Cherry Hills’ Kevin Hood Honored

Chuck Stogel

Elmsford, NY (June 9, 2013) — Kevin Hood, general manager of Cherry Hills Country Club in Cherry Hills Village, CO, has been selected to receive the Metropolitan Golf Writers Association’s Mary Bea Porter Award.

The presentation will be made on June 18 at the MGWA’s 62nd National Awards Dinner at the Westchester Marriott in Tarrytown, NY.

The award recognizes an individual or organization in golf who, through an heroic or humanitarian act, saves or betters the lives of others.  It is named in honor of former LPGA Tour pro Mary Bea Porter King who, during qualifying for the 1988 Samaritan Turquoise Classic in Phoenix, left the course in mid-round and saved the life of a drowning 3-year-old boy at a home adjacent to a fairway.

Other honorees at this year’s dinner include tour pro Paul Azinger, receiving the MGWA’s Gold Tee Award, plus Metropolitan PGA Executive Director Charles Robson, the PGA TOUR Wives Association, the Honda Classic, veteran sportscaster Ed Ingles, and Old Oaks Country Club in Purchase, NY.

It was on Jan. 29 earlier this year when Hood responded to a “Code Blue” call at Cherry Hills CC after club member John Moore, who had just celebrated his 87th birthday with friends, fell and apparently hit his head and lost consciousness. Moore’s airway was blocked when his tongue got caught in the back of his mouth and, according to Hood, there was no pulse.

When Hood, a certified health fitness instructor, arrived, he began to administer CPR, including 60 chest compressions and several rescue breaths. The suburban Denver club’s automated external defibrillator (AED) indicated that no shock was needed, so Hood continued with 20 more compressions before Moore took a short, gaspy breath. Another club staff member helped to clear Moore’s airway and, shortly thereafter, paramedics arrived and transported Moore to a local medical center where, with several broken ribs, he spent 10 days as a patient, including the first few in intensive care.

The happy outcome to this story is that Moore, a member at Cherry Hills for 40 years and a citizen of the Cherokee nation, fully recovered from the incident and is back enjoying his club membership.

Hood readily attributes the actions which helped save Moore’s life to emergency preparedness at the club.  All of Cherry Hills’ supervisors and activity area professionals, including Hood, are trained in Red Cross CPR and First Aid measures, and take training update sessions twice a year.

Founded in 1922, Cherry Hills has been the site of 11 “major” golf events, including three U.S. Opens and two PGAs.  Its course, designed by William Flynn, is regularly listed among the Top 100 in the U.S.  The club most recently hosted the 2012 U.S. Amateur and is due to host the PGA TOUR’s BMW Championship in 2014.

Hood, who turns 52 on June 7, is in his eighth year at Cherry Hills. A starting linebacker at the University of Colorado and former pro football player with the Denver Gold of the USFL, he has a Bachelor’s degree in physical education from Colorado and a Master’s in exercise and health related fitness from the University of Houston. He lives with his wife, Brenda, in Wheat Ridge, CO, and they have one son, Noah.

Colorado AvidGolfer is the state’s leading resource for golf and the lifestyle that surrounds it. It publishes eight issues annually and proudly delivers daily content via www.coloradoavidgolfer.com.