GCSAA honors Tenia Workman with Outstanding Contribution Award

The Golf Course Superintendents Association of America (GCSAA) selected Tenia Workman, executive director of the Georgia Golf Course Superintendents Association, as the recipient of its 2024 Outstanding Contribution Award.

GCSAA presents the Outstanding Contribution Award to an individual who has made a significant contribution to the membership, through outstanding contributions to the golf industry. The contribution must be significant in both substance and duration. The outstanding contribution may be or have been regional.

“Having strong local chapters has always been crucial to GCSAA’s success and Tenia has been helping keep the Georgia GCSA strong for more than two decades,” Rhett Evans, CEO of the GCSAA, said. “Tenia’s dedication to the members of the Georgia GCSA is a prime example of what the Outstanding Contribution Award is all about.”

Workman began her tenure at the Georgia GCSA in 2002 after serving as the executive director of the Hart County Chamber of Commerce in Hartwell, Ga. However, she was no stranger to golf course management or the Georgia GCSA. Her husband Buck Workman, CGCS, is a retired superintendent, 33-year GCSAA member and past president of the Georgia GCSA.

When Workman arrived, the chapter had a heavy focus on members in the Atlanta area and Workman’s goal was to make it more representative of members throughout the state.

“We have worked really hard to make it a true statewide association,” Workman said. “Now we have nearly 800 members and have brought the state together so that every region feels like they are a part of it.”

Other highlights of her long career with the Georgia GCSA includes the chapter’s response to the severe drought in 2007 and the establishment of water conservation best management practices for Georgia golf courses in 2018. Throughout the chapter’s accomplishments and challenges, including Workman’s own battle with breast cancer six years ago, she said the chapter remains like a true family to her.

Workman is set to retire in December 2024. Her son, J.B., is the superintendent at the Ocean Course at Ponte Vedra (Fla.) Inn & Club and a nine-year GCSAA member.

Workman hopes to continue her work with the Georgia Golf Environmental Foundation, the philanthropic organization of the Georgia GCSA.