A working mom.

I have to admit, one of the hardest things I have ever done is be a working mom. I am still working 2 and a half days a week. It is nice to have a second income, and the benefits working for the PGA provides, but there is one main reason I am still working. About 5 years ago I was hired on at the PGA. After about 2 months of working there, I mustered up the courage to approach the Executive Director about what we need to do to grow girls high school golf. He told me people had been talking about it for years. I said, well then what do we have to do to make it happen instead of just talking about it? The reasoning behind me wanting to see this happen was from my own personal experience. I played golf with the boys in high school, then with the girls in college. What a difference it made to be around girls. I couldn't figure out why girls didn't have their own teams. So, I approached the Utah High School Activities Association with the idea. They told me I had to build my own club sport teams to show them that we had the numbers. So I started a program called "A League of Their Own. I had to find funding, advertise and get a lot of support to pull it off. Well, after 5 years and showing the the High School Activities Association there was plenty of interest, they finally opened up the sport for girls. This is the first time a new sport has been added to Utah High Schools in 18 years!! We had the first Girls Golf State Championships last week. What an experience that was for me. To see these girls who were fairly new to the game and some girls that wouldn't have played any sport at all out there and being part of a team. I'll be honest, I shed a few tears of joy knowing how many lives this program changed. Just to give you an idea of how many girls this has affected... 6 years ago, 12 girls were playing golf in high school. This year, there were over 600 playing. It is so gratifying to know I had something to do with this. I need to stick it out for one more year to see it really get off of the ground, then I will pass the torch. For now, although it is difficult to drop my baby off at his grandma's house, it is a really important adventure for me and I am very proud to play a part in it.

This picture was on the cover of a local golf magazine. I love seeing how happy all of the girls are to have a "League of their Own".