Distinguished Service Award
The MWGA Distinguished Service Award is presented to any MWGA member, past or present, who
has made outstanding Contributions to the MWGA Organization or to the game of golf in MI;
and who has promoted or given back to the game over a long period of time.
The person’s character, sportsmanship, qualities, and
promotion of amateur golf in Michigan are the most important considerations.
Denise Buechel - 2022 Awardee
Denise Buechel has been a dedicated and hard-working MWGA Board Member for 16 years. She has worn many hats. She was the Course Cordinator for several years which entailed contacting and scheduling the courses that we played each year.
She was the MWGA Vice President several years and planned and conducted the MWGA Annual Meetings. She is probably best known for being a member of the Competitions Committee and conducting all the games and the pay outs for skins, closest to the flag and chip-ins.
She is at every tournament determining the payouts and tracking people down to get their prize money. Many thanks to Denise for her 16 years of dedication, hard-work and sense of humor.
Kathy Heriford - 1994 Awardee
One of the founding members of the MWGA, Kathy has qualified for the WAPL five times — 1986–1989 and 1991. She was MWGA President in 1989, 1990, 1992 and 1993. In 1993 the MWGA joined the Golf Association of Michigan and was the first women’s golf association to do so. Kathy became one of the first two women GAM Governors in 1991 and was instrumental in starting the Atlas Cup. She was appointed to the USGA Women’s Regional Affairs Committee in 1989 and served on that committee until 1999.
In 1995 she was appointed to the USGA Women’s Amateur Public Links Committee and remained as the representative from Georgia until the Championship was retired. She then was appointed to the US Senior Women’s Amateur Committee and retired from the USGA in 2018 after 30 years of service. She is a Director Emeritus of the Golf Association of Georgia and continues to work as a Rules official of the GSGA. She left Michigan in 1993 and was made an Honorary Member of the MWGA that year.
Kathy is a retired Field Sales Engineer for Teleco and a past Golf Digest Panelist.