Joanne Braucht has added several titles in the last few years, some formal and some not.
While it may not appear on her business card, Braucht notes that she’s head greenskeeper and co-owner of a driving range, complete with three target greens. But the facility doesn’t get a lot of business; pretty much the only regular customers are Braucht and her husband, Richard, as the range is of the homemade variety and sits on the couple’s land in their small Colorado hometown.
If you haven’t heard of Cotopaxi, you’re not alone. Named after an Ecuadorian volcano — one of the highest active volcanoes in the world — Cotopaxi sits well off the beaten path, about 75 miles west of Pueblo, between Canon City and Salida.
“There’s not much there — a gas station, a post office, a general store,” reports Braucht. “It’s a “˜T’ in the road.”
But despite her relatively remote hometown, Braucht remains a key player in the Greenwood Village-based CWGA, which brings us to a formal title she’s just about to add. On Jan. 1, Braucht will start a two-year term as president of the CWGA, succeeding Peggy Milford.
While the location of Braucht’s home — about a 150-mile drive from Denver — may seem an inconvenience for serving as a CWGA officer, she’s become accustomed to it, having been treasurer and vice president during the three years since she moved to Cotopaxi.
“It’s not that big a deal,” Braucht said, noting she usually spends about a week out of the month in Denver, where her daughter and mother-in-law live. “And I can attend (meetings) via conference call if necessary.”
With the economy having affected CWGA membership — which is down about 2 percent from 2008 (to 18,800) — one of Braucht’s priorities is to reverse that trend by providing more services and activities to retain existing members and attract prospective newcomers.
Braucht would like to reach women who don’t currently play in CWGA championships or on teams through their home clubs. One way is through non-competitive events that might feature lessons, clinics, rules seminars, etc. Braucht hopes the CWGA can create such events that it can take out on the road, possibly in partnership with professionals in the area, courses and maybe retailers.
Ideally, Braucht said, the CWGA would have a trial run for such an event at Aurora’s CommonGround Golf Course, which is owned and operated by the CGA and CWGA, then do a couple of more outside the metro area this year.
Such events could be open to both CWGA members and non-members, and CWGA leadership could better learn what services golfers would like to see the association offer.
Braucht said another possibility is the CWGA working with the CGA in opening what have been CGA Member Play Days to women also. Play Days offer members a chance to play some of Colorado’s top courses, using a variety of formats with net and gross divisions. Entry fees include greens fees, cart, range balls, lunch, prizes and a favor from the golf association. The CGA scheduled five Member Play Days in 2009 — at Lakota Canyon, CommonGround, Glenmoor Country Club, Greeley Country Club and Colorado Springs Country Club.
Braucht has done volunteer work for the CWGA since 2001, starting on the Tournament Committee. Since joining the CWGA Board of Directors in 2003, she’s served as assistant chair and chair of the Tournament Committee, then as treasurer and vice president.
“I had played in (CWGA) championships and I was very impressed by the way they were run and the quality of the events,” Braucht said in noting why she started volunteering with the CWGA. “They took us seriously, and as a female golfer that was important. I remember when I played in the Match Play, from the minute we got to the course it was a wonderful experience. A friend said, “˜Why don’t you join the Tournanment Committee?'”
Over the years, Braucht has proven a valuable leader for the CWGA, in no small part due to her accounting background.
“She knows a lot about the association, having served for almost 10 years,” CWGA executive director Robin Elbardawil said. “She brings consistency. She also brings a financial background and she’s been involved with CommonGround since the beginning, and that’s terrific. She started the LPGA-USGA junior golf program at CommonGround. It’s great to have her lead the organization.”
Braucht, a Coloradan since 1976, once played to a handicap of 8.7, but moving from Englewood to Cotopaxi, and devoting more time to CWGA work has reduced her number of rounds played down to about 20 per year, and she now owns a 13.5 handicap. She joined the women’s club at Salida Golf Club, which is about 25 miles from Cotopaxi, and also plays in a weekend group at CommonGround.
“Board services take away from my time playing golf, but it’s a service that I enjoy,” Braucht said. “Hopefully we’ll expand our base (of CWGA members) so that when I go off the board (in two years), I’ll have more women to play golf with.”
