POA golf director moving on to First Tee
Posted on Wednesday, May 7, 2008
Mike Shea, who has served in the top position of the Bella Vista Property Owners Association's golf and recreation departments for nearly 20 years, has decided to change course by leaving the POA and accepting a position with The First Tee of Northwest Arkansas.
POA officials announced Wednesday, April 30, that Shea intends to leave his position as the association's golf director on May 31 to pursue the role of executive director with First Tee, a local nonprofit organization that educates children through the game of golf.
POA General Manager Tommy Bailey, who was out of the office last Wednesday, made the announcement to other POA officials by way of e-mail.
"Mike has been a driving force behind 20 years of improvements in Bella Vista golf and recreation," Bailey said in the communication. "He will be sorely missed, and his shoes will be almost impossible to fill.
"However, the opportunity for Mike is outstanding, so I can only congratulate him. First Tee of Northwest Arkansas could not have found a more knowledgeable and passionate individual on golf."
Shea said he had recently been contacted by First Tee's executive committee and asked if he would be interested in the position. After listening to the members of that group, Shea said he decided it sounded like a good fit.
"(First Tee ) has completed very, very strong things in its short lifetime," Shea said about the local branch of the national organization, which began serving the area around 2005.
The local chapter is in the process of expanding its staff and membership, Shea said. The current First Tee executive director, Tim Pschierer, is expected to stay with the organization and will focus mainly on golf instruction and development, Shea said.
Pschierer declined to comment on the matter, and a call to the president of The First Tee Board of Directors was not returned by presstime.
Shea's time with the association will not go unnoticed, according to his colleagues.
"I just don't know how it all will run without Mike," said Anita Werts, POA Board member and liaison to the association's golf committee.
"I think Mike's done a whale of a job," said Steve Morrow, also a POA Board member and golf committee liaison.
Christy Attlesey, POA communications manager, referred to Shea as a "father figure "in the association. She also mentioned that he is a staple in the community, even though not everyone cares for him.
"He's always honest, whether you like it or not," Attlesey said. "He will always tell it to you straight, and that kind of honesty is refreshing."
Not everything needed in Bella Vista's golf department has been completed, Shea said.
The Scotsdale Golf Course, which sits on the western side of the city, needs some renovation, and overall revenue needs to be increased, he said.
There are also a few ideas that Shea said he would have liked to see come to fruition before departing.
"The downturn in the economy that prevented us from building a course on the (POA land that sits on the Arkansas-Missouri border ) was a low point."
However, there are many projects Shea is proud to have completed, he said. The work on the Dogwood Hills course - which essentially turned a six-hole course into an 18-hole course - is a high point, as is the building of the Tanyard Creek Driving Range, he said.
Shea, who also served as the POA's recreation director for many years, said he is also proud of the Tanyard Creek Nature Trail and the improvements to the association's recreation facilities.
This is the second time Shea has tendered his resignation to the POA. He announced he was leaving in May 2007 to take the position of leisure services director for the community of Casper, Wyo.
However, Shea later elected to stay with the association and signed a three-year contract. The document went under some scrutiny by a number of POA members, because it included a nondisclosure agreement making it exempt from the Freedom of Information Act policy previously followed by the association.
Shea said the circumstances leading up to his recent decision to leave the association are different than that of the Casper offer, noting that his First Tee opportunity would not require him to relocate.
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