dianna Stanger, Al's wife of over 20 years. Dianna was instrumental in the creation of this scholarship in Al's name. She is a very successful businesswoman, a world-renowned aviator, and a tireless philanthropist. In her drive to expose the next generation to the world of aviation, she has personally given more free flights to youngsters than any other pilot in the world, male or female.
I hope it's evident that Al Stanger made a great impact on us, and many others. Dianna describes Al's ability to help and motivate in this way, "Al had the opportunity to excel without the benefit of an extensive education or financial worth. Having been given the gift of certitude, he believed in paying it forward by giving others the tools to succeed"
When Al died, many in golf assumed his course would simply go away as might be considered the norm for a course built with no commercial intent - a course built for one person. But even though Dianna hardly plays golf at all, she has kept the course up and is seemingly making progress toward finding a buyer for Al's course and surrounding land. She always told me "Al's course has to live on" and she means it.
We know an education is expensive today, and we hope the monetary gifts we award help the deserving students I will name tonight. But more than anything, we hope to spread the encouragement and belief Al had in us, to every applicant.