April 13, 2010
Bronx, N.Y. - Fordham men's golf head coach Paul Dillon was honored at the 48th annual Metropolitan PGA Educational Forum awards luncheon held at the Westchester Broadway Dinner Theater in Elmsford, N.Y., on Tuesday. At the luncheon, Dillon was awarded the 2009 Sam Snead Award, recognizing leaders in the golf community who have touched the game and profession of golf that distinguishes them and their contributions.
The Sam Snead Award was created in 1973 when the legendary Slammer came to the Met PGA's Educational Forum to be honored as one of the greatest golfers of all time. His attendance helped set a still standing record for attendance of more than 400 professionals and guests.
The award is given annually to a leader who is not a golf professional as a way to identify excellence among the golf community in service, teaching, playing and leadership.
The Sam Snead Award is the only award that the association has to recognize either professionals or amateurs. In Sam Snead's honor the award recognizes the contributions to golf, the PGA and the Metropolitan Section.
Dillon, the Rams' head coach for the past 15 years, is a former President of the MGA, Westchester Golf Association and Westchester Golf Caddie Scholarship Foundation.
At Fordham, he received the Atlantic 10 Coach Of The Year honor in 2004, while he was finishing up his term as MGA President. A couple days after winning this league honor, he, along with Fordham Women's Soccer coach Ness Selmani, were the co-recipients of the Iron Major Award, as Fordham Coach of the Year.
At Tuesday's awards program, other special awards were presented to Heath Wassem of the Fenway Golf Club, Jim Snoot of Huntington Golf Club, Michael Breed of Sunningdale Country Club, Paul Giordano and Todd Bordonaro of Mosholu, Greg Bisconti of St. Andrews and Tom DeBellis of Pine Hollow Country Club.
In addition to the awards presentations, there were educational seminars led by leaders in the golf industry such as Greg Rose and Dave Phillips, Co-Founders of the Titleist Performance Institute, Joe Steranka, the CEO PGA of America, Barry Hyde, the chief marketing officer of the USGA and Stuart Levine, Chairman and CEO of Stuart Levine and Associates.
