Friends of Bobby Jones Golf Club

Founded March 13, 2013   Sarasota, Florida

Friends of Bobby Jones Golf Club

Friends of Bobby Jones Golf Club Inc. was founded on March 13, 2013, the 111th birthday of Robert Tyre "Bobby" Jones, Jr., in Sarasota, Florida. Friends of Bobby Jones Golf Club Inc. is a Florida Not For Profit Corporation.

Its Mission is to enhance the experience at BOBBY JONES GOLF CLUB for City of Sarasota and area residents and visitors; and to help effect, through sponsorship of projects, programs and events, the Four Initiatives.

Friends of Bobby Jones Golf Club, Inc. enjoys exempt status under section 501 (c) (3) of the Internal Revenue Code and is qualified to receive tax deductible bequests, devises, transfers or gifts under section 2055, 2106 or 2522 of the Code. Friends of Bobby Jones Golf Club, Inc. is further classified with Public Charity Status under section 509 (a) (2) of the Code.

Founding Trustees

Shawn Glen Pierson (2013 - PRESENT) PRESIDENT

In 2011, Shawn was appointed by the Sarasota City Commission to the sole seat representing Bobby Jones Golf Club on the City of Sarasota Parks, Recreation and Environmental Protection Advisory Board, to which he was elected Vice Chair in 2013, reappointed by the City Commission and again elected Vice Chair in 2015, 2016 and 2017. In his first term on the Board, Shawn authored the 177-page comprehensive study, RRx: The Reports Report: Analysis, Context and Recommendations for Sustainable Investment in Bobby Jones Golf Club.

The Reports Report, framing the genesis for Friends of Bobby Jones Golf Club, Inc. and its Initiatives, was approved in a unanimous 9-0 vote by the PREP Board and recommended in full to the City Commission in 2013.

Mr. Pierson attended the Harvard University Graduate School of Design Golf Course Design and Development Institute. Shawn’s Golf Course Design instructors included American Society of Golf Course Architects Past President Geoffrey S. Cornish, Fellow, ASGCA, 1982 Donald Ross Award recipient, Canadian Golf Hall of Fame member and author of five classic books on golf course design; and ASGCA Past President and author Robert Muir Graves. Shawn’s instructor for Environmental Impacts of Golf Courses was Dr. Michael Hurdzan, PhD, ASGCA Past President, 2007 Donald Ross Award recipient, author of the industry "bible", Golf Course Architecture and co-designer of Erin Hills, the 2017 United States Open Championship venue.

Shawn is a member of the United States Golf Association, the Florida State Golf Association, The Society of Hickory Golfers, Florida Hickory Golfers, and is a Charter Member of the Donald Ross Society. He served as a GOLFWEEK Magazine Course Rater.

Mr. Pierson was selected by the Florida Department of State, Division of Historical Resources as one of nine contributors to its 2015 publication, Florida Historic Golf Trail. 

Shawn was a contributor to the 2016 documentary film Donald Ross: Discovering the Legend produced by Cob Carlson. The very first visual in the film is the 1925 Donald Ross Plan for “Sarasota Municipal Golf Course and Recreation Grounds”, now Bobby Jones Golf Club.

Shawn’s research and writing is cited in the 2016 book, The Life & Times of Donald Ross by Chris Buie, published by Classics of Golf.

Shawn is a member of Sara Bay Country Club in Sarasota, Florida, a 1926 Donald Ross design, the historic “sister course” to Bobby Jones Golf Club and venue for the Bobby Jones vs Walter Hagen “Match of the Century”. Mr. Pierson has competed in the Florida Senior Amateur Championship and the Florida Senior Open Championship, and will compete in the 2022 United States Hickory Open and the 2022 World Hickory Open Championship in Scotland.

Since the organization’s founding in 2013, Mr. Pierson continues consistent personal financial support of Friends of Bobby Jones Golf Club with annual contributions in both individual and corporate categories of Friendship.

In other civic endeavors, Mr. Pierson graduated from the City of Sarasota's Citizens Academy and Sarasota County's Civics 101, and in 2016 completed the Florida Waters Stewardship Program with the University of Florida / Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences Extension in Sarasota County. Mr. Pierson holds a certification of completion of Grant Workshop for Sarasota County Neighborhood Grants and is approved to submit Grant applications.

