Kenneth A. Phillips (above, right) of Lancaster Country Club has been elected to serve a one-year term as President of GAP for its 2024 fiscal year, per the recommendation of the GAP Nominating Committee. Phillips is the 35th Association President. He will lead the most diverse board in Association history composed of minority and female representation.
| Executive Committee | GAP Presidents |
Phillips succeeds Oscar L. Mestre (above, left) of Overbrook Golf Club, who completed his third one-year term as President, the limit for service in that office under the Association’s bylaws.
Phillips, 64, of Lancaster, Pa., served as the organization’s Vice President from 2021-23. He has been a board member since 2017. Phillips started caddying at Lancaster Country Club at age 10 in 1969. He joined the club as a member in 1986. He is an accomplished player who has been elected into his high school (Conestoga Valley School District), college (Davis & Elkins College) and the Lancaster County Golf Association halls of fame. Phillips is a veteran of golf administration. He served as LCC’s president (2000-01) as well as on its board and is a Past President of the Pennsylvania Golf Association (2018). He also co-chaired the Marshal Committee at the 2015 U.S. Women’s Open held at LCC. Professionally, Phillips is a Managing Director with Raymond James specializing in municipal finance, working with Pennsylvania school districts, municipalities and 501(c)(3) organizations.
The election of Officers and the 17-member Executive Committee, a volunteer group, occurred on Dec. 13, 2023 during the Association’s Annual Meeting at Overbrook Golf Club.
Also elected to one-year terms as Officers are Jeffrey B. Armbrister, Philadelphia Cricket Club, Vice President; Meghan A. Adams, Wilmington Country Club, Secretary; and P. Edward Lovelidge, Union League National Golf Club, Treasurer. Armbrister, who served as Secretary last year, is the first Black person elected to Vice President. Adams, elected to the board a year ago, is the first female to hold an Officer position. Jeffrey S. Henderson of Gulph Mills Golf Club is re-elected for a one-year term in his current role as General Counsel. Lovelidge is in his third year as Treasurer.
Others on the GAP Executive Committee who were elected to serve additional one-year terms each are James J. Black, III, Philadelphia Country Club; James A. Collins, Lookaway Golf Club; Drew W. Garis, North Hills Country Club; David Kornblatt, Merion Golf Club; Michael H. Lewers, Aronimink Golf Club; Tracey S. MacGown, Saucon Valley Country Club; Larry McClure, Frosty Valley; Glenn D. Meyer, Union League Liberty Hill; and MaryAnn Watson, Huntingdon Valley Country Club. Tina S. Gregor of Huntingdon Valley Country Club is an ex-officio member of the Executive Committee as a result of her role as Chairwoman of the J. Wood Platt Caddie Scholarship Trust. There are three new representatives elected to one-year terms on the Executive Committee: Adam Bracy, Tavistock Country Club; Jackie F. Beck, Lehigh Country Club and Jack Wallace, Riverton Country Club. Beck is part of the first husband-wife duo to serve. Husband Robert Beck was a member of the Executive Committee from 2000-02.
• Bracy, 44, of Edgewater Park, N.J., is a Vice President of TD Bank with 20 years of experience delivering banking, lending, investment management, and trust and estate planning services to high net worth individuals and institutional clients. Among his community outreaches, Bracy is a member of the YMCA of Burlington and Camden County Advisory Board. He fell in love with golf at Rancocas Golf Club, where a diverse group of golfers became a second family, lifelong friends, and important professional contacts. After an accomplished Junior career, which included many competitive rounds at Cobbs Creek Golf Club, Bracy played collegiately at Drexel University. He is a member of Tavistock Country Club, where he serves as captain of its BMW GAP Team Matches team. Adam and wife, Nikki, have three children: Taylor (25), Sydney (23) and Jordan (17).
• Wallace, 39, of Cinnaminson, N.J., is a licensed professional engineer with experience in design, project management and sales. He manages the Equipment Sales Division of Municipal Maintenance Co. – a water and wastewater utility contractor that sells and services pumping equipment. Wallace received his bachelor’s and MBA from Drexel University, where he played on the golf team. He currently serves on The First Tee of Greater Philadelphia’s Advisory Board and is a member of Riverton Country Club. Wallace grew up at Burlington Country Club and has regularly competed in GAP tournaments for more than 25 years. He won the 2012 Pennsylvania Golf Association Middle-Amateur Championship. Jack and his wife Nicole have a son, Joseph (4).
• Beck, 60, of Allentown, Pa., is a retired professional geologist with 20 years of experience in the environmental consulting field working for URS, HDR and AECOM. Born in Philadelphia and raised in South Jersey, Beck graduated from Paul VI High School and received her bachelor’s degree in geology from Rider College (now University), and an M.S. and Ph.D. from the University of Pennsylvania, where she studied nutrient cycling in rain forest soils. Beck’s husband of 17 years, Bob, served on the GAP E.C. from 2000-02. Beck joined Lehigh in 2006. She started playing golf in 2010 and developed an instant love for the game. She won the 2020 Women’s Club Championship and the Women’s Senior Club Championship twice (2022-23). Beck served on Lehigh’s Women’s Golf Committee for 10 years, five of those as Chairwoman. She’s been a GAP Rules Official since 2019 and served on GAP’s Women’s Committee since its inception in 2018.
Retiring from the Executive Committee as of GAP’s Nov. 30, 2023 fiscal year-end are Mestre (2014-23) and Edward P. Hutchinson (2014-23). There was an additional vacancy on the board with a mid-season retirement of William Landman of Green Valley Country Club.
The 2023 Nominating Committee was chaired by T. Quinn Spitzer (GAP President, 2018-20), Makefield Highlands Golf Club. Its other members were Robert M. Morey (GAP President, 2012-15), Merion Golf Club, and Daniel B. Burton (GAP President, 2006-08), Lancaster Country Club.
GAP
Celebrating Amateur Golf since 1897, GAP, also known as the Golf Association of Philadelphia, is the oldest regional or state golf association in the United States. It serves as the principal ruling body of amateur golf in its region. The organization’s 340 Member Clubs and 110,000 individual members are spread across Pennsylvania, Delaware, New Jersey and Maryland. The GAP’s mission is to promote, preserve and protect the game of golf.
