FOR RELEASE: Wednesday, Dec. 10, 2025
JAGA HONORS 2025 AWARD WINNERS
JACKSONVILLE, FL – The Jacksonville Area Golf Association announced its 2025 JAGA Award winners at the organization’s end-of-year Annual Meeting at Stillwater Golf and Country Club.
The honorees are:
Club Executive of the Year – Barbara Harris, Windy Harbor Golf Club
Community Service Award – Bill Pease
Director Emeritus – Ray Gottschalk, Sawgrass Country Club
Earl & Eleanor Kelly Long-Term Service Award – Jack Morehead, NAS Jacksonville Golf Club
JAGA Director of the Year – Jeff Johnstone, Sawgrass Country Club
Professional of the Year – Blanton Tessin, Timuquana Country Club
Superintendent of the Year – Tim Lyons, Marsh Landing Country Club
2025 JAGA Award Winners (left to right) – Bill Pease, Ray Gottschalk, Barbara Harris,
Tim Lyons, Jeff Johnstone, Blanton Tessin, Jack Morehead
Credit: JAGA
CLUB EXECUTIVE OF THE YEAR
Barbara Harris
Golf Course Manager, Windy Harbor Golf Club
Presenter: Jerry Wood, JAGA director, Windy Harbor Golf Club
Barbara Harris has been an employee at Windy Harbor Golf Club for 28 years. She started her career at Windy Harbor as a member of the pro shop staff and has risen steadily through the ranks over the years having been promoted to Assistant Golf Professional, then Head Golf Professional, and now Golf Course Manager. A California-born surfer girl and one of nine children, Harris is an LPGA Class A professional and a 19-year Navy spouse, who learned to play golf from her father. At Windy Harbor, her responsibilities include everything associated with the golf operation, including Bogey’s Restaurant and Bar. The facility is unique in that it is an “all gals operation”, led by Harris, assistant golf professional Kim Goedecke and new golf course superintendent Gina Williams. Her merchandising skills are well respected among her members and fellow PGA Chapter members. Harris runs a highly efficient operation and excels at managing club tournaments despite having limited employees and resources at her disposal. An epicurean, she often shares things with food and beverage presented in a discerning manner. Importantly, she enjoys an extremely diverse clientele of golfers at Windy Harbor and is active with junior golfers on the First Coast.
COMMUNITY SERVICE AWARD
Bill Pease
Presenter: Ken Hicks, JAGA director, St. Johns Golf and Country Club
Dr. William Pease has dedicated his life to excellence, resilience, and inspiring others through music and sport. His journey began in 1983 as a snare drummer with The Cadets Drum and Bugle Corps of Bergen County, N.J. After earning a degree from West Chester University, Pease led award-winning bands at schools in Virginia Beach, Va. where he inspired students to reach their full potential. Next, he earned both a master’s degree and a doctorate in conducting and wound up returning to Virginia to become the Director of Bands at the University of Virginia. There, he founded the Cavalier Marching Band, transforming it from a handful of eager students into a thriving ensemble of 350 members.
In 2019, Pease retired from UVA for medical reasons after being diagnosed with Stargardt disease – a rare genetic eye condition that causes progressive central vision loss. Despite his vision declining to about 20/800, Pease’s commitment to excellence never wavered. He adapted by enlarging musical scores and memorizing entire arrangements, ensuring his students continued to thrive under his leadership.
Following his retirement, the Peases moved to Florida. Golf had always been a passion, and vision loss did not deter Pease. Instead, he embraced the challenge—learning to play as a blind golfer with the help of his sons, who served as his coaches. Hard work and determination led him to become the number-one ranked blind golfer in the United States. Wishing to advance the cause, Pease would become actively involved with the United States Blind Golf Association and then found the Florida Blind Golf Initiative, which brings clinics and tournaments to Northeast Florida. In 2022, Bill was invited to compete at the USGA’s inaugural U.S. Adaptive Open Championship at Pinehurst, N.C., where athletes with various physical and intellectual disabilities competed at the highest level.
More recently, Pease established We Can Golf 2, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, to advance mission-driven initiatives and expand access to adaptive golf, and in May 2025, he and his family (wife Linda and three children) hosted the World Golf Village Adaptive Championship – the largest adaptive golf event in history, offering a record-breaking $50,000 purse. Bill Pease’s journey from championship drummer to acclaimed music educator to nationally ranked blind golfer is a testament to perseverance, innovation, and the power of family support.