Shawn was appointed by the Sarasota Board of County Commissioners in 2012 to serve on the Sarasota Tree Advisory Council, to which he was reappointed to a second term in 2015 and twice elected Chair.

In 2014, Shawn received Certification in Social Economic Environmental Design (SEED) by the Public Interest Design Institute at the Harvard University Graduate School of Design.  

Mr. Pierson was elected in 2016 to the Citizens Advisory Committee of the Sarasota Bay Estuary Program, on which he serves today.

In 2020, Mr. Pierson was elected to the Board of Directors of the Bayou Oaks Neighborhood Association in the City of Sarasota.

Professionally, Shawn has enjoyed a varied 40-year career in architecture, design and construction, with memberships in a range of professional associations including the United States Green Building Council. He received his undergraduate education in Architecture and Planning at The Catholic University of America School of Engineering and Architecture. He is a recipient of the Washington DC Dupont Circle Conservancy Historic Preservation Award among other design awards, recognition and publications.

Among hundreds of completed projects totaling hundreds of millions of dollars in value, Washington DC-based projects include private sporting clubs, a prominent private Virginia golf Clubhouse overlooking the Potomac River, a sports medicine practice; national headquarters for associations as varied as Public Citizen, Public Interest Research Group, Sierra Club and The Heritage Foundation; and offices and residences of Federal Judges, United States Senators, Supreme Court Justices, Cabinet Secretaries, Presidential candidates, and prominent leaders in architecture, business, law, journalism, regional culture, entertainment and the arts.

Mr. Pierson is currently Senior Client Advisor, Studio Director and Director of Education at InVision AdVisors, a Tampa-based design, development and construction oversight consultancy providing Owner’s Representation, Project Management and Bank Inspection services to regional and national corporate, government, not for profit, and individual clients for complex turn-key projects ranging in scope from highly individualized bespoke single family residences to hundred-million-dollar-plus institutional projects. Current 2022 projects include a 1000-acre Florida private sporting club and clubhouse, Rocky Mountain ski resort residential and commercial projects, and two high-profile City of Tampa historic preservation projects.

Michael Carlson (2013)

Michael Carlson served as Founding Trustee for the first year of the existence of the Friends of Bobby Jones Golf Club and as Founding Vice President. 

Mr. Carlson is a Founding CHARTER MEMBER of Friends of Bobby Jones Golf Club and served on the Executive Committee.

Michael R. Carlson, AIA, is Founder and Owner of Carlson Studio Architecture, an industry leader providing LEED-Certified completed projects and a focus on high-performance design. He is a LEED Accredited Professional (2003) with accredited specialty in Building Design + Construction (2009).

Carlson Studio Architecture has contributed as an ACE Corporate Friend of Friends of Bobby Jones Golf Club.  

Mr. Carlson is a member of the Florida Gulf Coast Chapter of the American Institute of Architects, for which he served as Chair of the Committee on the Environment and with past service as Chapter Director and as Treasurer.

Mr. Carlson is founding board member of the U.S. Green Building Council Florida Gulf Coast Chapter, served on its Board of Directors, served as President (2011), and as Vice Chair of the Florida Caribbean Region, and was founder of its Myakka River Branch.

Mr. Carlson served as Chair of the Green Business Leadership Council for the Greater Sarasota Area Chamber of Commerce. He is Past Chair of the Sarasota Housing Authority Board of Directors and is a member of the Florida Association of Housing & Redevelopment Officials.

Mr. Carlson is the recipient of the USGBC Gulf Coast Chapter Chapter Leadership Award, the biz 941 Magazine Best Green Business Award, the Sarasota Audubon Society Environmental Business Award and the Sustainable Florida/AIA Award of Merit, among his firm's recognitions for design and sustainability.

Mr. Carlson received his education at Ball State University in Architecture and in Environmental Design. 

Keith Miller, (2013 - 2014)

Keith Miller served as Founding Secretary of Friends of Bobby Jones Golf Club and served on the 2013 Executive Committee.

