In a historic announcement, the Missouri Golf Association (MGA) and the Missouri Women’s Golf Association (MWGA) have announced a major merger of the two organizations. The MGA and the MWGA have operated separately since the MWGA was formed in 1937, but under this agreement the MWGA will cease to exist and the two parallel organizations will become one. Under the proposed merger, the combined organization will retain the name of Missouri Golf Association and will proudly represent and serve the golfers and member clubs of Missouri.
The officers and directors of both organizations have been discussing and negotiating the terms of the merger during much of the past year and it was approved at a recent MGA board meeting.
The consolidated structure would create one governing board comprising men and women and a melding of enhanced services including grow the – game initiatives, championships, member events, junior golf, handicapping, course rating, volunteer resources and opportunities, communications, marketing and business operations.
President of the MGA Denny Payne says “The combination of these organizations will create a much larger and more diverse entity that will be better equipped to serve golfers of all skill levels throughout Missouri”
Scott Hovis, MGA Executive Director, and whose shoulders the merger rests on, said, “The Missouri Golf Association will continue our strong support of women’s golf and we believe there are many opportunities for growth of the women’s game in Missouri. The past five years we have enjoyed administering the MWGA events and daily functions here at the MGA office. I am very excited along with our team to take women’s golf in Missouri to another level.”
Nancy Sebastian President of the Missouri Women’s Golf Association (MWGA) states “After enjoying a very successful partnership with the Missouri Golf Association (MGA) for five years and researching other successful state models, the Board of Directors of the Missouri Women’s Golf Association(MWGA) decided a full merger was in the best interest of women’s golf in our state. We are very excited to go forward with our MGA partners to promote golf while respecting the history of MWGA.”
