GCSAA CEO Mark J. Woodward, CGCS, will join 10 other new members on the 2009-10 LPGA Commissioner' Advisory Council. LPGA Commissioner Carolyn F. Bivens announced the new council members on Jan. 12, and also named Rae F. Evans, immediate past chairwoman of the LPGA Board of Directors, as the chairperson of the council.

The Commissioner's Advisory Council is a 23-member board comprised of individuals from the corporate, academic, political, philanthropic and cultural arenas. Convened under Bivens' tenure for the first time in September 2006, members of the Commissioners Advisory Council are invited to serve two-year terms. The Commissioner's Advisory Council is gathering for the 2009 session this week at LPGA Headquarters in Daytona Beach, Fla.

"We welcome this talented and diverse advisory group," Bivens said. "As we implement our strategic plan, we are fortunate to have this extraordinary mix of expertise and varied capabilities. Their insight will help us focus on several key initiatives, specifically media exposure and economic empowerment for our members."

"We are extremely pleased that the Commissioner's Advisory Council has recruited individuals with such remarkable vision and experience," Evans said. "Their interest of and dedication to the LPGA and their willingness to lend their time and talents to expand the global reach of the LPGA is phenomenal."

In addition to Woodward, other members of the council include golf legend and GCSAA Old Tom Morris Award winner Nancy Lopez Knight, golf course architect Alice Dye, and recently retired golf great Annika Sorenstam.