Posted by Nancy Langdon on Jun 06, 2017
 
Redondo Beach Rotary Meeting May 31, 2017
 
Rotary Foundation - Jim Chen
 
At the beginning of this Rotary year, a goal of contributions from our members to the Rotary Foundation of $10,000 was set. Already, the club has met that goal threefold. One particular Rotarian, who embodies giving back and paying forward in so many ways, is Jim Chen. Jim’s first Rotary moment came already as a child. Growing up in public housing in Lawndale in the 1960s, money was tight for Jim’s family. So when Jim’s one great joy, his bicycle, was stolen, it came as quite a blow to the boy. When the story of that stolen bike reached the ears of a local Rotarian, that Rotarian bought young Jim a new one. Jim used his new bike to ride all the way to Palos Verdes to work as a golf caddy, where he picked up enough money to support his bike riding passion in a bigger way. Jim stepped up from bicycles to motorcycles and raced competitively throughout the 1970s. His best was qualifying on the pole position at Daytona, where he finished third.  Along with his caddying tips, Jim also picked up some valuable tips on running a business. Jim has invested wisely and successfully: More than that he has never forgotten the impact that one Rotarian long ago made on his life. Jim has continuously stepped up for Rotary and our community. Thank you, Jim.
 
Art Awards
The Rotary Club of Redondo Beach, through our Vocational Services, is very proud to sponsor an art contest for area high schoolers. Again, the judging panel was awestruck by the skill displayed and the thoughtfulness to incorporate this year’s District theme, “Imagine”, imagine their submissions. The South Bay does not lack for academic and sports scholarships: The arts, on the other hand, tend to fall short. The Rotary Club of Redondo Beach is very happy to do our small part to correct this by offering a $500 top prize.
 
Sue Johnson
Convincing a tired Lee Travino after he finishes up on the 18th, that he needs to stick around because a golf ball may (or may not) have landed in his bag, and getting a call at the Masters that the walking scorer not only does not seem to know how to score, but also apparently can’t tell Tiger Woods, Lee Westford and John Daley apart, are all par for the course for national golf scoring chairperson Sue Johnson.
 
Sue Johnson has been a scoring professional golf since the 1970s. A math teacher at the time, while her father was a Pro Am golf pro and scoring chair for Canterbury Woods Country Club in New Hampshire, Sue was often tasked with double checking the scores and helping prepare the statistical analyses for the pairings. A pivotal moment came for Sue in 1989 while checking the scores of the first day of the Pro Am. Sue ran the numbers and found that pairings were incorrect.
 
“She’s right. Oh my God, she’s right,” she heard from the skeptical PGA rep.
On the second day of play, the same mistakes were made. Sue spotted them and corrected them.
 
“So,” asked the PGA rep, “Do you like to travel? Really travel?”
 
Sue, single at the time and with her weekends free, said, “Sure, I like to travel!”
 
And travel she did: Sue worked as a teacher during the week and headed to the airport almost every Friday to score dozens of PGA tournaments around the country.
 
The scoring chair plays a vital role and can have a huge impact. During a particular tournament in Abilene, Texas, which was plagued by wind and rain, George Archer finished his round and was packing up, ready to call it a day. On his way out the door, Sue stopped him.
 
“You might want to stick around. You’re tied for the lead, you know,” Sue told him.
 
George Archer ended up winning a five-way play-off. On the flight out of Texas, Sue happened to be seated across from George. “Give her whatever she wants, I’m buying” George told the flight attendant.
 
In addition to occasional good news, the scoring chair calls the shots on the green. For example, that one time in Cincinnati: The golf ball in fact did land in a very done-for-the-day Lee Trevino’s golf bag, which was on a golf cart parked behind the 18th green. No go, Lee, golf comes first: The ball was retrieved from Trevino’s bag and play resumed. However, the golf bag was not secured properly to the golf cart. And when Lee, finally permitted to leave, stepped on the pedal, it sent his bag and all his clubs flying all over the course. The Merry Mex was left less than merry that day.
 
The scoring chair must also manage the walking scorers, who are present at the greens. In addition to knowing the rules, it is really helpful, when the walking scorers recognize the players. At Pinehurst, no less, one walking scorer not only didn’t know the rules of golf, but could not recognize three of the biggest names to ever step on a green: Tiger Woods, Lee Westford and John Daley. When the television producers put that call into Sue, you better believe it was all supervisors on deck.
 
Sue has had the honor of scoring 62 U.S. Opens and has left an important legacy of accuracy to the sport of professional golf. Not only in golf, but Sue has brought her scoring expertise to the sport of Olympic synchronized swimming. Thank you, Sue, for sharing your experiences and expertise with the club.