USGA, AJGA Name 2007 President's Youth Leadership Award Recipients


May 14, 2007
E-mail address: mediarelations@usga.org

Braselton, Ga. - Angela Villela of Sylmar, Calif., and Joseph Suarez of Richmond, Va., were named the 2007 President's Youth Leadership Award recipients, the United States Golf Association and American Junior Golf Association announced Monday.

This award was created to recognize one boy and one girl junior golfer who demonstrated leadership, character and community service through their involvement with the USGA - AJGA Youth Leadership Club - a joint initiative founded in 2005 to further develop junior golfers through volunteerism. In the award's inaugural year in 2006, Katrina Delen-Briones of San Francisco, and Adam Michel of Orinda, Calif., were honored for their efforts at their local First Tee chapters.

Villela and Suarez will be honored and formally presented the award during the Rolex Dinner of Champions  July 5 during the Rolex Tournament of Champions at The Ohio State University Golf Club in Columbus, Ohio. Additionally, they will each receive four tickets to a future U.S. Open of their choice, access to the USGA hospitality tent during the U.S. Open, and an automatic entry into the 2007 Rolex Tournament of Champions - one of the most prestigious junior golf events in the country.

Villela, 16, grew up in a Latino area of Los Angeles far away from anything golf. She was first introduced to the game more than seven years ago through a junior golf program initiated by Los Angeles 6th District Councilman Tony Cardenas. As her game developed, so did her relationship with Cardenas and her commitment to the Andres Y Maria Cardenas Foundation, which donates money to high school graduates going on to college. Her time spent volunteering with this Foundation affords her the opportunity to speak to her peers about fulfilling their dreams of attending college. This is only the beginning of her selflessness in her community.

She also volunteers for the Special Olympics at Vista Valencia Golf Course and started an after-school program called "Growing the Game" with the help of her father, Gus Villela, and her instructor, Rudy Garcia. Last year, she attended the First Tee of Pasadena for the first time and was asked to instruct other juniors after her talent and devotion became so evident.

Villela is the leader of her high school golf team, both on and off the course. As an AJGA champion, she is the team's inspiration for elevating their games. Improving the team's performance was a tall task due to the lack of appropriate equipment and practice and playing facilities. In response, Villela organized the effort to raise funds for equipment and negotiated an agreement with Shoal Canyon Golf Course to play and practice at no cost. The result was a 10-0 season, a league championship and an average improvement of 25 strokes per nine-hole round by her teammates.

"Growing up in my community, you have a lot of obstacles in life - gangs, drugs, financial pressures and teen pregnancies," Villela wrote in her award application. "Through the game of golf, I have learned to never give up and no matter what obstacles or hazards are in my life, I play on. The game of golf does not discriminate. It doesn't know if you're rich or poor, black or white, where you're from, or where you're going. The rules are the same for me and you."

Suarez, 17, connected with the game of golf as a 9 year old through the Richmond City Parks and Recreation Department's Hook-A-Kid on Golf program, an inner-city youth golf initiative. He eventually became an active participant at the Richmond First Tee chapter and was selected to hit the facilities' inaugural tee shot with President George H. W. Bush.  His experiences at these programs were what taught him the rewards of volunteerism.

He started giving his time when he was 12. By the time he was 16, he was supporting The First Tee of Richmond, Richmond's Hook-a-Kid on Golf program, his church, Challenge Golf League, Traditions of Golf Challenge, LPGA Michelob ULTRA Open, Habitat for Humanity, CARITAS, Martin Luther King, Jr., Read Aloud Program, and MADE, Men Advocating Diverse Equality.

"Joseph is the most dedicated young individual that I've had pleasure to work with," said Donald Coleman, director of golf programs for the Richmond City Parks and Recreation Department. "He is the first one to arrive and the last one to leave for programs and activities relating to golf. His life has and is touching many others' lives in a positive way."

This is shown in his amount of time he devotes to volunteerism. In the past three years, Suarez has volunteered a staggering 1,200 hours, including nearly 500 hours this year alone.

"It makes you feel like you accomplished something great when you make a difference in the life of a kid," Suarez wrote in his application letter. "When you give back your time to help community programs, especially that help other kids learn golf, you develop and reap leadership skills as well."

About The USGA

The USGA is the national governing body of golf in this country and Mexico, a combined territory that includes more than half the game's golfers and golf courses.

The USGA's most visible role is played out each season in conducting 13 national championships, including the U.S. Open, U.S. Women's Open and U.S. Senior Open.  Ten additional USGA national championships are exclusively for amateurs, and include the U.S. Amateur and the U.S. Women's Amateur.

The USGA also writes the Rules of Golf, conducts equipment testing, maintains an official Handicap System and administers an ongoing "For the Good of the Game" grants program, which has allocated more than $53 million over 10 years to programs that seek to grow the game.  For more information about the USGA, visit www.usga.org.

About The AJGA

The American Junior Golf Association is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization dedicated to the overall growth and development of young men and women who aspire to earn college golf scholarships through competitive junior golf.

The largest Association of its kind, the AJGA has an annual junior membership (boys and girls ages 12-18) of more than 5,000 junior golfers from 49 states and more than 25 foreign countries.

Titleist, the AJGA's National Sponsor, has been the catalyst and driving force behind the AJGA's success since 1989. Rolex Watch USA, which is in its third decade of AJGA support, became the inaugural AJGA Premier Partner in 2004. In 2007, after 12 years of support, Polo Ralph Lauren became the AJGA's second Premier Partner.

AJGA alumni have risen to the top of amateur, collegiate and professional golf. More than 160 former AJGA juniors currently play on the PGA and LPGA Tours and have compiled more than 300 wins. AJGA alumni include Stewart Cink, Jim Furyk, Davis Love III, Phil Mickelson, Tiger Woods, Paula Creamer, Julieta Granada, Pat Hurst, Cristie Kerr and Morgan Pressel.

For more information, please contact Steve Ethun (sethun@ajga.org) in the AJGA Communications Department at (678) 425-1786, or visit the AJGA Web site at ajga.org.