NORTON, Massachusetts – Mass Golf is continuing to expand its staff with the addition of Jenna Walkiewicz as the Assistant Director of Member Growth & Services. Walkiewicz, who most recently served as the Director of Women’s Golf for the Florida State Golf Association (FSGA) Women’s Championships team, began her new position on Thursday, March 11.
“We are extremely excited to add a talented and experienced professional like Jenna to our growing Member Services team,” said Jesse Menachem, Executive Director/CEO of Mass Golf. “She oozes passion for the game of golf and knows what it takes to optimize experiences for a devoted golf community such as ours in Massachusetts. There’s simply no question that she is a great fit for Mass Golf.”
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Walkiewicz, a graduate of Hofstra University where she played for the Division I women’s golf team, comes to Mass Golf after rising through the ranks within the Florida State Golf Association for the past eight years. After moving up from Tournament Manager to Tournament Director, she became the Director of Women’s Golf, where she oversaw all the operations and promotion of state championships and USGA qualifiers. She also introduced the Florida Women’s Open and Senior Open, as well as Women’s Only One-Day events and 9-hole events for young women ages 21-39.
Walkiewicz also excelled on her USGA/PGA Rules of Exam and was selected to officiate during the inaugural Augusta National Women’s Amateur in 2019.
In her new position at Mass Golf, Walkiewicz will work alongside Mark Gagne, the Director of Member Services, to oversee and research all aspects of Member Services operations and advancing programs, events, and initiatives.
“I’m very grateful for everything I learned down there [in Florida], and I’m just so excited to be challenged in a new way in my role at Mass Golf,” Walkiewicz said. “I absolutely love being a part of new initiatives and trying new things. Knowing that there is so much room for growth within Mass Golf and for the opportunities for our membership I think is what’s most exciting to me.”
Added Gagne: “We are very excited for Jenna to be joining Mass Golf and bringing a whole new dimension to the Member Services Team. While her work at FSGA was oriented towards championships, tournaments, and events, her role at Mass Golf will be to support Member Services in a wide range of areas around technology & data management, strategic planning objectives, membership growth, and advancing current and new programs and services.”
Walkiewicz (nee Masnyk) grew up in Lincoln, Rhode Island, and learned the game from her father and older sister at Kirkbrae Country Club, which is nearby her family home. She was captain of the Lincoln High School golf team and was an All-Rhode Island selection from 2007 to 2009. In 2010, following her first academic year at Hofstra, Walkiewicz won the Rhode Island Women’s Stroke Play Championship.
At Hofstra, Walkiewicz studied broadcast journalism with the eventual goal to make it to Golf Channel. However, she gravitated to golf management after completing a Tournament Services Coordinator Internship with the PGA TOUR. She has also helped organize U.S. Challenge Cup events in her home state.
“It kind of opened my eyes to an entire world of golf administration,” Walkiewicz said. “You get to look behind the scenes of setting up the golf course and all of the details that go into running a major event, and I think that’s what I really loved about running events. You put in all of this work behind the scenes planning this effort, getting the course ready, talking to the pros, dealing with the superintendent setting up the course. And then at the end of the day, you get to put on a show really for your customers, your members, and kind of see all of your hard work come to fruition.”
Though she doesn’t often play competitively anymore, Walkiewicz said she still keeps a handicap index and is “more than happy” to shoot an 80.
“I love the game of golf; it’s been a part of my life, literally since I was a little kid,” Walkiewicz said. “So being able to stay in the industry but have a change of pace and be more member-focused and administrative rather than in the field is, is really exactly where I wanted to be.”
Outside of golf, Walkiewicz enjoys personal fitness, as well as hiking, going to the beach, and spending time with family.
Walkiewicz can be reached by email at jwalkiewicz@massgolf.org .
