Neujahr, PGA, named third-ever at-large director
FRISCO, Texas – PGA of America Golf Professionals Joel Burger, Tim Fires, Cathy Matthews-Kane and David Reasoner were elected to the PGA of America Board of Directors during the 107th PGA Annual Meeting in Frisco, Texas, at the Omni PGA Frisco Resort and PGA Frisco, the home of the PGA of America.
Additionally, Dawn Neujahr, PGA, was named the third-ever At-Large Director. The newly elected Board Members will each serve three-year terms.
The PGA of America Board of Directors is composed of the President, Vice President, Secretary and 19 Directors who establish Association policy. The Directors include representatives from each of the Association’s 14 Districts, three Independent Directors, an At-Large Member Director and a Player Director, who is a member of the PGA TOUR.
The addition of a PGA of America Golf Professional as an at-large director started in 2019 and brings greater expertise to the Board, balances representation and increases diversity, enabling Officers and the Board to better recruit and cultivate talent. The at-large PGA board director also will increase PGA Section representation. Neujahr follows in the footsteps of PGA of America Master Professional Cathy Harbin and PGA of America Hall of Fame Member Renee Powell as At-Large Director.
“It’s an honor to serve alongside such a distinguished group of mentors and leaders on the PGA of America Board of Directors,” said PGA of America President John Lindert, PGA Director of Golf at The Country Club of Lansing in Lansing, Michigan. “These passionate PGA of America Members, who love the game, volunteer their time and share a common goal of working tirelessly to elevate our profession, ensuring golf is well positioned for future growth and success.”
District 2: David Reasoner, PGA – The Ridgewood Country Club – Paramus, New Jersey
Metropolitan, New Jersey and Philadelphia PGA Sections
District 4: Tim Fries, PGA – Glen Oak Golf Club – Buffalo, New York
Central New York, Tri-State and Western New York PGA Sections
District 8: Joel Burger, PGA, – Wexford Golf – Edina, Minnesota
Iowa, Minnesota and Nebraska PGA Sections
District 9: Cathy Matthews-Kane, PGA – Country Club of Colorado – Colorado Springs, Colorado
Colorado, Rocky Mountain, Utah Sections
At-Large Director: Dawn Neujahr, PGA – Champions Run – Omaha, Nebraska.
New PGA of America Board Members
District 2 Director David Reasoner, PGA, Head Professional at The Ridgewood Country Club in Paramus, New Jersey, has been a PGA of America Member since 2002. Reasoner is a PGA of America National Award winner as the recipient of the 2019 Bill Strausbaugh Award. This award recognizes a PGA of America Golf Professional who demonstrates exceptional character, integrity and leadership by way of teaching and mentoring other PGA Professionals. Additionally, he has won multiple awards at the PGA Section Level, including New Jersey PGA Golf Professional of the Year (2015, 2018), the Bill Strausbaugh Award (2012, 2013, 2016, 2017) and the PGA of America Merchandiser of the Year Award (2013, 2015). Reasoner has made it his mission to mentor other PGA of America Golf Professionals, and in his 20 years as Head Professional at Ridgewood Country Club he has helped counsel Assistant Professionals to greater success, with many moving on to become Head Professionals, Directors of Golf and General Managers. His commitment to service includes being an Officer for the NJPGA Section, including a stint as President (2018-19), and he is currently the Vice President of the New Jersey Golf Foundation, the charitable arm of the NJPGA. Reasoner will represent the Metropolitan, New Jersey and Philadelphia PGA Sections.
District 4 Director Tim Fries, PGA, Owner/Operator of Glen Oak Golf Club in Buffalo, New York, has been a PGA of America Member since 1991. A Past President of the Western New York PGA Section (2005-07), he previously served as the District 4 Director from 2015-17. He also continues to serve as the Foundation President of PGA REACH Western New York. Fries is a two-time recipient of Western New York PGA Golf Professional of the Year Award (2002 and ‘16), a four-time Section Bill Strausbaugh Award winner (2006, ‘11, ‘13 and ‘16) and has earned numerous other Section awards. In 2019, he was inducted into the WNYPGA Hall of Fame. Fries has won more than 40 WNYPGA events including six Section PGA Professional Championships, has competed in seven national PGA Professional Championships and three Senior PGA Professional Championships, culminating in playing at Harbor Shores, Michigan, in the 77th Senior PGA Championship. Fries is a four-time Section Assistant Champion, the 1998 Western New York PGA Player of the Year and the 2014 Section Senior Player of the Year. Fries will represent the Central New York, Tri-State and Western New York PGA Sections.