Ms. Miller served as Co-Chair of the Tournament Committee. Ms. Miller and her husband, Gary Lawrence, were Founding CHARTER MEMBERS of the Friends of Bobby Jones Golf Club and Household Friends.

Ms. Miller is Past President of the Bobby Jones Women's Golf Association, headquartered at Bobby Jones Golf Club. As WGS President, Ms. Miller led her organization's charitable efforts, including annual women's golf competitions benefitting health causes, such as the Annual Breast Cancer Women’s Golf Tournament and the Annual Multiple Sclerosis Women’s Golf Tournament.

Ms. Miller served as President of the Siesta Key Chamber of Commerce, President of the Village Association of Siesta Key, President of the Profession Network, Sarasota; and as a volunteer and advocate with AARP.  

An avid reader, stylish golfer and lover of tabby cats, Ms. Miller earned her Masters in Curriculum and Instruction at Lesley College, Cambridge MA ("Perissem Ni Perstitissem"), Liberal Arts Baccalaureate at Texas Western University and Library Certification at the University of Texas El Paso.

In April of 2019, Ms. Miller was appointed to the Sarasota City Manager’s Bobby Jones Golf Club Ad Hoc Committee, to engage and advise the City Manager regarding the development of the City’s consulting golf architect’s Renovation Business Plan for Bobby Jones Golf Club.

Nick Stavros, (2013 - 2014)

Nick Stavros served as Founding Treasurer of Friends of Bobby Jones Golf Club. 

Mr. Stavros served on the Executive Committee, and as Co-Chair of the Tournament Committee. 

Mr. Stavros served as President of the Bobby Jones Men's Golf Association, headquartered at Bobby Jones Golf Club.

Mr. Stavros was a Founding CHARTER MEMBER of the Friends of Bobby Jones Golf Club. 

Mr. Stavros is a native of Rockford, Illinois, and attended Drake University, Des Moines, Iowa and Northern Illinois University. In 2011, Mr. Stavros retired as Vice President of Sales in a business career in manufacturing serving the Home Improvement Industry.

Mr. and Mrs. Stavros' family includes six children and nine grandchildren.  

Mr. Stavros served with distinction in the United States Air Force including active duty in Southeast Asia during the Vietnam War. Mr. Stavros welcomes other Friends of Friends of Bobby Jones Golf Club in establishing the Friends of Bobby Jones Golf Club Veterans Committee to serve the golfing and related interests of veterans of United States military service. 

Christopher Hice (2013 - 2015)

Christopher Hice was elected to the Board of Trustees in July, 2013 and served through 2015. He was a CHARTER MEMBER of the Friends of Bobby Jones Golf Club.

Mr. Hice served on the Master Plan Committee, working toward all Initiatives' goals. 

Mr. Hice is Associate, Landscape Architect at Kimley-Horn and Associates, Inc., where he also serves as Florida Region Sustainable Design Representative.

Mr. Hice's specific expertise includes Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED), green building design and construction, parks and recreation, sustainable design alternatives, Low Impact Development (LID), Florida-Friendly Landscaping, comprehensive planning, urban design, educational facilities, and streetscape design. His management activities include preparation of master plan documents and graphics, cost estimating, directing of production staff, preparation of construction documents and specifications, bidding assistance and construction administration. 

Mr. Hice is a member of the Myakka River Branch of the Florida Gulf Coast Chapter of the U.S. Green Building Council, and is Past Chair (2011, 2012) of the Sarasota County Tree Advisory Council.

Mr. Hice, educated in Landscape Architecture at The Ohio State University, is a registered Landscape Architect in five states, as well as an International Society of Arborculture certified Arborist. Mr. Hice is active in the Ohio State University Alumni Association of Florida.

Trustees

BRYAN BRUCE (2015 - PRESENT) VICE PRESIDENT

Bryan D. Bruce was elected to the Board of Trustees for a initial two-year term January 1, 2016-December 31, 2017 and to the office of Vice President for calendar year 2016, with following reelections. He is a CHARTER MEMBER of Friends of Bobby Jones Golf Club.

