“ I was the first assistant and coordinated member events and charity tournaments ,” said Hanna .
After further honing his skills in Atlanta , Hanna soon found his way to the Show Me State , accepting a position at Loch Lloyd in 2013 as its Director of Golf . A year later , Loch Lloyd hosted the Watson Challenge . During that event , a fortuitous conversation between himself and Brad Demo , former Executive Director / CEO of the Section , opened yet another door of opportunity for Hanna : section governance .
“ Adam is not from the area and brings a whole new flavor and his own playbook to what we are doing ,” stated Hanna . “ We are excited to see how he does things his way while at the same time keeping some of the things in place that Brad did .”
As for being honored with the Golf Professional of the Year award in late 2022 at the Section ’ s annual meeting , Hanna takes this well-deserved recognition in stride .
“ It is both an honor and quite humbling to be voted by your peers for this award ,” said Hanna .
Away from work , Hanna enjoys spending time with his wife , Kathy , and their three daughters , Monica , Abby , Maddy , and their son Dominic .
“ I definitely take advantage of my days off ,” said Hanna smiling , who admits to a love of all sporting events and will forever tip his hat to the New York Yankees .
No matter what Hanna does on or off the course , his thoughts will continue to line up with what he can do to support the Section as best as he can .
Robert Streb took the win from Tom Watson in the 2014 Watson Challenge tournament at Loch Lloyd with birdies on five of the first six holes on the final nine , and six of the last nine holes for a course record 8-under par 64 , and a tournament record 208 , which was also eight under . ( 2014 photo by Alan Hoskins )
“ Brad asked me if I would be interested in doing something like that ,” said Hanna , whose resume in that regard began with the role of District Director , a position he assumed for one year before moving on to become Section Secretary , and then Vice President for two years . Now in his first year as President , Hanna is highly enthusiastic and optimistic about the year ahead .
“ I am most excited to work with our new Executive Director , Adam Greeno ,” said Hanna . “ We look forward to helping him along in his journey . Brad served the Section in his role for 17 years , and those are some pretty big shoes to fill . So , we are here to help Adam with a successful transition .”
Hanna indicated it should be a fun opportunity for Greeno , and he is more than willing to offer his full support in this regard , as well as rally further assistance from the entire Section .
“ It will be a busy year for us and for Adam ,” said Hanna . “ As professionals within the game of golf , we are truly in a customer service business . We appreciate all it represents : integrity , sportsmanship , and standing alongside our members for whom we work and who we see just as much as we see our own families . However , none of this ever feels like work .”
Hanna indicated that a career in golf can take one down any number of paths . He clearly has found a way to blaze his own trail while still keeping his heart focused on the service aspect of the game .
“ Although I did teach early on , I have always liked the business side of the game , and this is probably where I will remain ,” he affirmed .
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Ann Butenas is a contributing writer for the Midwest Section PGA . For more information about the Midwest Section PGA , call 816.229.6493 or visit
www . midwest . pga . com .