Mount Prospect resident picked to take over WGA
John Kaczkowski will be the Western Golf Association's next president and chief executive officer, the WGA Board of Governors announced today.
The approval was announced after a vote to pick the successor to Don Johnson, the association's president and CEO the past 21 years.
Kaczkowski will become only the third person since 1960 to head the management of the joint operations of the WGA and the Evans Scholars Foundation. Currently the WGA's vice president of tournaments, Kaczkowski joined the WGA in 1998 and became tournament director in 2000.
"John is an outstanding leader who is devoted to excellence in all aspects of our operations," said WGA Chairman John N. Fix. "He has been involved with our organization for many years and is committed to the development of both the Western Golf Association championships and the expansion of the Evans Scholars Foundation's mission to fund college educations for caddies."
The leadership transition will occur over the next six months and will become official upon Johnson's retirement at the end of the year.
As president and CEO, Kaczkowski will manage the overall operations of the WGA/ESF, including the Evans Scholarships for caddies, golf's leading charity for young men and women, and three national golf championships.
"I'm excited and grateful to the Board of Governors for offering me this opportunity to build on the successes we've enjoyed under Don Johnson's leadership the past two decades," said Kaczkowski. "My goal will be to build on the foundations already in place for our championships and scholarships and to expand and elevate them to even greater heights as we move forward."
The WGA sponsors the BMW Championship, a PGA Tour Playoff event for the FedExCup. It also sponsors the Western Amateur and the Western Junior.
Kaczkowski, 41, of Mount Prospect, is a native of Wisconsin and a 1990 graduate of the University of Wisconsin. He earned a master's degree in Sports Administration from St. Thomas University, Miami, Fla., in 1992. From 1994-1998, he was with the American Junior Golf Association, the world's leading junior golf association, serving as director of tournament operations and later as director of development.