Mr. Bruce is the owner of Red Stake Surveyors, Inc. of Sarasota, Florida, a family owned and operated business established in 1990 with a strong commitment to the local community and involvement in many successful land improvement projects. His firm is a 2019 and 2020 Corporate Friend.

Mr. Bruce is an active member of Florida Hickory Golfers, dedicated to preserving the pureness and authenticity of the game of golf when it was in its humble beginnings, helping to accomplish this objective by reliving golf and golf courses by playing with authentic Hickory Shafted clubs and encouraging others to join in. Regularly participating in Hickory outings on historic Florida golf courses, Mr. Bruce is a strong supporter of the Initiative to restore and preserve the integrity of the original design intent of the 1925 Donald Ross course at Bobby Jones Golf Club. 

Mr. Bruce began his surveying career in Madison, Wisconsin, where he was raised and where he entered the University of Wisconsin in the Fall of 1982. A proud Badger alumnus, Mr. Bruce is an owner and enthusiastic fan of the Green Bay Packers.

Mr. Bruce was low qualifier for the University of Wisconsin Men’s golf team, and competed for 26-year Coach and former PGA Tour professional Dennis Tiziani on a Badgers team that finished 3rd place in the Big Ten conference.

Bryan and the Bruce family enjoys an active membership in the First United Methodist Church of downtown Sarasota, where Bruce has served as percussionist with the Contemporary Music Department.

When not pursuing pars, birdies and eagles with mashie, cleek and niblick, Mr. Bruce pursues his love of the outdoors and miles on his motorcycle.

Gary Cole (2014)

Gary Cole was elected to the Board of Trustees in December 2013, and to the office of Vice President of Friends of Bobby Jones Golf Club Inc. in January 2014. Mr. Cole was a member of the Executive Committee and a CHARTER MEMBER of Friends of Bobby Jones Golf Club.

Mr. Cole is a member and Club Historian of Sara Bay Country Club in Sarasota, Florida, a 1926 Donald Ross design, venue for the Bobby Jones vs Walter Hagen “Match of the Century” and the historic “sister course” to Bobby Jones Golf Club.

Mr. Cole is Founder and President of CME Pest Management Inc., a Sarasota firm doing business as Impact Pest Elimination, providing Integrated Pest Management, Termite Colony Elimination Systems and inspection and consulting services for residential and commercial clients. At CME, Mr. Cole provides long-term corporate vision and planning, operations management, marketing for client retention and acquisition, and development of personnel with a focus on superior client service.

Mr. Cole, product of the University of Florida, is a 35-year industry leader, and Past President of the Florida Pest Management Association.

Mr. Cole is an active participant in Florida Hickory Golfers, dedicated to preserving the pureness and authenticity of the game of golf, reliving golf and golf courses by playing with and collecting authentic hickory-shafted golf clubs and the equipment and attire of the Classic Era in golf course architecture in the United States.

Jay Logan (2018 - PRESENT)

Jay Logan is a Certified Financial Planner and a Certified Retirement Consultant in Sarasota, and was initially elected to the Board of Trustees on May 19, 2018.

Jay attended the University of Florida where he graduated with a bachelor’s degree in Finance and an emphasis in Risk Management. He joined Barnett Bank and served 12 years, rising to Senior Vice President. During his tenure, Jay obtained an executive graduate degree from the Graduate School of Bank Management at the University of Virginia. 

The acquisition of Barnett Bank brought Jay to the brokerage business when he joined Prudential Securities, serving his clients at Prudential for eight years. Jay received one of three worldwide Golden Star Awards for community commitment given by the Prudential Corporation.

In 2003, Jay joined Robert W. Baird, Inc. and is a Director with the firm and Manager of Baird’s Sarasota Office, specializing in Private Wealth Management. He received the Frederick Kasten Award in 2004 for demonstrating the best example of Baird’s commitment to clients. Jay served on Boards for the United Way of Sarasota County, the American Heart Association, the Family Counseling Center, the 4-H Foundation and The New Gate School. 

Jay completed the Harvard Business School, Executive Education, Behavioral Finance program in 2008. 

