Two new voices and an SoHG veteran have been elected to the 2018 board
(The following report is taken from the 2018 Autumn Wee Nip magazine.)
Greg Smith
Rob Ahlschwede
Deal Hudson
December 2018 – Virginian Deal Hudson and Wisconsinite Greg Smith have been elected to three-year terms on the SoHG board. Board incumbent and SoHG equipment chair Rob Ahlschwede has been elected to a second three-year term. All terms begin with Jan. 1, 2018.
Final vote tallies were:
Rob Ahlschwede – 138
Greg Smith – 110
Deal Hudson – 90
Bo Turocy – 77
Jeremy Rahn – 57
Candidates Bo Turocy of South Carolina, and Jeremy Rahn of Michigan fell a bit short in voting, but their willingness to serve has all of us hoping they will volunteer to serve on a committee or keep an eye on 2019 when three new seats will come vacant.
Hudson, of Fairfax, Va., is known to many SoHG members and hickory golfers as he is a regular in many tournaments around the country. An academic philosopher with degrees from Mercer, Fordham and NYU, Hudson is a published author whose books explore the search for meaning and truth as well as political power among Catholics in the U.S. He served as head of the first Catholic Advisory Group to the White House under the George W. Bush administration.
Hudson is an admirer of Bobby Jones and his achievements both as a man, a golfer, and an author. He places Arnold Haultain’s The Mystery of Golf, as one of the best books on golf yet written.
Greg Smith, of DeForest, Wisc., is a fan of pre-1900 golf and a long-time participant in the National Hickory Championship, where he is usually accompanied by his wife, Ann, who sets the fashion stage at that event with her beautiful Victorian dresses and hats. Smith is active with the Wisconsin Hickory Golfers and was instrumental in organizing the Wisconsin Gutty Challenge as well as the 2016 U.S. HIckory Open on the Links of Lawsonia. Smith also has fundraising experience with golf tournaments and has been a volunteer for both PGA and USGA events in Wisconsin.
Rob Ahlschwede, of Olympia, Wash., is an old hand in hickory golf. He was one of the original organizers of the Society of Hickory Golfers, a long-time equipment chairman for the group, and has already served a three-year term on the board. This is his second term.
Ahlschwede, like Smith, has a long history with the NHC and is one of the founders of the NW Hickory Players, which organizes hickory golf outings in the great northwest.
The three men take up their seats during a time when the SoHG is trying to refine its operations, build a sustainable international hickory presence, and pursue a stronger collaboration with the Golf Collectors Society and that group’s evolving nature.
Others on the 2018 SoHG board are:
Bill Geisler, president; Ed Ronco, VP and president-elect; Durel Billy, Ben Hollerbach, Bill Reed, and Richard Schmidt. Walter Bills is the SoHG’s treasurer and Andy Moye is the membership chairman. Jim Davis continues to serve the Society as its executive secretary, Wee Nip editor, and chief website poster. Eric Johnson and Rich Grula handle the heavy lifting when it comes to the look and operation of the website.
Leaving the board are its secretary Barb Kopec and Bill “Ernie” Ernst. Both will be much missed. Ernie was instrumental in developing a set of guidelines for future USHO committees that should make their jobs much easier.