GOLF?IN Barbados has a new leader.
Retired Esso country manager Cally Boyea has been elected new president of the Barbados Golf Association (BGA), following their 2014 annual general meeting at the conference room of the Barbados Olympic Association.
In one of the most popular showings of support for a new leader in local golf circles, Boyea defeated incumbent Hadley Byer, 61 votes to 42. More than 100 members from the five local clubs turned out for the meeting.
The third contestant, Orlando Crichlow received seven votes.
The AGM was the 45th for the BGA and also saw the return of vice-president James Johnson, long-standing secretary Trenton Weekes and treasurer David Estwick.
Former president Birchmore Griffith and Harriett Linton, a former civil servant in London, were elected as ordinary council members, replacing Adrian Mayers and Julian King, while Byer also sits on the council as immediate past-president.
Boyea, a regular golfer on the local circuit, thanked outgoing president Byer for his work on behalf of the association and also thanked those who expressed their trust in him to lead the organisation over the next two years.
He said he was also fortunate to have an experienced and competent team elected as members of the leadership council of the BGA, including a female, Linton, sitting on the council for the first time in ten years.
As outlined to the members at the AGM, some of the elements of the new president’s vision for the sport will include focus on improving the efficiency and operation of the BGA, to the benefit of members and partners, and the strengthening of junior development programmes for young golfers in Barbados.
Boyea said the BGA will also be seeking to embrace the assistance and experience of coaches and players such as professional Roger Beale Jr and national captain James Johnson, who have been elite players for the island.
According to him, golf needs a home like cricket, tennis and hockey in Barbados, and that is one of the long-term objectives on which he hopes to make some headway during his term.