In 2010, the Sarasota Branch was recognized for Baird Small Branch of the Year, for Revenue Growth in 2012 and Mid-Sized Branch of the year in 2013 and 2017. 

In 2015, Baird awarded Jay its single Brent Rupple Citizenship Award.

Jay has also provided service on the Junior Achievement of Southwest Florida Board of Directors, as well as to the Ringling College Library Association on its Town Hall Series Committee 2010-2014, including as Chair in 2014. 

Jay grew up playing golf at Bobby Jones Golf Club, getting his first junior membership for $50 per year at 14 years of age. He played for the Riverview High School Golf team, participated in Greater Sarasota Junior Golf Association events, the Future Masters Golf Tournament and the Southern Junior Championship.

Jay served on the City of Sarasota’s ad hoc Bobby Jones Golf Club Study Committee 2015-2016, which developed the scope and framework for the Bobby Jones Golf Club master plan process. 

Today, Jay remains an avid golfer and counts Royal Dornoch Golf Club of Dornoch, Scotland, designed by Old Tom Morris and home to legendary golf architect Donald Ross, as his premier golfing experience.

George Martin (2014 - PRESENT) SECRETARY

George J. Martin, Jr. was initially elected to the Board of Trustees of Friends of Bobby Jones Golf Club Inc. in December 2013, and to the office of Secretary in January 2014. Mr. Martin is a member of the Executive Committee and is a CHARTER MEMBER of Friends of Bobby Jones Golf Club.

Mr. Martin, a member of the Bar of the State of New York, is an independent legal consultant. He is a graduate of Georgetown University, where he earned both his A.B. undergraduate degree and his J.D. law degree.

As a general corporate, business and finance transactional attorney, Mr. Martin has 40+ years experience with major New York City law firms, including substantial specialized work in energy project finance, secured borrowings, mergers and acquisitions and complex contractual relationships and financing structures. Mr. Martin's recent professional focus is advising business/finance teams for alternative energy projects.

Mr. Martin's experience includes five years as Resident Partner for his firm's Paris, France office, and 30 years advising the French Heritage Society Inc., a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, where he served as a founding member of the Board and now serves as General Counsel, offering advise with respect to governance, general contractual and compliance matters.

Mr. Martin is a member of the Bobby Jones Men's Golf Association, where he serves as Tournament Chairman.

Mr. Martin is a resident of Sarasota, having moved here with his wife, Anne Marie, in 2010 from New York City after having vacationed in the Sarasota area for over twenty years.

MATT McLEAN (2021 - PRESENT)

Matt McLean, PGA is Friends of Bobby Jones Golf Club’s most recent Trustee, elevated to the Board in February 2021. Mr. McLean is a CHARTER MEMBER of Friends of Bobby Jones Golf Club.

Matt serves as Director of Instruction at The Concession Golf Club in Bradenton, Florida, rated by Golf Digest magazine as the #6 best golf course in Florida. The Concession ranks just five places behind the perennial #1 best course in Florida, the Donald Ross designed masterpiece, Seminole Golf Club (rated #12 in the United States).

Matt has been named by Golf Digest to its biennial Best Young Teachers in America list four consecutive times.

Among Matt’s students are 2012 United States Open and 2018 Players Champion Webb Simpson and Keegan Bradley, whom McLean instructed during a PGA Tour Rookie of the Year season when Bradley also won the 2011 PGA Championship.

Matt also served as Director of Instruction at one of America’s most storied venues, Oakmont Country Club, ranked #5 in the 2020-21 Golf Magazine Top 100 Courses in the United States, and at the Seth Raynor designed classic Fishers Island Club, Golf Magazine ranked #9, as well as for the Jim McLean Golf Center in Fort Worth, Texas.

Matt Allen McLean was born in Westchester, New York and learned golf from the best, his father. Jim McLean, the 1994 National PGA Teacher of the Year, is considered one of the top golf instructors world-wide and is a member of five organizations’ Halls of Fame.

