(Rushed?) Friday News Dump: USGA Executive Committee Shuffle
/I left my estate at 2:30 thinking even though it was a Friday, I was safe from the dreaded Friday news dump even though this week had all the makings of an epic news dump alignment.
Lo and behold, the USGA took out the trash in an attempt to shift the discussion from Golf Digest's powerful story on the mess that is the television contract move to Fox Sports. 
What, uh, indicia do we have to suggest Friday afternoon's announcement of Tom O'Toole as the new USGA president--ordinarily good news when a lifelong golf guy gets the job--was an epic news dump?
Friday was September 27, 2013.
The last seven Executive Committee nomination press releases:
- Monday, October 30th, 2006
- Monday, October 29th, 2007
- Monday, October 27th, 2008
- Wednesday, September 29th, 2009
- Monday, October 25th, 2010
- Wednesday, October 19th, 2011
- Thursday, October 25th, 2012
Call me cynical, but I don't believe in coincidences. A month earlier than normal (except 2009) and on a Friday where news goes to die, for the announcement of a new presidential nomination?
Speaking of golf, there are two things to note about today's dump. First, after reading O'Toole's golf-rich bio worthy of a USGA presidency, note how light the nominees are on golf mentions.
And the second? Well it'll make a lot of USGA fanboys may want to take a shower.
For Immediate Release...
USGA ANNOUNCES EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE NOMINATIONS FOR 2014
Far Hills, N.J. (Sept. 27, 2013) – The Nominating Committee of the United States Golf Association today announced the nomination of Thomas J. O’Toole, Jr., of St. Louis, Mo., to serve a one-year term as president of the USGA. The election of officers and the 15-member USGA Executive Committee will take place Feb. 8, 2014, at the USGA’s Annual Meeting at Pinehurst Resort & Country Club in the Village of Pinehurst, N.C.
As president, O’Toole, 56, will lead the USGA’s professional staff of more than 300 and nearly 1,200 volunteers who serve on more than 30 committees.
“I am truly honored and deeply humbled to have been nominated as the next president of the USGA,” said O’Toole. “It has been my privilege to serve the organization for 25 years as a Rules official at the U.S. Open and other USGA championships. During that time, I have come to have deep admiration for the Association and its important work. I look forward to working closely with my colleagues on the Executive Committee and with the talented staff of the organization, led by executive director Mike Davis. Together, we will continue to advance our mission and work with our valued partners across the golf industry to foster the long-term sustainability of this great game.”
O’Toole is in his sixth year as a member of the USGA Executive Committee and second as vice president. Currently, he chairs the Championship and Compensation Committees and also serves on the Audit, Commercial, Handicap, International Team Selection, Management, Rules of Golf and Joint Rules of Golf Committees.
O’Toole has been associated with the USGA since 1988, and has served as a Rules official at more than 125 USGA championships, including every U.S. Open since 1990. He also has been the lead official in conducting more than 125 qualifying rounds for USGA championships. O’Toole has been certified as a Rules of Golf expert each year since 1990, and he has been a consulting member of the Rules of Golf Committee since 2004.
In 1992, he helped to found the Metropolitan Amateur Golf Association, a regional association that serves eastern Missouri and central Illinois. He serves on the executive board of the Association.
O’Toole is a partner in the law firm of Mickes Goldman O’Toole, LLC. He chairs the firm’s Business and Corporate Group, while his practice focuses on real estate, specializing in zoning/land use, condemnation and real estate transactions. He received both his undergraduate degree (1979) and law degree (1985) from St. Louis University.
Four other current members of the Executive Committee have also been nominated to serve as officers. They are: Daniel B. Burton, of Lititz, Pa., and Diana M. Murphy, of St. Simons Island, Ga., as vice presidents; William L. Katz, of Chatham Township, N.J., as secretary; and Mark E. Newell, of McLean, Va., as treasurer.
In addition, Ernest J. Getto, of Santa Barbara, Calif., has been nominated to serve a second term as general counsel for the USGA.
