The WGA’s Evans Scholars honored as the 2010 Walking Golfer of the Year

WGA’s Evans Scholars Foundation honored as the 2010 Walking Golfer of the Year
Award sponsored by The MacKenzie Golf Bag Company

PORTLAND, Ore. (January 18, 2011) – The Evans Scholars Foundation, sponsored by the Western Golf Association, has received the “2010 Walking Golfer of the Year” award for its passionate commitment to the walking game of golf. Members of The Walking Golfers Society chose The Evans Scholars from a list of worthy candidates.

“The Evans Scholars Foundation exemplifies the positive impact that the great walking game of golf can have on society by providing full four-year scholarships to young motivated high school senior caddies with stellar academic records who would not be able to attend college without financial support,” said Rob Rigg, founder of The Walking Golfers Society. “We are honored that they have accepted the award for the 2010 Walking Golfer of the Year and thank them for encouraging our next generation of leaders to embrace golf as a walking game.”

The Western Golf Association was formed in 1899 to promote golf in what then was considered the western region of the United States. In 1929, famed golfer Chick Evans Jr., asked the WGA to administer the fund he had established some years earlier to send deserving caddies to college. He could think of no finer organization to entrust his legacy and grow his vision. In 1930, the WGA awarded its first two scholarships to caddies Harold Fink and Jim McGinnis. The WGA currently awards more than 200 full tuition and housing awards annually, with 850 Evans Scholars enrolled at 18 universities. An estimated 100,000 golfers contribute each year in Chick’s honor to the Evans Scholars Program to help the WGA meet annual tuition and housing costs that exceed $11 million.

“We truly appreciate receiving this honor from The Walking Golfers Society,” said WGA President & CEO John Kaczkowski. “We believe golf is best enjoyed as a walking game. Supporting our mission to help send young caddies to college is one way the greater golf community helps to preserve the tradition and value of walking.”

A leather plaque, created by Oregon craftsman Larry Eisenbach of Ray-Gun Imagery, and a MacKenzie Walker leather golf bag, crafted by The MacKenzie Golf Bag Company, were presented to the WGA during an Evans Scholars Selection Committee meeting at North Shore Country Club in Glenview, Ill., on Jan. 15. Rigg, and Todd Rohrer, president of The MacKenzie Golf Bag Company, represented The Walking Golfers Society and presented the awards. Jeff Harrison, Vice President of Education for the WGA and Evans Scholars Foundation, joined Kaczkowski in accepting on behalf of their members.

The Walking Golfers Society was founded in early 2009, along with TheWalkingGolfer.com, to promote the many benefits of walking when you golf. The Society has over 500 hundred members across the U.S. and around the world. There is no membership fee to join The Walking Golfers Society, just a passion for enjoying golf as a walking game. For more information, please visit www.thewalkinggolfer.com.

The MacKenzie Golf Bag Company was founded in 1985. Its leather golf bags are carried by thousands of passionate walking golfers around the world and each one is constructed by hand at a shop in Portland, Ore. More information can be found at www.themackenziegolfbagcompany.com.

Contacts:
Rob Rigg
The Walking Golfers Society
rob.rigg@thewalkinggolfer.com

Todd Rohrer
MacKenzie Golf Bags
todd@themackenziegolfbagcompany.com