In an outstanding American Junior Golf Association career, Matt finished second at the Texas-Oklahoma Junior, placed third at the Hartford Classic, fifth at the AJGA at Bethpage and 12th at the Orange Bowl Junior. Matt won the 2001 United States Junior Championship Qualifier and advanced to the second round of match play in the Championship, placed ninth at the 2002 Western Junior Championship and finished second at The Future Collegians World Tour Gainesville Junior Championship. Matt was ranked as high as 21st in the Golfweek Junior rankings and was named a Future Collegians World Tour All-American.

Matt played High School golf at American Heritage Academy where he earned six letters, served as team captain for two years, setting both the 18-hole (66) and nine-hole (31) school records and was both district and regional champion.

Matt played for Wake Forest’s Demon Deacons with teammates Webb Simpson and Bill Hass, on a college golf squad that was once home to all-time, professional and amateur greats including Arnold Palmer, Curtis Strange, Lanny Wadkins, Scott Hoch, Jim Simons, Billy Andrade, Gary Hallberg and Eddie Pearce. Matt’s collegiate golf play included competition in Scotland’s International Collegiate and the Intercollegiate. In the Eastern Amateur, Matt shot rounds of 71-72-67-64, and rounds of 71 and 69 at the U.S. Amateur Qualifier.

Matt’s special interests include the faithful Restoration of the Donald Ross Course at Bobby Jones Golf Club as Ross designed it, in the best possible design of all teaching, learning and practice facilities at Bobby Jones Golf Club, and in creating a place that attracts the widest community participation.

Dan M. Smith, CPA (2014 - PRESENT) TREASURER

Dan Smith was first elected to the Board of Trustees of Friends of Bobby Jones Golf Club Inc. and to the office of Treasurer in May 2014. Mr. Smith is a member of the Executive Committee and is a CHARTER MEMBER of Friends of Bobby Jones Golf Club.

Mr. Smith is a native of Sarasota and has been active in local competitive golf circles for more than forty-five years. Much of his golf has been played at Bobby Jones Golf Club, and he holds great affection for the long history of the Club and a desire for it to become a lasting landmark for golfers.

A graduate of the University of Florida, Fischer School of Accounting, Mr. Smith is a practicing Certified Public Accountant with Miles & Thiron CPA Firm, Inc. in Sarasota, with more than fifteen years of experience working as a financial manager in the not-for-profit world and more than thirteen years of experience in Public Accounting in the areas of accounting and auditing and tax.

Mr. Smith has served as President of the Gulf Coast Chapter of the Florida Institute of CPAs, is a long-time member of the Rotary Club of Sarasota and has served on the Board of Trustees of numerous not-for-profit organizations including the Ringling College of Art & Design Library Association, Take Stock in Children, the Kiwanis Club of Sarasota and the Sarasota Rotary Foundation.

Mr. Smith currently serves as Treasurer of the Sheriff's Activity League, Stop Prescription Addiction Now and the Steinway Society of Sarasota, and serves on the Salvation Army Advisory Board and the Board of the Rotary Club of Sarasota.

Dan's golfing accomplishments include the Sarasota Herald-Tribune All-Area High School Golf Team, two-time member of Tommy Bolt's Junior All-Stars, two-time Manatee County Amateur Champion, former Bradenton City Champion and past Champion of the Sarasota Herald-Tribune Charlotte AM Championship.

In a footnote to Sarasota golf history, Dan and partner Lee Bennett placed tied for runner-up to repeating Champions Paul Azinger and Bonnie Graham in the 1980 City Best-Ball Golf Championship. In that tournament, Azinger set the British Course record 62 on Saturday, October 4th.

Mr. Smith was appointed by the Sarasota City Commission in 2015 to serve on the Bobby Jones Golf Club Study Committee, to which he was unanimously elected Chair. Under his leadership, the Committee issued its official report of recommendations to the City Commission in December 2015.

In 2019, Mr. Smith was appointed to the Sarasota City Manager’s Bobby Jones Golf Club Ad Hoc Committee, to engage and advise the City Manager regarding the development of the City’s consulting golf architect’s Renovation Business Plan for Bobby Jones Golf Club.

1657 Brookhouse Circle BR253   Sarasota Florida   34231   FriendsoBJGC@icloud.com