President's Quarterly Note: Golf Anyone?

Erika Passailaigue, CPSM
Datum Engineers

Golf anyone?

I don’t know about you, but when I get a golf invitation, I take it! In fact, I enjoy it so much that almost every weekend is devoted to perfecting my game. I am relatively new to the game but not to the concept of what it can do for me professionally and personally. You connect with people in a different way when you are out on the golf course. Maybe it is the clean fresh air or the afternoon spent away from the computer screen, or perhaps the shared frustration over missing a putt or the shared excitement over making a Birdie (I haven’t personally experienced that one yet), but everyone shares a special connection when they play golf together.

You might be surprised to learn that my interest in the game started with SMPS. Last year I attended the SMPS Golf 101 program that was held at Grey Rock. It was a great event which started off with a lesson that beginners and pros both found useful, and concluded with a networking event. After that event, I was hooked! I signed up for lessons and have been playing ever since. This year, we are going back to Grey Rock, but this time we are planning a full-fledged tournament. The tournament will be held on April 19th and starts at 11:30 with lunch and a tee time of 1:00. An awards ceremony and dinner will be held immediately after tournament play at 6:00. We have invited several past speakers, community leaders and stakeholders to join us as our honored guests. They include:

• Alan Bell, Seton
• Andrew Kim, Manor ISD Superintendent
• Mark Fowler, Trammell Crow
• Judge Sam Biscoe, Travis County
• Kirk Clennan, City of Leander, Economic Development Director
• Jim Bechtol, City of Leander, Director of Development Services
• Shane Harbinson, City of Austin Aviation Department
• Rob Roy Parnell, Texas State University System

The registration for the Golf Tournament is currently open and you can sign up now at www.austinsmps.org. You can invite your clients to play on your team or register as an individual and we’ll get you teamed up with fellow registrants. Don’t play golf? Not to worry – sign up to attend just the dinner event.

We still have some sponsorship slots available. If you are interested in sponsorship opportunities, contact Ross Eubanks at 512-306-7226 or Tracy Guthrie at 512-617-1642.

SMPS is all about connections. I hope you will come out and connect with fellow SMPS members, Architects, Contractors, Engineers, Clients and Owners at our first annual SMPS Austin Chapter Golf Tournament.