Around The Commonwealth
Richard Smith earned the VSGA’s President’s Award
in 2010 for his service to both the VSGA and the
game of golf.
Honoring the life of Richard Smith,
champion of VSGA junior golf
by CHRIS LANG
J
unior golf was close to Richard Smith’s heart. The former
Virginia State Golf Association’s director of championships, who died on Jan. 18
at the age of 76, retired from
that position in 2008, but his affiliation with
the VSGA was far from done.
After his retirement, Smith played
a key role in the development of what
today is known as the VSGA Junior Golf
Circuit. The program began as the Junior
Golf Club in 2008 and operated primarily
out of Richmond, Williamsburg and
Hampton Roads. By 2011, the program
had expanded to Charlottesville and to
Northern Virginia.
“I am thankful to have known Richard
and to have been given some of his knowledge over the years,” VSGA Junior Golf
Manager Kent Holubar said. “I am proud
to be able to oversee the VSGA junior golf
program, a program that Richard imagined
and help build. We will miss him.”
In the first three years of the Junior Golf
Club, Smith was on site for nearly every
event. He remained on board as a regional
coordinator on the Junior Golf Circuit
through the 2015 season. As news of his
passing spread, the profound impact he had
on the youth of Virginia was clear.
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Social media tributes included:
• Former VSGA Amateur and VSGA Junior
Stroke Play champion Jake Mondy: “Mr.
Smith was a wonderful man, frien