DIRECTOR EMERITUS (Special Recognition Award)
Ray Gottschalk
JAGA Director, Timuquana Country Club
Presenter: Gregg Deiboldt, JAGA Director, Sawgrass Country Club
Ray Gottschalk has been a JAGA member for over 30 years serving as a director for Sawgrass Country Club. In 2016, he was honored as JAGA Director of the Year. Over the years, he has been instrumental in establishing Sawgrass guidelines for determining its scholarship candidates and interview process and following up with the scholars along the way. Gottschalk has also worked hand-in-hand with the club’s general managers every year to make sure Sawgrass is one of the most generous JAGA member facilities when it comes to scholarship donations.
Born in 1934, Ray started playing golf at a course in his hometown of Cleveland, Ohio when he was 10 years old and worked and caddied there until he was 19. After a 32-year career with UPS, he retired, moved to Florida in 1989, and became a member of Sawgrass Country Club, where he is well known, respected, and liked by all members and staff.
Director Emeritus recognition is a rare JAGA honor, bestowed only upon special people who have made extra special contributions to JAGA. Gottschalk has always performed his duties in a quiet, classy and understated manner. Within JAGA, Gottschalk has set the standard for what a director should be when representing his or her club. At Sawgrass, he has mentored all new directors by unselfishly sharing his wealth of knowledge and experience. In German, his last name translates to “Servant to God”. This Gottschalk truly lives up to his name, with his generosity and volunteer spirit making life better for everyone he comes in touch with.
EARL & ELEANOR KELLY LONG-TERM SERVICE AWARD
Jack Morehead
JAGA Director, NAS Jacksonville Golf Club
Presenter: Jeff Adams, Past JAGA President and JAGA Director, TPC Sawgrass
For more than a decade, Jack Morehead has been one of JAGA’s most dedicated JAGA directors, always going about his business in a quiet and very professional manner. The Retired Navy Veteran was introduced to JAGA in 2013 by then-treasurer Don Gilmore. The two had become friends as ShotLink committee volunteers at THE PLAYERS Championship. Gilmore recognized his friend’s strong work ethic – he was a “get it done kind of guy, who you could always count on!” – and saw the potential for a new asset for JAGA, and invited Morehead to become a JAGA director, representing NAS Jacksonville Golf Club. Gilmore soon identified the need for assistance in the registration process at JAGA meetings, which Morehead happily accepted. A year later, Morehead was officially appointed assistant treasurer, a JAGA first. It was a role he excelled in and would serve in until 2024 when the registration process went all digital.
Always a rules aficionado, Morehead became a JAGA rules official at the bequest of then-JAGA Vice President of Tournaments Thomas Bozzuto in 2019. Their rules connection had been made when the duo worked together at the former David Gates Golf Headquarters in Jacksonville. When Bozzuto left the Gates store to become assistant golf professional at Eagle Landing Golf Club, Morehead was his go-to guy for rules questions. Reconnected at JAGA, Bozzuto encouraged Morehead to officiate at JAGA tournaments, which he has done on a regular basis ever since, providing invaluable expertise to the JAGA tournament operations team.
Not slowing down, Morehead continues to work on the club repair side of things for the PGA TOUR Superstore at Town Center Mall and volunteers for THE PLAYERS, Constellation Furyk & Friends, and other events. Having been involved in the game in one form or another for more than 60 years, Morehead is the epitome of one “who walks the walk” in giving back to the game he loves.
JAGA DIRECTOR OF THE YEAR
Jeff Johnstone
JAGA Director, Sawgrass Country Club
Presenter: Joe Cronauer, JAGA director, Sawgrass Country Club
Jeff Johnstone has served as a JAGA Director from Sawgrass Country Club since 2021. He quickly began committing significant personal time to the organization to successfully seek and sponsor scholarship applicants from his club, and in 2022 was elected JAGA’s Vice President of Tournaments, a position he has been reelected to each year since.
Based upon successful careers as a Naval Officer and as a Senior Vice President in business, he has leveraged his leadership and networking skills to orchestrate nine tournaments per year, which encompasses identifying host golf courses, scheduling, player recruitment and registration, pre-tournament arrangements and event execution. Along the way, Johnstone has found ways to elevate the prestige of JAGA tournaments while effectively managing operating costs. Examples are the JAGA Jacksonville Amateur Championship presented by Pinnacle and the JAGA First Coast Amateur presented by the City of Jacksonville, both of which attract elite fields and award World Amateur Golf Ranking points to their top finishers. The list also includes JAGA’s longest-running championship, the 69-year-old JAGA Senior Amateur, which earlier this week announced it had signed its first presenting sponsor, Lennar, thanks to Johnstone’s efforts.
Johnstone has driven JAGA’s use of new technology through implementation of the Golf Genius tournament management platform and recently, by rebuilding JAGA’s website. A native of Moline, Ill., Johnstone was a collegiate tennis player and swimmer. He is a competitive golfer, grill master, and an aficionado of fine wines. Jeff and his wife, Kelly, enjoy traveling and cherish spending time with their family.
