Elias Named Evans Scholar of the Year at MGA Banquet

MGA

EDINA, Minn. (Oct. 28, 2014) – University of Minnesota Evans Scholars Chapter House member Aron Elias was named the 2014 Minnesota Golf Association’s Fritz Corrigan Evans Scholar of the Year Oct. 27 at the MGA’s 114th Annual Awards Dinner at Brackett’s Crossing Country Club in Lakeville. Along with Elias, the MGA honored outstanding players, volunteers and club representatives for their contribution to the amateur game of golf in Minnesota. They include: Glen Hasselberg, as MGA Volunteer of the Year; and the Rochester Golf & Country Club, as MGA Member Club of the Year. 

The evening’s highlights also included recognition of John Valliere, as the 2014 MGA Warren J. Rebholz Distinguished Service Award winner; Sarah Burnham, Olivia Herrick, Leigh Klasse, Jim Lehman, Trent Peterson and Freddy Thomas as the MGA Players of the Year (in six categories, see this link to a press release dated Oct. 22, 2014: www.mngolf.org/News ); three new inductees to the MGA-PGA Minnesota Golf Hall of Fame: Leigh Klasse, Craig Waryan and Lynn Zmistowski (see this link to a press release dated June 18, 2014: www.mngolf.org/News); and the introduction of a new slate of officers to lead the association, led by Kip Colwell, of Edina, Minn. (see the above press release dated Oct. 22).  

The MGA Fritz Corrigan Evans Scholar of the Year award is bestowed annually to the Evans Scholar from the University of Minnesota Evans Scholars Chapter House for outstanding achievement in academics, leadership and community service. Elias was the lone finalist for this year’s award. 

Elias, a senior at the University of Minnesota majoring in applied economics, caddied at Golden Valley Golf & Country Club. He is serving his second term as the University of Minnesota Evans Scholars president. In 2013, Elias was elected vice president of the Evans Scholars National Committee and was instrumental in coordinating the annual Evans Scholars Winter Outing and Golf Ball in Chicago, attended by more than 500 active Evans Scholars. This year, he was voted president, representing all Evans Scholars at events such as the BMW Championship at Cherry Hills in Denver, Colo. Elias is one of a select group of Evans Scholars to have been named to the national committee two consecutive years. 

In Minnesota, Elias received the Adelor J. Petit New Scholar of the Year award in 2012, voted top new scholar by his fellow chapter members. He intends to pursue a career in commodity trading or financial consulting after graduation.  

The Chick Evans Scholarship program is a four-year college scholarship for deserving caddies, sponsored by the Western Golf Association in association with the MGA. There are currently 865 Evans Scholars attending 19 universities around the country.

In 1996, the MGA renamed the Evans Scholar of the Year award in honor of Fritz Corrigan, a long-time supporter of the Evans Scholarship program who helped establish the Evans Scholars Chapter House at the University of Minnesota. 

President’s Award
Also known as the Volunteer of the Year, the MGA President’s Award was given to Glen Hasselberg of The Vintage at Staples golf club in Staples, Minn., for his exceptional volunteer service for more than two decades. Hasselberg, 65, of Staples, began volunteering for the MGA in 1998 as a regional vice president. He has served as a tournament volunteer since 2001, and as a member of the Tournament and Rules committee since 2009. Hasselberg has also been actively involved with the MGA Junior Program since 2000, serving as both a district and regional site captain.  

In attitude, actions and rapport with colleagues, staff, tournament players and spectators, Glen Hasselberg truly epitomizes the spirit of the MGA President’s Award, says Ken Gerzsenyi, MGA president. 

Member Club of the Year
The Rochester Golf & Country Club was named 2014 MGA Member Club of the Year. The honor is based on the facility’s support of the MGA Associate Members’ program, involvement with the MGA Junior Program, and willingness to host MGA championships and qualifiers.  

Rochester Golf & Country Club, a historic 18-hole A.W. Tillinghast-designed facility located just west of the Mayo Clinic, first opened for play in 1915. In its 99-year history, RG&CC has graciously hosted numerous MGA championships, qualifiers and events, including: Four USGA qualifiers, two Minnesota State Junior Boys’ Championships, six Minnesota Women’s State Championships, five MGA State Amateur Championships, one MGA Players’ Championship, one MGA Mid-Amateur Championship, seven MGA Senior Tour events, seven MGA Associate Member Days, the 1993 U.S. Women’s Mid-Amateur Championship and the 2010 Women’s Western Amateur. The club is scheduled to host the 2015 MGA Mid-Amateur Championship, along with the Somerby Golf Club of Byron, Minn.  

RG&CC actively supports the MGA’s non-profit mission through a large and active MGA Associate Members program, which includes nearly 420 golfers, and has assumed an active role in adopting new handicap software and hardware testing. 

The club received a plaque and will be featured in the 2015 Directory issue of Minnesota Golfer, the official publication of the MGA. 

About Brackett’s Crossing Country Club
Brackett’s Crossing has been an active supporter of amateur golf and MGA championships since the early 1970s. In that time, Brackett’s Crossing has hosted numerous MGA qualifiers and championships including: the 1973 and 2009 MGA Senior Amateur Four-Ball Championships, the 1993 MGA Amateur Championship, the 2003 MGA Mid-Amateur, the 2006 MGA Mixed Amateur Team Championship, and the 2012 MGA Women’s Mid-Amateur. In addition, Brackett’s Crossing has hosted several MGA Senior Tour events, as well as MGA Junior Team qualifiers. In 2012, Brackett’s Crossing was named the MGA Member Club of the Year. 

Brackett’s Crossing actively supports the MGA’s non-profit mission through a large and active MGA Associate Members program, which includes more than 520 golfers, and has assumed an active role in adopting new handicap software and hardware testing. 

About the MGA
Established in 1901, with the formation by seven golf clubs to organize the state’s most prestigious and storied golf championship, the MGA Amateur Championship, the Minnesota Golf Association is today the governing body over amateur golf in the state, responsible for administering the Rules of Golf, and committed to upholding and promoting the game of golf and its values for all golfers in Minnesota. 

The MGA conducts 15 major amateur championships and 14 USGA qualifying events each year. Thanks to the support of its member clubs and associate members, and the efforts of its volunteers and staff, the MGA provides a variety of services such as handicapping, course rating and measuring, an online golf news and information resource, www.mngolf.org, and an official publication, Minnesota Golfer magazine, which benefit all golfers throughout Minnesota. 


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