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 KYM
HOUGHAM
Executive Director
Wachovia Tournament
By: Suzanne Fetscher
Tim Newman introduced our speaker, Kym Hougham. Kym was hired as the
executive director of the Wachovia Championship in May 2002, giving him only
eleven months to prepare for the first-ever Wachovia Championship event. He
was certainly up to the challenge. His mandate and the mission statement for
the Championship was: to provide a world-class tournament experience for
players, customers, patrons, communities, and television viewers; offer a
purse that ranks in the top tier among PGA Tour events; raise significant
funds for charity; have significant economic impact; and showcase the
Carolinas to a national and international television audience.
Kym stated several times during his presentation how happy and relieved he
is that the first tournament is over. Now, he is focused on doing it even
better next year. He and his team are well ahead of their timetable of last
year. They are already doing things now that they didn’t get to until
November last year. There were enormous expectations for the first
tournament. By all measurements, the event was an enormous success. In fact,
it was so successful that it has impacted the way others are putting on
events in the PGA.
According to Kym, the players had a “love fest” with Quail Hollow golf
course. And, of the top twenty players in the PGA, only three were missing
(Tiger, Ernie, and Phil - Phil promises to play next year). The spectators
were knowledgeable, enthusiastic, and polite. The prize money totaled $5.6
million, the largest of any PGA event that is a regular tournament. The
economic impact to the Charlotte region is estimated to have been $40 – $60
million. The charity is Teach for America and the contribution will be made
this fall.
A very important element driving a successful event at this level is the
staff and volunteer support. Kym stated that he was very fortunate to have
hired or benefited by volunteers who had extensive PGA tournament experience
and/or were very familiar with Charlotte and could assist in making things
happen here. Over 2300 volunteers participated in the event.
Kym stated that three things make a successful or unsuccessful event:
tickets, traffic, and toilets. While traffic wasn’t a problem, they hadn’t
anticipated how many spectators would ride bicycles to the tournament. At
its height, there were 275 bicycles parked at the tournament site and more
and more bicycle racks were required to handle the overflow.
Another anecdote was that Mercedes loaned the tournament 200 gray Mercedes
for the players to use – a valet’s nightmare. Next year they requested to
have cars of at least three different colors.
McKenzie and Co. was hired to evaluate the tournament. They were on hand
during the event and afterward sent out 2000 surveys to spectators to
measure their level of satisfaction. They had a 30% response rate to the
survey; 86% were satisfied with their overall experience; 75% were satisfied
with transportation and entertainment; 86% were satisfied with ticket
ordering and fulfillment; and 86% were satisfied with volunteers and staff.
Next year’s tournament dates are May 3 – 9. Ticket sales will begin around
October 1; weekly tickets will go on sale November 15; and single-day
tickets will be on sale in time for the holidays. When frequently asked what
is it like to plan such an enormous event, Kym said “Just imagine planning a
wedding for 185,000 guests!”
Head Table:
Mary Mack, Gene Bratek, Tim Newman, Tom Robertson,
Benton Bragg, Robbie Ray; Invocation: Paul Betzold
Visitors and Guests:
Doug Booth; Health & Happiness: Jamie McLawhorn; Club
Education: Phil Volponi; Song: David Erdman
PLEASE NOTIFY YOUR ACCOUNTING DEPARTMENT
NEW ADDRESS FOR THE ROTARY CLUB:
841 BAXTER STREET, SUITE 118, CHARLOTTE 28202
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The 4-Way Test |
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Randall Groves won a bottle
of wine from Don Haack’s vineyard when asked to recite the 4-Way Test.
Be prepared!
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Is it the
TRUTH?
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Is it
FAIR to all concerned?
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Will it build GOODWILL and better Friendships?
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Will it
be BENEFICIAL to all concerned?
You could be rewarded with a crisp $10 bill
or a bottle of wine from Don Haack’s vineyard if you’re able to recite
the above when asked at a meeting.
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2003-04 RI
Theme |
9/11 Scholarship Golf Classic Update |
Phil Volponi announced the Automobile
Dealers Association of Charlotte has signed on as a two-year Title
sponsor for the Golf Classic. Great work! The committee also asked
for 10 to 12 unique items that could be used for the silent
auction. Questions about how you can help support the tournament?
Contact Sandy at the Rotary office or any member of the committee.
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Jim Adams |
Marilynn Bowler |
Wes Clark |
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John Granzow |
Ron Kimble |
John Lassiter |
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Mike Rash |
Chip Scholz |
Ed
Turner |
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Phil Volponi |
Worth Williamson |
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NEW MEMBER
BALLOT |
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The Classification and Membership Committee
recommend and the Directors approve for consideration for all members,
the following NEW MEMBER. Should you question the eligibility of any
nominee, please call the Rotary Office by August 19th.
You will be contacted by a member of the Board. Otherwise, no reply is
necessary and election will proceed according to our bylaws. |
Sharon A. O’Morrow (Sharon)
Classification: Health Services-Non Profit
Arthritis Foundation Carolinas Chapter
Proposed By: Luther Moore
Endorsers: Jim Adams and David Erdman |
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| MEMBERSHIP
in the Rotary Club of Charlotte stands at 316. Thirteen proposed members
have been voted into the club and are waiting to be introduced.
Applications are available in the Rotary office, or you can pick up one
at the next meeting. The person proposing the member must sign the
application, as well as two endorsers. Be sure to provide a little
background of the prospective member before asking a fellow member to
endorse the application. To the extent possible, at least one endorser
should be within the same classification as the member being proposed. |
| ROTARY
FOUNDATION NEWS from PDG
Charles Dixon about last year’s contributions from District 7680: “We
have raised $192,560 in cash toward a three year commitment of $330,000
for Polio Eradication. We supported Annual Giving to the tune of
$173,244 against a goal of $140,000. Lesser amounts of $15,630 in
Restricted Giving and $6,242 for the Permanent Fund brought the total
Foundation support (including Polio) to $387,676 for the year.” |
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z
In this week’s Observer,
Thomas Moore provided the back
to school list for grown-ups: more parental involvement; more
opportunities at school for students to write; less emphasis on tests;
more free time for children; honey, not vinegar; and more room to
grow.
z
The “Underground Detour” performed its
first Rolling Stone (not to be confused with Rolling Stones) concert
at last week’s Dilworth Jubilee. Three members of the band have strong
Rotary connections: Al Allison
on keyboard, Mike Rash
on guitar, and David Barnhardt
(Catherine Browning’s
son) on drums. |
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Attendance Record |
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8/12/03 |
8/13/02 |
| visitors & guests |
15 |
12 |
| club members |
189 |
165 |
| total attendance |
204 |
177 |
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Wedding Anniversaries |
20 Sallie & Dick Klingman
20 Pat & George Thompson
21 Hope & Mike Parrott
22 Dianne & Ron Ezell
25 Laura & Fred Brown
25 Dorrie & E.K. Fretwell
25 Linda & Rex Welton |
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Birthdays |
20 Carol Hughes, Washington, DC
21 Jeff Wise, Charlotte, NC
23 Bill Stegelmeyer, New Orleans, LA
25 Chuck Ambrose, Drexel, NC
25 Bill Hillhouse, Anderson, SC |
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New Members - August |
Hunter Widener
Edwin Peacock, III |
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Roaming Rotarians |
| Henry Snead, Englewood, FL |
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