MARIETTA, Ga. – Greg Butterfield of Smyrna was elected president of the Georgia State Golf Association for a one-year term, highlighting the Association’s 2011 Annual Meeting held at Cherokee Town Club in Atlanta, January 22.
Butterfield, who is a member of The Frog Golf Club at the Georgian in Villa Rica, has been a GSGA volunteer since 1998, was elected to the Board of Directors in 2005 and named to the Executive Committee in 2006. Early on, Butterfield worked primarily in the area of rules and competitions, but now splits his time between tournament and membership committees. He is also a member of the USGA Public Links Committee.
Butterfield has lived in Georgia since 1981, and is a partner in the Terryberry Company, which specializes in employee recognition. He received his bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the University of New Hampshire. He and his wife, Kathy, have a son, Devon and daughter, Morgan.
Chuck Palmer of Atlanta was elected for a one-year term as president-elect. He will serve in this capacity and then become president upon the conclusion of Butterfield’s service.
Palmer, a partner with Troutman Sanders LLP in Atlanta, served as GSGA’s General Counsel from 2007 through 2010. His relationship with the GSGA extends back much further, however, as he was one of the first turfgrass scholarship recipients of the newly-formed Georgia State Golf Foundation in the late 1970s. The Foundation is the charitable arm of the Georgia State Golf Association.
Palmer earned a degree in turf management from the University of Georgia, and then worked as a golf professional and a golf course superintendent before earning his law degree. A member of East Lake Golf Club, Palmer has served on various committees associated with The TOUR Championship and the U.S. Amateur, and also served as chairman of the Advisory Board of Governors. Palmer and his wife, Kathie, have two children, James and Kate.
William Blalock of Atlanta, a member of Capital City Club, was elected to serve a one-year term as secretary-treasurer.
Dave Ballard of Roswell (Indian Hills Country Club) was elected to a second three-year term on the Executive Committee. New members elected for three-year terms to the Executive Committee were Carey Brown of Atlanta (Cherokee Town and Country Club), Jim Coleman of Acworth (Brookstone Golf and Country Club) and Belinda Marsh of Johns Creek (Rivermont Golf and Country Club). Other Executive Committee members who will continue in their current terms during 2011 are Lee Cassady of Savannah (The Landings Club), Olivia Flanagan of Albany (Doublegate Country Club) and Robert F. Fowler of Sandy Springs (Capital City Club).
Chris Cupit of Milton (Rivermont Golf and Country Club), whose term as president concluded at the 2011 Annual Meeting, becomes an ex-officio member of the Executive Committee as immediate past president while Butterfield serves as president.
Also continuing as an ex-officio member of the Executive Committee is Georgia State Golf Foundation president Chuck Kennedy of Atlanta (Peachtree Golf Club). Richard Gerakitis of Atlanta (Ansley Golf Club) joins the Executive Committee as its general counsel.
GSGA welcomed four new members to the Board of Directors: Tom Duke of Norcross (Atlanta Country Club), Mark Esoda of Marietta (Atlanta Country Club), Don Marsh of Johns Creek (Rivermont Golf and Country Club) and Ed Sweeney of Alpharetta (Alpharetta Athletic Club-East).
Kurt Faxon of Savannah becomes a Senior Director after serving 10 years on the board. Senior Directors Lee Burton of St. Simons Island and Paul Murphy of Fayetteville have retired from the Board to become Directors Emeritus in 2011.
The management of the Georgia State Golf Association is vested in its Board of Directors. The Board meets annually to review the activity of the Association, transact any business and elect a new slate of officers and directors. The GSGA Executive Committee, which includes the Officers, meets quarterly to manage the business affairs of the Association between annual meetings.