NORTON, Massachusetts – Mass Golf is excited to announce the most recent changes to its 14-member Board of Directors following the Mass Golf Annual Meeting on October 17 at The Country Club in Brookline.
Thomas R. Berkel, of Wyantenuck Country Club, has been voted in as President of Mass Golf after serving as Vice President for the past two years. He succeeds Cameron ‘Bunk’ Read, of The Country Club, who served for two years and ushered in the new era of Mass Golf following the historic merger of the Massachusetts Golf Association and the Women’s Golf Association of Massachusetts.
“I am fortunate to follow Bunk Read, who mastered the task of guiding Mass Golf in its initial years,” Berkel said. “He was a strong supporter of the staff as it synthesized the several events and competitions into one cohesive organization. He spoke with one voice to our several constituents – clubs, players, club managers and superintendents. Golf in the Commonwealth was well served by Bunk Read.”
ONLINE: 2019-2020 MASS GOLF BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Read, who remains on the board, has been involved since participating in the capital campaign that led to the building of The William F. Connell Golf House & Museum in 2003. In addition to working for the state association as a volunteer Rules Official, he also has served on the Regional Affairs Committee of the USGA since 2007 and was on the state association’s board shortly afterward. He has also served as chair of both The First Tee of Massachusetts and the Championship Committee for Mass Golf.
Berkel, who retired after 29 years of working for the Unilever and Dr Pepper/Snapple Corporations, started with Mass Golf as a volunteer Rules Official in 2008 and has since served as Chair of the Championship Committee and Co-Chair of the Member Services Committee. He has also served as Secretary at Wyantenuck Country Club, located in Great Barrington. (Fun fact, Berkel maintains a 5.8 handicap index, and back in 2011, he and John Hull III defied the odds by acing the same hole at Wyantenuck, No. 9, while playing in the same group.)
“He’s at the core of a strong group of Western Mass. volunteers,” Read said of Berkel. “I think he’ll do a great job. He’s done a great job leading the Member Services Committee.”
Berkel said he aspires to build on what Read has started. Specifically, he wants to strengthen championship events, broaden the impact of youth programs, expand the golf experience to more players and support lesser-known members of the golf community, such as superintendents, club managers and club boards.
“For many of us, our work with Mass Golf is one of the places we turn our professional capabilities toward a volunteer effort that can affect others positively,” Berkel said.
Berkel will also be involved with Mass Golf’s upcoming strategic planning process to help take the organization to new heights.
“Tom has been a tremendous ambassador for Mass Golf, and he will continue on as an impactful leader in his time as President,” said Jesse Menachem, Mass Golf’s Executive Director/CEO. “A golf enthusiast with a successful business background, he is the ideal representative to help guide Mass Golf into the future. He has a clear understanding of our mission, objectives and impact, and is always looking for ways to improve and create more value for our Member Clubs and golfers across the state.”
Mass Golf is also excited to welcome four new members to the Board of Directors:
-John F. Crook (Cape Cod National Golf Club)
-Sally DeGan (LPGA Amateur Golf Association)
-Michael T. Dowling (Nehoiden Golf Club)
-William O. Jenks (Brae Burn Country Club).
