TAMPA, Fla. - The Florida State Golf Association conducts over 600 days of competitions each year. With a staff of just 22 people, this would not be possible without the support and dedication of the FSGA volunteer base around the state.
With over 400 volunteers across the state, the FSGA is proud to have one of the largest and finest volunteers based golf association in the country.
Among those volunteers is a group of about 20 individuals who have been appointed as Tournament Chairmen. These FSGA volunteers have proven their extensive knowledge of the Rules of Golf and demonstrated their administrative and officiating ability.
Over the past two years, four of these dedicated individuals have retired from their Tournament Chairmen duties: Ted Burfeind, Dyke Farrow, Rick Greenleaf and Marv McKinley. These four still have plans to continue volunteering with the FSGA.
Ted Burfeind, Ponte Vedra Beach
Burfeind began volunteering with the FSGA more than 25 years ago, after retiring to Florida in 1994 with his wife, Nancy. Burfeind worked for 36 years as a financial manager with General Goods Corporation in New York. While in New York, he volunteered with the Metropolitan Golf Association for eight years.
After moving down to Ponte Vedra Beach, Burfeind got in touch with Jim Caalander, who lived in the area and was a USGA official that worked the U.S. Amateur. It was Caalander who introduced Burfeind to the FSGA. He began volunteering not long after in 1995.
Since beginning with the FSGA, Burfeind has worked more than 300 events ranging from the Florida Junior Tour, Winter Series, USGA and FSGA qualifiers and FSGA championships. He served as one of two Tournament Chairmen in the Jacksonville area, and was named the 2011 FSGA Volunteer of the Year.
Along with his work at FSGA events, Burfeind has served as a member of the FSGA Board since 2003.
“The people I got to meet and work with, along with the friendships I have created have been the best part about working with the FSGA,” Burfeind said.
Dyke Farrow, Gainesville
Farrow got involved with the FSGA not long after moving to Gainesville with his wife, Mabel, in 1997. He became a member at Gainesville Country Club, where he met John Ives who was a Tournament Chairmen in the Gainesville/Ocala area at the time.
With Ives’ encouragement, Farrow began volunteering with the FSGA, becoming a Tournament Chairmen in 1999 after learning the ropes from Ives. After almost 30 years with the FSGA, the thing that stands out the most for Farrow is the friendships he has made along the way.
“Some of my closest and best friends in the Gainesville and Ocala areas are fellow FSGA volunteers that I met through officiating,” Farrow said.
Since beginning with the FSGA, Farrow has worked more than 100 events and tournaments and has become a certified rules official. His wife, Mabel, also took an interest in volunteering at golf tournaments with the FSGA, and the couple is able to spend time together out on the course.
Rick Greenleaf, Jupiter
Greenleaf first got involved with the FSGA when he and his wife, Heidi, decided to move to Florida for the winter months. While in Pennsylvania, Greenleaf volunteered with the Golf Association of Philadelphia and Pennsylvania Golf Association. So, when the couple decided to spend time in Florida, Greenleaf sought out the FSGA to continue volunteering in 2001.
Greenleaf worked under FSGA Hall of Famer, Mallory Privett, in Southeast Florida and became a Tournament Chairman in 2008. Privett took Greenleaf under his wing to help him learn the procedures and duties of being a Tournament Chairman.
Since beginning with the FSGA, Greenleaf has worked more than 200 events and was named the 2008 FSGA Volunteer of the Year, as well as being a member of the FSGA Board of Directors for seven years.
“I consider the time I spent as a volunteer, a tournament chairman and a board member with the FSGA to be one of the highlights of my career,” Greenleaf said.
When asked of his favorite thing about volunteering, Greenleaf said it was the opportunity to meet and work with the FSGA staff, staff from clubs around the state and his fellow volunteers.
Marv McKinley, Shalimar
McKinley first began volunteering with the FSGA in 2000, after having been involved with golf for most of his life. During his 25 years of military service, McKinley was a member of the golf advisory council at six military golf clubs.
Pete Sniezko, who was the Tournament Chairman in the Panhandle at the time, showed McKinley the ropes on being a FSGA volunteer and a Tournament Chairman. When Sniezko decided to retire in 2005, McKinley decided to take his place.
Once he learned the behind the scenes work of running a golf tournament, McKinley said he never wanted to stop.
When asked of his favorite thing about volunteering, McKinley said it was seeing the courses and meeting fellow volunteers and FSGA staff. Along with this, he said he has enjoyed following Florida Junior Tour players as they go on to play professional golf.
“Not one memory stands out more than another,” McKinley said. “I enjoyed every aspect of being a Tournament Chairmen and I am happy to continue to volunteer at FSGA events.”
