Jen's Niche: Good news, sad news . . .

I got a job!!!! A real, "grown -up" job with benefits and everything.

Although I see myself as a laid back person who doesn't get stressed easily, I will admit that my financial situation and lack of a full time job has been stressing me out since January. With the bad economy I knew it was going to be tough to find a job to help me pay off student loans, but I had no idea how hard job searching would truly be. Every job that I have ever "landed" was through networking: coaching gymnastics, Inkleys, Mountain View Golf Course, and the PGA; so I was a little worried when I realized I didn't have a strong network after college.

A few months passed and I still had no call backs from any job I sent an application or resume to. As a result, I decided to work for the PGA again and help run junior golf tournaments. I was a little relectant to go back since I had promised myself that last year was going to be the end but I am so glad I decided to run tournaments again because I built a whole new network.

One of the parents of a junior golfer decided to help me out and refer my name to a few companies. Within two weeks I had calls from the Langdon Group and Intrepid Agency. I interviewed with both companies, but it was clear the Intrepid wasn't going to work out. The Langon Group interview went really well and it seemed like I would fit in but I was (still am) a little worried about learning all of the new skills that will be required of me. After a few weeks of waiting for a phone call letting me know if I got the job, my phone finally rang and it was my new boss offering me a full time position! It was like the weight of 7 months of worry was lifted in a few minutes. I am so excited to start working in two weeks and have an income!

But now for the sad news . . .

My time with Junior Golf Connection (JGC) and the Utah Section PGA is coming to an end and I couldn't be more sad to say goodbye to such a great summer job.

I started running junior golf tournaments in the summer of 2006 (Can you believe that was almost five years ago!). In 2006, JGC was called the Pepsi Junior Tour and I ran tournaments with Todd Meyer.

The next summer, the PGA took over the tournaments and renamed the program Junior Golf Connection. I was lucky enough to have the PGA adopt me as their new employee. At that time, I ran the tournaments with Todd and Casey (another PGA employee). Casey was such a greta person to work with and that summer I really got to know the junior golfers and became invested in their success and lives.

For the next three summers, I continued to run the JGC tournaments. I had to set up the events, make scoreboards, take pictures, and ultimately try and grow the game of golf. I've worked with so many great people over the years, Todd Meyer, Casey Lehman, Connor, Kelsey, Tori, and Kelsey H. I have been so lucky to have this great experience. What gets to me the most is how much I have seen these kids grow up! I have seen five sets of senior players golf as a junior for their last year, graduate high school and move on to college. I have seen little 10 year old boys struggle during thier first golf tournament and now they are learning how to drive in anticipation to get their driver's license. I know I am not old, but watching these kids grow up sure makes me feel "old." Here are pictures from the past five years with Junior Golf Connection.