PDGA Executive Director Resigns

[Three Putt]

I got the feeling that she kinda inherited a mess, but that was before I paid any attention to the PDGA so I really don't know.

Things have seemed a lot more organized since then. I don't know if it was her or Hoeniger or a combination, but things seemed to shape up quite a bit from the mid to the late 90's.

 

[lyleoross]

CEOs set company philosophy to some extent. To do this they have to be there. Part of that is hiring and "empowering" people who can enact that vision.

I'd argue that Brian's vision, based on performance, was grow membership. Hard to tell if that would have happened anyway. On the other hand developing the organization as "professional in action and communication," Brian hit it out of the park IMO.

 

[93EXCivic]

CEO's of companies of all types and sizes must travel a lot. But the idea that they can run meetings & manage an office of any size 100% remotely seems a little...

I have worked at two companies where the CEO was remote from the main office.

Sent from my LG-H910 using Tapatalk

 

[TheOtherBill]

I'd argue that Brian's vision, based on performance, was grow membership. Hard to tell if that would have happened anyway. On the other hand developing the organization as "professional in action and communication," Brian hit it out of the park IMO.

Plus he went out of his way to greet/spend some time with my dog when I had him tied up outside the IDGC once.

BG was always courteous yet serious each time I have had the pleasure of interacting with him. He may smile a lot but he took this 'fun' sport very seriously.

 

[lyleoross]

Every week, week in and week out, for the fifteen years I've been watching PDGA discussions, someone pisses about how the ED doesn't raise enough cash.

This is amusing at best, and annoyingly misinformed at worst. You don't just raise cash. You have to have presence, a footprint so to speak, to raise cash. It's a progression. You have to lay the groundwork first. You can argue whether Brian and those who proceeded him pursued laying the groundwork correctly, but you can't argue that they weren't aware of the fact that groundwork was necessary and pursued a path they felt would do that fairly effectively.

 

[lyleoross]

I have worked at two companies where the CEO was remote from the main office.

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I've seen this too, but always when the CEO had great leadership right under them who followed their philosophy.

 

[lyleoross]

I got the feeling that she kinda inherited a mess, but that was before I paid any attention to the PDGA so I really don't know.

Things have seemed a lot more organized since then. I don't know if it was her or Hoeniger or a combination, but things seemed to shape up quite a bit from the mid to the late 90's.

I don't think it was quite that. First and foremost was the introduction of social media as a tool where one could whine that their needs weren't being met. When that proved less than effective, members started looking for specific things that made the PDGA look bad, non-legitimate things, and sharpened their knives. Brian H. would respond and defend the PDGA. Brian G. simply put a layer between social media and the PDGA which lowered the ability of trolls to get a response, and the problem went away.

Keep in mind, Brian H. Defended the org, not because they did something wrong, but because he believed strongly in the PDGA and the sport.

 

[Cgkdisc]

The PDGA has an especially tight connection with Georgia and the community due to the tax revenue redirected to build our facility in Columbia county. I think it will continue to be important for future EDs to live there and be involved in community activities and regularly connect with the movers and shakers who support the PDGA and its HQ on a personal level. There's a southern hospitality vibe that Brian lives, embraces and shares with those around him.

 

[lyleoross]

Plus he went out of his way to greet/spend some time with my dog when I had him tied up outside the IDGC once.

BG was always courteous yet serious each time I have had the pleasure of interacting with him. He may smile a lot but he took this 'fun' sport very seriously.

I'll have to bring my parrot out to meet him some day.

 

[Three Putt]

I don't think it was quite that. First and foremost was the introduction of social media as a tool where one could whine that their needs weren't being met. When that proved less than effective, members started looking for specific things that made the PDGA look bad, non-legitimate things, and sharpened their knives. Brian H. would respond and defend the PDGA. Brian G. simply put a layer between social media and the PDGA which lowered the ability of trolls to get a response, and the problem went away.

Keep in mind, Brian H. Defended the org, not because they did something wrong, but because he believed strongly in the PDGA and the sport.

That was later. Hoeniger from my experience could be pretty blunt. Bruce Brakel called him "My-Way-Or-The-Highway Hoeniger" once while we talked about dealing with the PDGA, which was similar to my experience with him. That's not to say that there were no reasons for that since we are after all disc golfers and therefore the "pain in the ***" part is implied. It just was what it was. Hoeniger had the misfortune of being that guy at a time when technology changed and the rules of engagement were blurred. It was one thing for him to tell me off on the phone where I heard it. It was another thing for him to tell people off on the message board where everybody could read it. Maybe I should have been told off and maybe they should have been told off, but when it was public like that it reflected poorly on the org and encouraged it to continue. It was a learning process. I don't think disc golf was totally unique with that experience. I look back at people like Hoeniger and Cam Todd as just victims of bad timing; they managed to end up with a target on their chest during the Wild PDGA Message Board days.

