PALM BEACH GARDENS, Fla. – Nov. 9, 2004 – Roger Warren of Kiawah Island, S.C., was elected the 34th President of The Professional Golfers'
Association of America by delegates at the Association's 88th Annual Meeting on Amelia Island, Fla. Warren previously served as Secretary of the Association from 2000-2002 and Vice President from 2002-2004.

Warren succeeds M.G. Orender of Jacksonville, Fla., who will serve on the PGA Board of Directors as Honorary President. Succeeding Warren as Vice President is Brian Whitcomb of Bend, Ore., who served the past two years as PGA Secretary.

Jim Remy of Ludlow, Vt., was elected Secretary. In addition, seven new members of The PGA Board of Directors were sworn into office. The President and officers will lead the more than 28,000 men and women PGA Professionals who play a significant role in the $62 billion a year golf industry.

Warren, 53, is the PGA Director of Golf at Kiawah Island (S.C.) Resort, a position he attained in April 2003. A PGA member since May 1990, Warren is a former high school teacher who coached basketball and golf for 18 years. He served as President of the Illinois PGA Section from 1997-98, Vice President from 1995-96 and Secretary from 1992-94. He was named the 1998 Illinois PGA Golf Professional of the Year. At the national level, Warren currently helps manage the PGA Certified Professional Program, an online career-enhancing educational curriculum. He also has served on The PGA's task force on governance.

Warren also has served on the Illinois PGA Foundation Board of Directors and the Hook-A-Kid on Golf Foundation Board of Directors. He is a past vice president of the Illinois Junior Golf Association. A native of Galesburg, Ill., Warren graduated from Western Illinois University if 1972 with a degree in education. He earned his master's degree in 1981 from Northern Illinois University. From 1973-1986, Warren worked for the Dundee (Ill.) school system and worked summers at The Village Links of Glen Ellyn.

Prior to his current position at Kiawah Island Resort, he was head golf professional at Seven Bridges Golf Course in Woodridge, Ill., in 1991, and then was promoted to general manager and director of golf where he guided a golf shop that was cited as one of "America's 100 Best Golf Shops" in 1991, '96, '97, '98, and '99 by Golf Shop Operations magazine. Warren was named Illinois PGA Merchandiser of the Year for public facilities in 1992. He also was a five-time winner of the Section Bill Strausbaugh Award (1992, '93, '94, '96,'97).

Warren has long been a proponent of continuing education to help PGA Professionals expand their skills beyond teaching to become business leaders. He has served as a member of the Golf Professional Training Program (GPTP) faculty for three years, as well as with the task force that developed CareerLinks, The PGA's job identification service.

Brian Whitcomb, a PGA member for 19 years, began his career in 1978 at the Arizona Biltmore Country Club in Phoenix. In 1981, he leased Paradise Valley Park Golf Course in Phoenix, and built an additional nine holes of golf. In 1989, he designed and built The 500 Club in Phoenix, which he operates with Tom Sneva, the winner of the 1983 Indianapolis 500. In 1992, he designed and built Club West in Phoenix, which he sold in 1998. In 1995, he designed and constructed Lost Tracks Golf Club in Bend, Ore. Whitcomb also has partnered with three of his former employees to build The Golf Club at Beardance in Castle Rock, Colo., the home of the Colorado PGA Section.

Since 1999, Whitcomb has served on the national PGA Properties Board. He also was a member of the national PGA Board of Directors from 1998-2001, representing District 14. From 1989-91, he served on the Southwest PGA Section Board of Directors, and was president from 1995-97. He also has served the Section as Tournament chairperson, Education chairperson and Golf Pass chairperson. In 2001, he was named the Southwest PGA Golf Professional of the Year.

Jim Remy, a PGA member since 1984, is the general manager and director of golf at the Okemo Valley Golf Club in Ludlow, Vt. Remy began his career at the private Worcester Country Club in Worcester, Mass., the site of the first Ryder Cup Matches in the United States. He served as assistant professional at Worcester Country Club and Mount Pleasant Country Club, two of Massachusetts's premier private facilities. After accepting the head golf professional position at Killington Golf Resort in Vermont in 1985, he went on to become the director of golf and summer sports, and eventually the director of golf for the Vermont Divisions for S-K-I Ltd.

In late 1997, Remy accepted a position with Okemo Mountain Resort and became responsible for the construction and development of the Okemo Valley Golf Resort. Today as general manager and director of golf, he is responsible for all aspects of one of New England's leading membership and resort facilities.

Remy, 50, has served in almost every capacity within the New England Section. From 1995-1997 he served as president of the New England Section. Among various awards, he was named the New England PGA Golf Professional of the Year in 1997. He has also served an unprecedented six-and-a-half year term on the National Board of Control, which reviews and rules on membership issues. He was named to the Board in 1997 to finish the term of William A. Mitchell, who passed away, and was then named to his own term in 1999. He took part in nearly 1200 decisions during his more than six years on the Board.

The seven new PGA Board members are: Anthony Austin of Orlando, Fla., Joseph Flogge of Norton, Ohio, Ret. U.S. Air Force Lt. Gen. Normand G. (Norm) Lezy of Garden Ridge, Texas, Kevin Lewis of Green Valley, Ariz., Donald Lyons of Danvers, Mass., Ted O'Rourke of Mendham, N.J., and Zack Veasey of Durham, N.C. The new directors will serve three-year terms.

The PGA Board of Directors is composed of the Association's president, vice president, secretary, honorary president and 17 directors. The directors include representatives from each of The PGA's 14 districts, two Independent Directors and a member of the PGA Tour. New District Directors are elected by their local PGA Sections.

The PGA of America, founded in 1916, is a not-for-profit organization that promotes the game of golf while continuing to enhance the standards of the profession. The Association is comprised of more than 28,000 men and women PGA Professionals who are dedicated to growing participation in the game of golf.

SOURCE The PGA of America