Mohr elected to lead WGA
Roger J. Mohr of Lake Forest has been elected chairman of the Western Golf Association for 2010-11, WGA officials announced Tuesday.
Mohr, who succeeds John N. Fix of Kenilworth, was selected in 1980 as one of the WGA's first Evans Scholars Alumni directors. He has served as WGA vice chairman since 2008. From 1986-1999, he was chairman of the WGA's Endowment Committee.
"Roger has been an invaluable contributor to the Western Golf Association and Evans Scholars Foundation," said Donald D. Johnsonm WGA/ESF president and CEO. "His leadership skills over the years as our Endowment chairman have helped us raise millions of dollars for the young men and women we send to college on Evans Scholarships. Roger's commitment and experience make him well-equipped to guide our organization as chairman the next two years."
Mohr, the first Marquette University Evans Scholar graduate, said he is looking forward to the opportunity to serve as chairman.
"My involvement with the Western Golf Association and Evans Scholars Foundation has allowed me to give back to the program that was truly a life-changing experience for me," said Mohr, who earned his Evans Scholarship as a caddie at Milwaukee Country Club in the late 1940s. "I'm honored to be trusted with the leadership of our organization for the next two years, and I'm looking forward to building on the strong foundation already in place thanks to the leadership of John Fix the past two years and the hard work of our staff."
When Mohr was first named Endowment/Development Committee chairman in 1986, plans for establishing an endowment fund for the scholarship program were still in their infancy, with no funds set aside for the future. Today, the WGA's Endowment Fund has reached $45 million, which is a critical resource as the organization renovates the Northwestern University Scholarship House and contemplates plans for upgrading scholarship houses at several additional universities.
"We still have much work ahead of us," Mohr noted. "Rapidly increasing tuition costs, coupled with today's difficult economic conditions present a challenge to our ability to send more than 800 young men and women to college every year. We must find new sources of annual income if we are to keep pace."
Mohr was a WGA vice president from 1994-2000 and has been an ESF trustee since 2000. He also served as the Evans Scholars Alumni Association president in 1964-65.
He is a member of Knollwood Club in Lake Forest, where he has helped build the club's Par Club membership to one of the highest levels of all WGA clubs. He served on the club's Board of Governors from 1980-85 and 1989-92.
After graduating from Marquette in 1953, Mohr served a tour of duty in the U.S. Army and then began a career in advertising in 1956 with Chicago's Arthur Meyerhoff agency. Nine years later he ascended to the company presidency, a position he held for 15 years before the company was acquired by BBDO Worldwide. During this time, in 1976-77, he served as secretary- treasurer of the board of the American Association of Advertising Agencies. He continued as president of the Chicago office of BBDO, also serving as chief executive officer, until 1982, when he was named chairman of the board of BBDO Chicago Inc. After 37 years at the agency, Mohr retired in 1993 as vice chairman-international.
The WGA/ESF sponsors the Evans Scholarships for caddies and conducts three national golf championships - the BMW Championship on the PGA Tour, the Western Amateur and the Western Junior. The 2010 BMW Championship will be held Sept. 6-12 at Cog Hill Golf & C.C., in Lemont.