The other seven current members of the Executive Committee nominated to continue their service are: Karen S. Ammerman, M.D., of Webster, Mass.; William E. Fallon, of Pittsburgh, Pa.; William W. Gist IV, of Omaha, Neb.; C. Malcolm Holland III, of Dallas, Texas; Sheila C. Johnson, of Middleburg, Va.; Edward G. Michaels III, of Atlanta, Ga.; and Mark P. Reinemann, of Pewaukee, Wis.
There are three newly nominated candidates for the Executive Committee for 2014: G. Thomas Hough, of Atlanta, Ga.; Asuka Nakahara, of Merion, Pa.; and George J. Still, Jr., of Atherton, Calif.
Now search hard for the g word...
G. Thomas Hough, 58, is a vice chairman of assurance services for the Americas division of Ernst & Young in New York, N.Y. He joined the firm in 1978, became a partner in 1987 and rose to regional managing partner in the Pittsburgh and Atlanta offices before assuming his current role in New York in 2009. Hough is a member of the Rotary Club of Atlanta and a past president of the Sunrise Rotary Club of Birmingham. He has also served on the executive committee of the Metro Atlanta Chamber of Commerce and is a past board member of the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra and trustee of the Woodruff Arts Center. A 1977 graduate of the University of Alabama, where he was a member of the varsity golf team, Hough is a current member of the university’s President’s Cabinet.
Asuka Nakahara, 57, is currently associate director of the Zell-Lurie Real Estate Center at Wharton College. He is a recent recipient of the Helen Kardon Moss Anvil Award, the top Wharton teaching honor. In 2009, he co-founded Triton Atlantic Partners, an advisory firm and investment vehicle focused on distressed real estate. Nakahara began his career as a leasing agent with Trammell Crow Company (TCC) in 1980. He was named a partner in 1983 and chief financial officer in 1996. He retired from the company at the end of 1999. He earned his B.S. in civil engineering with honors from Rice University and an MBA from Harvard Business School in 1980. His board directorships include CBRE Clarion Global Real Estate Income Fund and Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia.
George J. Still Jr., 55, is a partner emeritus at Norwest Venture Partners (NVP), a global venture firm with offices in California, New York, Israel, and India. He currently serves on the board of directors of two public companies: Rackspace, a cloud computing company; and Workday, an enterprise cloud software company where he serves as lead director. Still also serves on the boards of KnowledgeBeat, a non-profit focusing on children’s health in rural Zambia, Africa, and The First Tee of San Francisco, a youth development program. He is a former member of the board of directors of the Lucille Packard Foundation for Children’s Health in Palo Alto, Calif., where he is a current member of the Audit Committee. Still is a graduate of The Pennsylvania State University, and completed an MBA at the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth College.
And now for the retirements...
Three current members of the Executive Committee will retire at the 2014 Annual Meeting: Peter M. Castleman, of Glenbrook, Nev.; Glen D. Nager, of Washington, D.C.; and Gary R. Stevenson, of San Francisco, Calif.
Stevenson would be the same man mentioned in the new Golf Digest story as a key engineer of the Fox Sports deal. It's impossible not to look at his 2-year tenure--minimal in Executive Committee circles--as a ringer role to work on the TV deal and nothing else. After all, Stevenson had not worked his way up the USGA ladder like most before joining the Executive Committee. However, as part of the TV deal, the USGA committee Stevenson ran just happened to partner with Wasserman Media Group, which purchased Stevenson's television consulting firm in 2007.
His bio from two years ago:
Stevenson, 54, is a senior-level sports and entertainment marketing executive whose career spans 30 years. Currently, he serves as president of PAC-12 Enterprises. Previously, he served as chairman and CEO of OnSport, a leading sports marketing and television consulting firm, which was acquired by Wasserman Media Group in 2007. Prior to founding OnSport, Stevenson served in a number of executive roles, including: president, NBA Properties Marketing and Media Group; and chief operating officer of Golf Channel.
Like I said fanboys, time for a shower.