District 8 Director Joel Burger, PGA, the Chief Executive Officer of WEXFORD in Edina, Minnesota, has been a PGA of America Member since 1997. A graduate from the PGA Golf Management program at New Mexico State University, Burger is a well-respected PGA Member, committed to service and volunteerism. A multi-award winner at the section level including the Professional Development Award (2005) and Assistant Professional of the Year (2004), Burger has served as a longtime Minnesota PGA Section Board Member and is certified in Golf Operations and Executive Management. He was a regular on the Education Committee and also served as a Section Officer, including a stint as President in 2016-2018. Additionally, he is the current Chairman of the Board for Minnesota PGA subsidiary, Minnesota Golf Charity Events. Burger leads a team at WEXFORD, a golf and real estate firm which offers management, development and brokerage services. This includes operations at StoneRidge Golf Club, a Bobby Weed designed golf course in Stillwater, Minnesota, which consistently ranks among the top public courses in the region. Additionally, Burger led the development of PGA MSP, the award-winning and first-of-its-kind indoor golf facility and lounge located at the MSP (Minneapolis/St. Paul) Airport, which opened in 2015. He will represent the Iowa, Minnesota and Nebraska PGA Sections.
District 9 Director Cathy Matthews-Kane, PGA, General Manager at the Country Club of Colorado in Colorado Springs, Colorado, has been a PGA of America Member since 2007. Among her career accomplishments, Matthews-Kane is the second female President to serve the Colorado PGA Section since its inception in 1957. A native of Canada, she has been an active Member of the Association for the past 15 years, serving in volunteer roles as a Trustee for the charitable arm of the COPGA, Finance Committee, Employment Committee and numerous other National PGA of America Committees on top of her duties as GM at The Country Club of Colorado. A graduate of Iowa State University with a Bachelor of Science degree in Exercise and Sport Science, she was a three-time academic All-American, four-year Varsity letter winner and co-captain of the women’s golf team. In 2005, she was named Colorado PGA Assistant Professional of the Year; in 2006, she was cited as a “Top 25 Assistant Professional” by Golf World Magazine; in 2009, she was honored as the Colorado Hotel & Lodging Association’s “Employee of the Year.” In 2012, Matthews-Kane earned her MBA from the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs, and she is a Certified PGA of America Professional in Executive Management. She will represent the Colorado, Rocky Mountain and Utah PGA Sections.
At-Large Director Dawn Neujahr, PGA, Merchandiser at Champions Run in Omaha, Nebraska, has been a PGA of America Member since 1996. She is the third-ever At-Large Director of the PGA of America. A Member of the Nebraska PGA Section, she became the first woman to be elected as President of the Nebraska PGA Section in 2021, after serving two-year terms as Secretary and Vice President. In addition, she has served on the Junior Golf, Public Relations, Player Development and Tournament Committees within the Section. Neujahr has also served on the Board of Directors of PGA REACH Nebraska, the charitable arm of the Section. She played a vital role in the foundation’s growth and its programming. Since 2014, Neujahr has served on the PGA of America Membership Committee where she was instrumental in advocating for a resolution to add an inclusionary statement to the PGA of America’s Constitution in 2022. The resolution passed unanimously. Neujahr participated in the PGA of America’s inaugural PGA LEAD Cohort 1 in 2016. She is the first graduate of the PGA LEAD program to be elected to the Association’s National Board of Directors. Neujahr was named the Nebraska PGA Golf Professional of the Year in 2022, is an eighth-time Nebraska PGA Merchandiser of the year – Private Award recipient and received the Section’s Bill Strausbaugh Award in 2017.
