Virginia Golfer January/February 2025 January/February 2025 | Page 8

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Service Award Recipients Con ’ t .

Dr . Mike Goatley , Virginia Tech
dar year . Visit VSGA . org / vip / scholarship-foundation / scholars-circle for more information .
Applications for 2025 VSGA-VIP Scholarship Foundation awards are available at VSGA . org as well . The deadline to submit an application is Friday , February 14 at 11:59 p . m .
championship to Virginia . Crowley ’ s son , Andrew , qualified for the event and hit the first tee shot at Kinloch ’ s No . 1 during the first round of stroke-play qualifying .
Volunteer of the Year : Duncan Haley , who has served as volunteer coordinator for numerous State Opens of Virginia and was heavily involved in the volunteer coordination at the U . S . Mid-Amateur , specifically regarding the two rounds of stroke play qualifying hosted at Independence Golf Club .
Service to Golf : Mike Hott , who recently announced his retirement after nearly 33 years at Salisbury Country Club . Hott , the club ’ s director of golf , played collegiately at Christopher Newport University and began his career at Salisbury in 1992 . Hott has been a longtime member of the selection committee for the Virginia Golf Hall of Fame .
Grow the Game Award : Mike Goatley . Goatley is involved in growing the sport at the literal grassroots level in his position as Virginia ’ s Turfgrass Extension Specialist at Virginia Tech . Goatley has played a major role in the relationship between the school and Independence
Golf Club , where Virginia Tech has a turfgrass research facility . After earning bachelor ' s and master ’ s degrees at the University of Kentucky , Goatley earned a Ph . D . in crop and soil sciences at Virginia Tech in 1988 . He then moved to Mississippi State University , where he served on the faculty of the Plant and Soil Services Department for 15 years before returning to Blacksburg in 2004 . Goatley earned the Professional Grounds Management ’ s Gold Medal Award in 2023 .
Scholars Circle The VSGA-VIP Scholarship Foundation recently announced the creation of the Scholars Circle . Donors who contribute at least $ 1,000 to either the general scholarship fund or any of the VSGA ’ s dedicated scholarships in the calendar year will become part of the Scholars Circle and receive special recognition in the VSGA ’ s Annual Impact Report and Virginia Golfer Magazine , as well as invitations to exclusive events , including , but not limited to , VSGA Scholarship Day .
Donations can be made in one lump sum or spread throughout the calen-
Global Golf Post All-Amateur Teams Three VSGA members earned firstteam recognition on Global Golf Post ’ s year-ending All-Amateur teams . Evan Beck , U . S . Mid-Amateur champion , earned first-team all men ’ s Mid-Amateur honors . Lauren Greenlief , VSGA Women ’ s Amateur champion and U . S . Women ’ s Mid-Amateur semifinalist , was a first-team all women ’ s Mid-Amateur pick . Matt Sughrue , U . S . Senior Amateur semifinalist , was named to the first-team all Senior Men ’ s Amateur team .
Beck and Greenlief were also involved in winning U . S . efforts at the Concession Cup , held in November in Savannah , Ga . The Concession Cup is a Ryder Cup-style competition featuring top mid-amateurs and seniors from the U . S . facing off against their counterparts from Europe .
The 2024 Concession Cup featured the first women ’ s competition in event history . The U . S . men won 15-9 , while the American women claimed a 14.5-9.5 victory . Greenlief went 3-0-0 in her matches ; Beck went 1-0-2 .
AJGA Honors VSGA Amateur and State Open of Virginia champion Logan Reilly also had a strong year on the national junior stage , a big reason why he earned first-team American Junior Golf Association All-American honors . Reilly played on the U . S . Junior Presidents Cup squad , going 3-0-0 as the Americans won convincingly . Additionally , two VSGA members picked up honorable mention All-America honors — Jake Albert and Benjamin Baker .
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6 V IRGINIA G OLFER | J ANUARY / F EBRUARY 2025 vsga . org