(courtesy Michelle Lee)
Good evening everyone and congrats to all of our competitors, volunteers and staff on a successful 2025 season. My name is Michelle Lee and together with Susan Wright-Cassan we have been gifted the opportunity to present Golf Manitoba’s Distinguished Service Award.
This award was created in 2006 and first awarded in 2007 recognizing an individual who has gone above and beyond, who is a true advocate of all aspects of the sport of golf in Manitoba and Northwest Ontario. It is NOT simply based on year of service but rather exceptional service, dedication, and that special je ne sais quoi that that deserves the title of distinguished!
This evening we are just tickled pink to honor Carol as the newest member of the DSA family and are so pleased that she is able to be with us tonight and I will get back to that in a bit.
Carol and I go back so many years that we both had long, dark, undyed hair. One of our first meetings was as competitors at the Women’s City & District Championship. Carol fired into the Kingswood Golf & Country Club parking lot in her hot red sports car with her hair flying behind her in the wind and parked right next to me. She had somehow managed to squeeze her clubs into that tiny red sports car and as we were unpacking, she greeted me with that big warm smile of hers and introduced herself. Thanks to golf we created a long lasting connection.
Carol started volunteering initially for the Manitoba Ladies Golf association in 1997 and is still volunteering with Golf Manitoba 28 years strong. There is not any sign of her slowing down. That’s just not Carol’s MO.
Hopefully, some of you read Carol’s media release and her healthy resume. She certainly does check all the boxes for the ‘distinguished’ category.
I would like to speak to another facet that cannot be quantified in a checklist.
Carol is that type of special volunteer who can always put a smile on our faces even if it is something we don’t want to hear:
- like a ruling not in our favor,
- like a time violation warning,
- like an op-positional opinion in our boardroom.
She has taken on being a district rep, club rep, started & scorer, pace of play official, a board member and a rules official …with integrity, discipline, dedication, honesty & fairness …and a true and genuine love for our sport.
Carol is the type of volunteer that you have every confidence in her dependability, in her professional conduct, in her desire to provide the absolute best for Golf Manitoba in each and every volunteer role she has taken on….and yes, that includes the good old days when we worked the night shift Bingo’s.
Carol is the type of volunteer who offers her help before she is asked.
Carol, you have been an absolute pleasure to work with as a volunteer…and that comes from many more volunteers than just me.
Carol has been a one person recruitment team for our association. No wonder you have recruited so many volunteers – you make it sound like winning the lottery! Thanks for advocating for Golf Manitoba as both a volunteer and as a competitor.
Carol makes volunteering fun. She has a sparkle about her that is infectious. She has been a superb mentor to so many and is always happy to do so.
Always wanting to help, Carol helped with the
- launch of the initial Manitoba Golf in Schools program and went out to her neighborhood schools to promote and educate and obtain funding for the program.
- She was also right there to pitch in with the planning and the day for the ‘PINK OUT LOUD’ golf for the cure tournaments which saw almost 50 women all in various shades of pink ..golfing and raising money for cancer care Manitoba.
As a level 2 certified rules official, Carol demonstrates a kindness and fairness that helps us to realize that the rules officials are actually there to help us…not punish us.
Always there, always ready to ‘pitch in’, always with a positive and engaging attitude and ALWAYS ready to let out her trade mark “WOOP WOOP”!
Carol has driven that same hot red convertible right up to this year. But don’t worry, she simply replaced it with another red convertible and she still can fit her golf clubs in it and still let’s her ‘not as long and a bit more gray hair‘ fly in the wind!
So from your volunteer family, your fellow competitors and friends, all of Golf Manitoba…our warmest congratulations and gratitude.
Earlier I had mentioned ‘I’ll get back to that in a bit’ ..So here is that ‘bit’.
Carol has managed to be with us tonight while she is living through a very difficult time that is related to family illness. I just know that this entire room sends out to Carol their care & support. Tough to ‘woop woop’ right now so on behalf of Carol I would like to express her sentiments about being the 2025 recipient of the DSA award.
Firstly, Carol feels both honored and touched to have been chosen. Being part of Golf Manitoba for 28 years has been a wonderful journey that has created for her a second family. She thanks the past MLGA for her ‘start’ on this Journey and to Golf Manitoba and our sponsors for providing the opportunities to continue on with her learning, growing, and creating an even larger 2nd family.
Carol has always followed the motto of paying it forward and Golf Manitoba has provided her the opportunity to do just that. To the volunteer family – it has been a priceless gift to have had so many adventures, laughs and challenges together with all of you. For Carol, the experience of spending decades in creating this cherished circle of friends has been a joyous time and her hope, her wish, and her belief is that there will be much more of that to follow.
She is beyond pleased to accept this award and is both proud and humbled to be the 2025 recipient.
Thank you to Golf Manitoba, to her fellow volunteers and of course to her own family who has steadfastly supported her volunteer work.
Honoring a Community of Volunteers
In addition to the Martel, this year’s awards ceremony celebrated the dedication of twelve outstanding volunteers who have reached significant milestones in their service to Golf Manitoba. These individuals have been recognized for their continuous contributions of 5, 10, 15, 20, and 25+ years of service.
5 year: David Kazina, Joan Todd
10 year: Rob Bell, Bob Peters, Bob Poole
15 year: Sandra Cross, Vince Mariani, Celeste Pryma, Lori Russell
20 year: Aija Culley, Gord Hudson
25 year: Florence Mehmel
30 year: Betty Grant, Michelle Lee
All volunteers were honoured during the 2025 Golf Manitoba Awards presented by AVID GOLF on Wednesday, October 29 at Niakwa Country Club.
To view the photo gallery, click here.
About the Golf Manitoba Distinguished Service Award
The Golf Manitoba Distinguished Service Award (DSA) recognizes volunteers who have gone above an beyond in making a positive impact on the golf community locally, regionally and/or nationally. The ideal candidate will display qualities of a positive role model to fellow volunteers through leadership, creativity, mentorship, excellent communication skills and dedicated service to the sport of golf and to Golf Manitoba.