PDGA Continues to Grow with New Hires and Restructured Departments

The Professional Disc Golf Association (PDGA) has been experiencing rapid growth over the past 18 months, with records being broken in active memberships and sanctioned events month after month. To keep up with this surge, the PDGA has made several changes to its organization and staff. These changes aim to better serve the growing number of members while continuing to fulfill the organization's obligations as the global governing body of disc golf.

One of the key changes is the restructure of the "PDGA Tour" and "Events" offices into new directorates with new names that reflect their responsibilities more accurately. The "PDGA Tour" office, which serves as the primary contact for tournament directors and players seeking assistance for sanctioned events, has been renamed "Event Support". Meanwhile, the previous "Events" office will be renamed to "Operations & Logistics".

The Event Support Team is one of the areas that have seen significant changes with the introduction of two new positions. These individuals will focus on directly supporting tournament directors and players of sanctioned events, from PDGA Leagues to Majors and everything in between. They will also work on developing training materials to educate tournament directors and players on how to run and participate in sanctioned events.

Andrew "Big Dog" Sweeton, the longest-tenured PDGA staff member, has shifted his responsibilities to focus solely on directing the overall events process. He has dedicated over a decade to keeping PDGA events running smoothly as membership and the number of sanctioned events have grown exponentially year after year.

Todd Lion has joined the Event Support Team as an Event Support and Training Manager. He brings hands-on experience from dozens of elite-level events, where he worked with local teams to set up courses, act as a roaming marshal, and provide additional day-of event support. Mike "Sully" Sullivan, who served on the PDGA Board of Directors since 2018, has resigned to accept a full-time position as an Event Support and Training Manager alongside Todd Lion.

Amber Schoch will take over as Event Support Assistant, continuing her role in administering sanctioning processes for tournaments while working closely with Todd and Sully to facilitate tournament support functions. She brings over nine years of experience working part-time and full-time with the PDGA.

In addition to these changes, the PDGA has also made new hires in various departments. Mark Wetherell has taken on leadership in accounting, modernizing and streamlining financial processes to ensure high accountability and ease of use for members. Ben Botto is focusing on enhancing the PDGA Digital Scorecard application and improving Tournament Central.

The IDGC Staff has also seen some changes with Nate Michalove being promoted to IDGC Manager. Patrick Graziani and Nathaniel Samsel have joined the team as IDGC Assistants, working alongside Nate to maintain the high standards of the International Disc Golf Center.

Danny Voss has been appointed Director of Marketing, overseeing the PDGA's overall marketing strategy and outward-facing communications. Matthew Rothstein is now the Media Manager, focusing on building relationships with media outlets, securing contracted coverage, and developing promotional materials. Hayden Henry continues as Communications Manager, composing articles for PDGA.com and providing in-house photography.

The PDGA will continue to grow its staff to meet the demands of its members and tournament directors. Currently, there are two positions open for hire, and more announcements are expected soon.

This article was compiled from disc golf coverage with AI assistance. Source: pdga.com — https://www.pdga.com/news/pdga-staffs-meet-growing-membership