Haynie, Nilsson, Powell Named Honorary Members of LPGA
Teaching and Club Professional Division

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. - The Executive Committee of the Ladies Professional Golf Association (LPGA) Teaching and Club Professional (T&CP) Division has selected LPGA Tour Hall of Famer Sandra Haynie, Sweden's Pia Nilsson and Renee Powell as the latest honorary members of the LPGA T&CP Division. The trio are the first honorary members of the LPGA T&CP Division since LPGA Tour Hall of Famer and Founder Louise Suggs was selected in 1994.

In order for an individual to be selected as an honorary member of the LPGA T&CP Division, they must be deemed, "A person who has, in the opinion of the LPGA T&CP Division Executive Committee, made an outstanding contribution to the objectives of the LPGA Teaching and Club Professional Division."

"All three individuals have LPGA and industry-wide recognition and bring special and unique professional qualities and experience to the LPGA T&CP Division," said LPGA Commissioner Ty M. Votaw. "Their current professional education activities and expertise reflect outstanding contributions to the objectives of the division and will contribute and support the division, not only for the year 2000 and our 50th anniversary celebrations, but for many years to come."

Haynie, inducted into the LPGA Tour Hall of Fame in 1977, currently serves as chief executive officer of Sandra Haynie Enterprises, which develops and facilitates golf instructional programs, business training, team building and motivational and employee empowerment training. Haynie, the 1970 LPGA Player of the Year, accumulated 42 victories from 1962-82 and played on the LPGA Tour from 1961-97.

Haynie was inducted into the Women's Sports Foundation Hall of Fame in 1999 and was one of 100 women honored as Texas Women of the Century in 1999. A native of Fort Worth, Texas, Haynie is also a member of the Texas Sports Hall of Fame (1996) and the Texas Golf Hall of Fame (1984).

Nilsson, a member of the LPGA Tour from 1983-87, is a long-time teacher and coach of the Swedish National Teams. Nilsson served as the senior head coach for the Swedish National Teams for several years. She currently serves as the project coordinator for the Swedish Olympic Committee and is the golf educator and coach at The Legacy Golf Resort in Phoenix, Ariz.

Nilsson served as the European Solheim Cup Team captain in 1998 and was the vice captain in 1996. She received the Leadership Award from the Swedish Sports Confederation in 1999 and received the King of Sweden's Medal of the Eighth dimension with Royal Blue Ribbon in 1998. Nilsson also was named the sports coach of the year in Sweden in 1995 and female sports coach of the year in Sweden in 1994.

Powell, the 1999 Budget Service Award recipient, played on the LPGA Tour for 13 years from 1967-80. One of only three African-American women to ever play on the LPGA Tour in its 50-year history, Powell is the only African-American woman to become a Professional Class A member of both the LPGA and PGA of America. She is currently the head professional at Clearview Golf Club in East Canton, Ohio.

Powell's contributions to teaching the game of golf and to the development of junior programs are numerous. In 1995, Powell established The Renee Powell Youth Golf Camp Cadre Program, which is designed to give inner-city junior high school-aged youth an opportunity to learn and play the game of golf. She was recently named development and programming consultant for the First Tee Program, a program of the World Golf Foundation. Powell has also established annual celebrity and pro-am tournaments for charities such as The Special Olympics, the United Negro College Fund and the Ronald McDonald House Charities.

Other honorary members of the LPGA T&CP Division are: LPGA Founders Patty Berg, Marilynn Smith, Shirley Spork and Suggs, LPGA Tour Hall of Famer's Carol Mann and Kathy Whitworth, as well as Betty Hicks and Paula Marafino. The addition of Haynie, Nilsson and Powell brings the number of current LPGA T&CP Division honorary members to 11.