PROFESSIONAL OF THE YEAR
Blanton Tessin
Director of Golf, Timuquana Country Club
Presenter: Charles Trinder, JAGA director, Timuquana Country Club
“Bobby Jones would have really liked him!” These are the words of a Timuquana Country Club member whose dad was a close friend of the great Bobby Jones, and who himself had the opportunity to take lessons from Mr. Jones. The high praise of Timuquana’s director of golf Blanton Tessin is in perfect sync with the JAGA Professional of the Year award’s intent to celebrate an individual who enhances the golf experience and promotes goodwill within the golf community of Northeast Florida.
Tessin is recognized for going above and beyond in his director of golf role at Timuquana. JAGA experienced this firsthand in July when the Donald Ross gem hosted the JAGA Jacksonville Amateur presented by Pinnacle for the first time.
His golf journey began at a very early age at Francis Lake Golf Club near Valdosta, Ga. washing golf carts. A 2006 graduate of Columbus (Ga.) State University, where he played Division II golf, his career path has taken him to prominent clubs including Quail Hollow Club, Seminole Golf Club and Shoal Creek Golf Club.
His experiences as a PGA of America member have been extensive and include roles in managing PGA TOUR and PGA TOUR Champions events when he was at Quail Hollow GC (Wells Fargo Championship) and the last five years at Timuquana CC (Constellation Furyk & Friends presented by Circle K).
It was nearly six years ago when, as the head golf professional at Vestavia Hills Country Club in Birmingham, Ala., he got a call from Jacksonville, and shortly thereafter accepted the opportunity to head the golf operation at Timuquana.
Tessin has brought all his experience and built on it at Timuquana, starting when he assembled a superb staff. In his five-plus years there, he has become highly respected for being extremely knowledgeable, very visible, attentive to his members’ needs, and courteous to all. His quiet, likeable demeanor is greatly appreciated by his members and others in the golf community he comes in contact with him.
While his duties at Timuquana keep Tessin plenty busy, he manages to keep his game in good form and competes as often as he can around Northeast Florida. Since coming to Jacksonville, Tessin has been named to two Underwood Cup teams. Apparently once a risk taker, he was known to jump out of airplanes for fun. Those days ended when he broke his leg in a landing mishap. Tessin is the proud father of three children – Hank, Millie, and Lucy.
SUPERINTENDENT OF THE YEAR
Tim Lyons
Golf Course Superintendent, Marsh Landing Country Club
Presenter: John Tancredi, JAGA director, Marsh Landing Country Club
Tim Lyons has been golf course superintendent at Marsh Landing since 2008, which makes him one of the longest tenured superintendents, if not the longest, at one club in Northeast Florida. He started at Marsh Landing in 1991, and met his wife, Rebecca, there. He originally intended to go to engineering school but liked the outdoor work so much he decided to go to Turf School in Lake City under a JAGA scholarship.
Lyons has introduced several innovations at Marsh Landing. One of which is a novel aerating system which allows the club’s greens to stay healthy during the winter. Another is an environmentally friendly way to minimize the goose population at the course. Lyons credits his success to a core team of individuals who have been working with him for over seven years. This past April, Lyons and his crew did an excellent job in preparing and conditioning Marsh Landing for the 68th JAGA Senior Amateur Championship. He and Rebecca have two sons, Kevin and Jack.
The 2025 JAGA Awards Nominating Committee consisted of Duke Butler, Cary Helton, John Milton, Fred Seely and John Tancredi.
For a list of past winners of all the JAGA awards, click HERE
-JAGA-
Note to Editors:
Photos featuring individual honorees receiving their awards are available upon request from Fred Seely (fs4569@comcast.net).
Established in 1954, JAGA celebrates its 72nd year in 2025. It is a not-for-profit corporation of approximately 40-member golf facilities located in Northeast Florida. JAGA’s mission is to promote golf, community and goodwill through tournaments and related events and activities. It conducts or supports 11 tournaments, including six championship events and five others that feature team formats. JAGA has a charitable arm that manages a scholarship program which currently provides college funding for more than 60 area students. Since 1974, the program has generated approximately $2 million in financial aid to approximately 400 students.
Anyone interested in receiving JAGA’s monthly “Northeast Florida Golf News” and announcements about JAGA and its tournaments for free via email may do so by clicking here or going to the JAGA homepage (www.jaxareagolf.org) and the box that reads “Subscribe to JAGA Email”.
Contact:
Jeff Adams
JAGA
Email: jeffreytadams71@gmail.com
Tel: 904-607-6142