Tenia Workman, executive director of the Georgia Golf Course Superintendents Association, has been selected to receive the 2024 Outstanding Contribution Award from the Golf Course Superintendents Association of America (GCSAA).
The Outstanding Contribution Award is given to an individual who has made a significant contribution to the membership, through outstanding contributions for the golf course industry. The contribution must be significant in both substance and duration.
The outstanding contribution may be or have been regional in nature.
"Having strong local chapters has always been crucial to GCSAA’s success, and Tenia has been helping keep the Georgia GCSA strong for more than two decades,” said Rhett Evans, GCSAA CEO. “Tenia’s dedication to the members of the
Georgia GCSA is a prime example of what the Outstanding Contribution Award is all about.”
Workman began her tenure at the Georgia GCSA in 2002 after serving as the executive director of the Hart County Chamber of Commerce in Hartwell, Ga. However, she was no stranger golf course management or the Georgia GCSA. Her husband Buck Workman, CGCS,
is a retired superintendent, 33-year GCSAA member and past president of the Georgia GCSA.
When Workman arrived, the chapter had a heavy focus on members in the Atlanta area, and Workman’s goal was to make it more representative of members throughout the state.
“We have worked really hard to make it a true statewide association,” Workman said. “Now we have nearly 800 members and have brought the state together so that every region feels like they are a part of it.”
Other highlights of her long career with the Georgia GCSA includes the chapter’s response to the severe drought in 2007 and the establishment of water conservation best management practices for Georgia golf courses in 2018. Throughout the
chapter’s accomplishments and challenges, including Workman’s own battle with breast cancer six years ago, she said the chapter remains like a true family to her.
That family-like bond has made her decision to retire in December 2024 a difficult one. However, she will still have multiple ties to the industry. In addition to her husband, Workman’s son, J.B., is the superintendent at the Ocean Course at Ponte
Vedra Inn & Club in Ponte Vedra, Fla., and a nine-year GCSAA member. She hopes to continue her work with the Georgia Golf Environmental Foundation, the philanthropic organization of the Georgia GCSA.
Workman said she is “truly humbled” to be recognized for her work with the Outstanding Contribution Award.
“I’m just grateful and blessed to even be considered for the award, much less be chosen.” Workman said. “I wouldn’t be anywhere though without the people I’m surrounded by. The boards I have worked with over the years,
our members, our industry partners, my colleagues in other chapters around the country, we all work together to make it as great as it is. My cup runneth over.”
Workman will formally receive the award on Jan. 31 as part of the 2024 GCSAA Conference and Trade Show Sunrise Celebration, presented in partnership with Syngenta, in Phoenix.
To learn more about the Outstanding Contribution Award, visit gcsaa.org/awards.