HOOVER, AL (March 25, 2022) – On Saturday, March 19, 2022, the Alabama Golf Association’s (AGA) Annual Membership Meeting and Board of Directors meeting was conducted at The Country Club of Birmingham, followed by the 2022 Alabama Golf Association Awards Luncheon.
Annual Board of Directors Meeting
At the Alabama Golf Association’s Annual Membership meeting, Steve Hudson of Birmingham was re-elected to serve a second one-year term as President. Hudson played collegiately at The University of Alabama and served as a two-time co-captain. He is one of eight members of the Alabama Sports Hall of Fame Class of 2021. Hudson is a three-time AGA Men’s Player of the Year and two-time AGA Senior Men’s Player of the Year.
“It’s a great time to be a part of the AGA with our wonderful staff and all the things that we’re doing,” Hudson said. “The future also looks incredibly great as we look to help our young people and expand the golf services that we provide to the state of Alabama.”
Other elected officers for 2022 include: Walker Grant of Montgomery (Vice-President), Joey Dzwonkowski of Mobile (Secretary), and Derrel Curry of Birmingham (Treasurer).
Re-elected Alabama Golf Association Board of Directors members are: Alan Allgood of Fairhope; Jan Berry of Madison; Flip Bradley of Huntsville; Forrest Crabtree of Mobile; Derrel Curry of Birmingham; Austin Davis of Birmingham; Patrick Drummond of Birmingham; Joey Dzwonkowski of Mobile; Freeman Fite of Anniston; Nancy Gavin of Jacksons Gap; John Goldasich of Birmingham; Walker Grant of Montgomery; Kathy Hartwiger of Birmingham; Brinson Holder of Point Clear; Joey Holley of Troy; Hoyt Howell, Jr. of Anniston; Steven Hudson of Birmingham; Travis Hudson II of Jasper; Sharon Kellum of Leeds; Lucie King of Tuscaloosa; Larry Kniseley of Daphne; Carol Lell of Birmingham; William V. Lewis of Tuscaloosa; Marvin Lynn Lowe of Gadsden; Chris Marr of Mobile; William C. McGowin of Montgomery; John Miller IV of Birmingham; Will Pierce of Selma; Grantland Rice III of Birmingham; Will Swift of Birmingham; Jim Teel of Auburn; Sam Vann of Dothan; Phillip Weaver of Tuscaloosa; Cody Wesley of Greenville; and Susan West of Tuscaloosa.
Three board members were elected to serve a one-year term on the AGA Executive Committee along with the four officers: Chris Marr of Mobile, Will Swift of Vestavia Hills, and Susan West of Tuscaloosa. Retiring from the Executive Committee is Carol Lell of Birmingham.
Annual Awards
The Alabama Golf Association recognized several individuals with the Joe H. King Award, the Sadie Roberts Volunteer of the Year, Players of the Year, All-State Junior Teams and 2021 Champions at an awards luncheon that followed the annual meeting.
Joe H. King Award: Travis “Tab” Hudson II of Jasper and Carol Lell of Birmingham each received the Joe H. King Award. The Joe H. King Award is the highest honor that the Alabama Golf Association presents in amateur golf. Hudson is a former Alabama Men’s Golf standout. He also served as the AGA President from 2007-2008, won the Alabama State Mid-Amateur in 1990 and claimed the Alabama Open Championship title in 1980. Siblings Steve and Tab Hudson are also both in the Birmingham Golf Association Hall of Fame.
Lell was the first female President in the history of the Alabama Golf Association (2019-2020). She was a key player in the merger of the Women’s Alabama Golf Association (WAGA) and the Alabama Golf Association, also serving as WAGA’s President from 2007-2010.
“I am both honored and humbled to be included in this outstanding group of golfers,” Lell said. “When I look at their pictures and read their resumes, I ask myself: ‘Why me? What have I done to deserve this prestigious award?’ Certainly, it is not because I am a scratch golfer who consistently won major competitions. No, my shelves are filled with how-to-books and swing aides… not medals and trophies. So, why me? I can only hope that, like my predecessors, I have contributed, in some small way, to the Good of the Game.”
Sadie Roberts Volunteer of the Year Award: Jan Berry of Madison received the Sadie Roberts Volunteer of the Year Award. Berry has supported the AGA, NCAA and USGA at countless tournaments, worked thousands of hours while traveling untold miles throughout the state and nationally to serve as a rules official and board member all at her own expense.
Alabama Players of the Year: The Alabama Amateur Player of the Year awards are presented to the number one ranked individual in each of six categories at the end of the calendar year based on the AGA’s state amateur ranking system except for the two junior awards that utilize a September-August calendar year. The Men’s Player of the Year Award was first created in 1994 to honor Alabama amateur golfers who had exceptional individual tournament performances during the year. Since then, the awards have been expanded to include Women (2010), Senior Men (2016), Senior Women (2016), Junior Boys (2017), and Junior Girls (2017).
2021 Players of the Year:
- Men: Gordon Sargent, Birmingham
- Women: Molly Brown Davidson, Birmingham
- Senior Men: John Wright, Fairhope
- Senior Women: Kathy Hartwiger, Birmingham
- Junior Boys: Nick Dunlap, Huntsville
- Junior Girls: Molly Brown Davidson, Birmingham
About the Alabama Golf Association (AGA)
The Alabama Golf Association is a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit educational organization founded in 1915 whose mission is to serve and promote amateur golf in Alabama. AGA membership consists of over 117 member clubs represented by over 22,000 individuals. The activities and services of the Alabama Golf Association are governed by a Board of Directors consisting of Alabama golfers who wish to serve the game and the association through service.
AGA is the USGA's liaison for golf in Alabama conducting national championship qualifying, administering the USGA Handicap system including the GHIN Handicap service, course & slope rating and education. The AGA annually conducts 23 championships and team match competitions for men, women, juniors, and seniors. The AGA also conducts Alabama high school golf championships and assists with many collegiate events including the SEC Men's Golf Championship. In addition to competitions, the AGA administers the AGA Women's Scholarship Fund that is dedicated to assisting young female golfers in higher education and supports the Alabama Turfgrass Research Foundation.
Since 1980, the AGA has managed the affairs of the Southern Golf Association which includes conducting the Southern Amateur Championship and Southern Junior Championship, in conjunction with the Board of Directors of the Southern Golf Association.
For more information about the Alabama Golf Association, visit www.alabamagolf.org.
Media Contact:
Audrey Ferguson
AGA Communications
205-803-6524
audrey@alabamagolf.org
