British Columbia Golf Makes Inclusiveness A Priority
By Brad Ziemer
A few years ago, Kris Jonasson decided that the board of directors of British Columbia Golf really wasn’t reflective of the golfing community it served. So Jonasson, the organization’s longtime chief executive officer, made changes. And people noticed.
“We have heard from a lot of people that we are leading the industry around the world in terms of what we are doing,” Jonasson says. “There has been a lot of interest.”
What Jonasson has done is ensure that the organization has a board of directors that truly represents all B.C. golfers. Three years ago, the British Columbia Golf board of directors was the subject of a session at a United State Golf Association seminar on innovation in Vancouver and the organization received wide praise from people in the industry for its diversity.
The new board of British Columbia Golf remains a diverse bunch. Seven of its 12 members are women, including new president Michelle Collens, and the board has representation from several visible minorities.
“The reason that I think it is important is because when we look at who is playing golf it is just not the middle-aged or older male Caucasians,” Jonasson says.
“It is people from every walk of life and as an association we can only lead by example. If golfers can’t look at the leadership at British Columbia Golf and see themselves represented somewhere in that group, then we are sending a message that we don’t consider them to be part of the golfing community. And that is a message that we absolutely don’t want to send.”