Sammie Chergo named Executive Director of Colorado Golf Hall of Fame

In 2009, after coaching the University of Denver’s women’s golf team to consecutive top-10 finishes in the 2008 and 2009 NCAA finals, Sammie Chergo received the Colorado Golf Hall of Fame’s Golf Person of the Year Award. Seven years later, the Hall has again rewarded Chergo’s leadership by naming her its executive director.

Chergo, who left DU in 2013 after 15 years and nine consecutive Sun Belt Conference titles, comes to the Hall of Fame from Oregon State University, where she led the women’s golf team for the past two years. During her tenure, the Beavers set 17 team and individual records, including overall season scoring average, and had their highest finish (seventh) in program history in the Pac 12 Championships. She also developed the program’s first successful fundraising group.

But, she says, she missed Colorado. “My family is here.”

So is a rich legacy of achievement. A star in softball, basketball and soccer at Arvada West, Chergo earned USA Today’s Colorado Female High School Athlete of the Year in 1988. Switching to golf in college, she earned three letters as a member of the CSU golf team. As the first coach of the Pioneers, she built the program into a national powerhouse, winning six Conference Coach of the Year awards and helping to raise more than $20 million in direct endowments, capital campaigns and annual program giving.

“Sammie’s past accomplishments demonstrate that she is a consistent high achiever,” Colorado Golf Hall of Fame President Scott Radcliffe says. “We’re delighted that she will be applying her talents to help us achieve our goals.”

Those goals are ambitious. In addition to honoring the more than 130 men and women who have made outstanding contributions to golf in the Centennial State, the 43-year-old nonprofit organization raises funds to preserve the history of Colorado golf at its museum in the clubhouse at the Riverdale Golf Courses in Brighton.

The board of directors also looks to Chergo to elevate the Hall’s profile through imaginative initiatives aimed at fortifying the future of the game. This spring, the Colorado Golf Hall of Fame Classic 100 Campaign grossed approximately $90,000 towards programs devoted to junior golf.

The former coach  couldn’t be more excited. “There is such a rich history of excellence within this organization,” she says. “I look forward to being a part of the excellence and building a difference-making future on the rich tradition of celebrating the best of the past, present and future of Colorado golf. It’s wonderful to be back home working with the Colorado golf community that means so very much to me.”

This article appears in the Fall 2016 issue of Colorado AvidGolfer. Subscribe today!

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