DR. JO STEGALL HONORED BY THE AJGA WITH ITS ANNUAL DIGGER SMITH AWARD
Burgett H. Mooney, Jr., Rome Classic tournament chairman serves as a model
of dedication

BRASELTON, Ga.- Dr. Jo Stegall was honored by the American Junior Golf
Association Friday, Feb. 18, with the 2005 Digger Smith Award for a decade
of service to the organization as the tournament chairman at the Burgett H.
Mooney Jr., Rome Classic.

Each year the AJGA presents the Digger Smith Award to an individual
whose service to junior golf goes above and beyond the call of duty. The
award is named for AJGA Chairman of the Board J.R. “Digger” Smith, who has
dedicated himself to the AJGA and junior golf for more than two decades.
Smith was honored as the Golfweek “Father of the Year” in 1995.

“I am very excited and appreciate the award,” Stegall said. “I know
some of the outstanding people who have won the award before me and I am
very proud to be a part of it.”

Stegall began his work with the AJGA in 1995 while the Association was
seeking golf venues to host junior tournaments in north Georgia. While on
the search for host facilities, the AJGA found a man and a region that
embraced junior golf and truly took ownership in an event that will
celebrate its 10th anniversary in 2005. Coosa Country Club in Rome, Ga., has
played host to the event since 2000.

“I have a truly wonderful tournament committee who knows their
assignments and is willing to do anything for the junior golfers,” Stegall
said. “I may go to all of the meetings, but my committee is always there to
carry everything out.

“This award honors a great man whose vision and leadership throughout
the years has helped keep the AJGA on track,” AJGA Executive Director
Stephen Hamblin said. “Dr. Jo Stegall has a great passion for the AJGA and
junior golf. It’s all about the kids for him and he’s always there to
encourage them. He is a man who just truly cares.”

For more information, please contact John Egnot in the
AJGA Communications Department at (770) 868-4200