There was something somewhat splintered about the PDGA when I was getting involved. I don't know what it was about or how bad it was really, so maybe it was nothing. By the end of the 90's, things seemed to be more organized and focused. So in general in 2000 when I decided to drop out of the PDGA scene I was pretty OK with the job Hoeniger had done, other than the part where he told me off on the phone. :|

 

[lyleoross]

That was later. Hoeniger from my experience could be pretty blunt. Bruce Brakel called him "My-Way-Or-The-Highway Hoeniger" once while we talked about dealing with the PDGA, which was similar to my experience with him. That's not to say that there were no reasons for that since we are after all disc golfers and therefore the "pain in the ***" part is implied. It just was what it was. Hoeniger had the misfortune of being that guy at a time when technology changed and the rules of engagement were blurred. It was one thing for him to tell me off on the phone where I heard it. It was another thing for him to tell people off on the message board where everybody could read it. Maybe I should have been told off and maybe they should have been told off, but when it was public like that it reflected poorly on the org and encouraged it to continue. It was a learning process. I don't think disc golf was totally unique with that experience. I look back at people like Hoeniger and Cam Todd as just victims of bad timing; they managed to end up with a target on their chest during the Wild PDGA Message Board days.

There was something somewhat splintered about the PDGA when I was getting involved. I don't know what it was about or how bad it was really, so maybe it was nothing. By the end of the 90's, things seemed to be more organized and focused. So in general in 2000 when I decided to drop out of the PDGA scene I was pretty OK with the job Hoeniger had done, other than the part where he told me off on the phone. :|

Can't argue that, but might add, BB was a bit of a my way highway himself. Lot of strong personalities.

 

[Three Putt]

Can't argue that, but might add, BB was a bit of a my way highway himself. Lot of strong personalities.

I had the advantage of never actually trying to work with Bruce on anything. I was just playing by then and enjoying the fruits of hard work the IOS crew were putting in. No real reason to complain or worry about who is driving when you no longer care where you are going.

 

[JTacoma03]

Agreed. Steve Dodge made some great points about how a separation could be a good thing. Drop the NT and shift focus to maintaining the rules of the game and sanctioning of tiered events and leagues.

This is just my personal opinion - even with the DGPT and DGWT coming along, NT's and Majors are still pretty strong.

I guessed wrong from a year ago, I thought the tours would weaken the PDGA Tour. However from a media standpoint, content from both of the private tours' events that are A-tiers or below see a big drop in reach compared to the ones that are also sanctioned NT's/Majors.

I don't know what's best for our sport long term (PDGA vs. Private tour), but I do know we can't hand it over yet. I don't think the PT or WT are sustainable after their first year, work still needs to be done there. I don't think either group captured the market like they expected.

 

[colucc43]

Here's the detailed description of what the PDGA is looking for in a new Executive Director: http://www.pdga.com/pdga-seeks-new-executive-director

 

[Three Putt]

This is just my personal opinion - even with the DGPT and DGWT coming along, NT's and Majors are still pretty strong.

I guessed wrong from a year ago, I thought the tours would weaken the PDGA Tour. However from a media standpoint, content from both of the private tours' events that are A-tiers or below see a big drop in reach compared to the ones that are also sanctioned NT's/Majors.

I don't know what's best for our sport long term (PDGA vs. Private tour), but I do know we can't hand it over yet. I don't think the PT or WT are sustainable after their first year, work still needs to be done there. I don't think either group captured the market like they expected.

Just curious, what do you mean by "drop in reach?" What do you think accounts for that? Is that just the lack of PDGA promotion of the event, or are there other factors in that?

 

[Moose33]

I don't think that the governing body can successfully be totally separate from the whatever the highest level tour is. Long term one would likely take over for the other and too much division can lead to confusion.

Personally I would like to see something like a PDGA Pro tour, that encompassed the Pro Tour and NT stops in the US and then allow the world tour to operate outside of the US in Europe, Japan, Australia etc. and then maybe have the finals are a joint effort between the two where top qualifiers from both the pro toot and world tour compete for an overall world title.

That is the vision i would push we're it my call. Then you could also work together on scheduling so players don't have as many long flights or drives in short periods.

Both tours seem to be trying to make a big impact quickly and independent of the PDGA. And while I agree that you can grow much quicker that way, often the best way forward is to build together with a sustainable and long term plan that beat benefits the players and the audience.

 

[onemilemore]

Just curious, what do you mean by "drop in reach?" What do you think accounts for that? Is that just the lack of PDGA promotion of the event, or are there other factors in that?

I know you were addressing Jamie, and I am sure he will have his own thoughts on the matter, but I think there are multiple factors at play for why the A-Tier events had less reach. One is simply that the NTs, by and large, are well-established events - Masters Cup, Beaver State Fling, etc. - that have a certain level of prestige built in. With that prestige came better fields, usually, while in some cases you had top players going to other events or outright skipping the lower-tiered events.

And then, yes, there is the PDGA promotion machine being larger than the other tours at this point. Based on social media alone, the PDGA has about three-to-four times as many followers as the new tours, so the audience is larger from the jump. However, PDGA is pretty helpful when it comes to pushing the younger tours' events, so I don't think that is all to blame.

Mostly, though, I think it is the established events/PDGA name versus newer outlets that make the main difference. It'll be fun to see if that changes this year as the other tours enter their second seasons.

 

[mfcastillo17]

Just read the job posting and requirements, the requirements read almost exactly like my resume does... I still wouldn't touch this job with a 10 foot pole.

 

[biscoe]

I got the feeling that she kinda inherited a mess, but that was before I paid any attention to the PDGA so I really don't know.

Things have seemed a lot more organized since then. I don't know if it was her or Hoeniger or a combination, but things seemed to shape up quite a bit from the mid to the late 90's.

The previous administrator had a breakdown or something and things went undone for months. Becky P owell did a good job given the hand she was dealt. Hoeniger, imo, is the one who moved it forward as an actual professional organization.

 

[zenbot]

~80k to start and somebody will hate every decision you make. Three Putt, you should sign up.