Dear Dr. High and Members of the Board,

On behalf of the Wheeling Country Club members signed below, we are asking you to reconsider the hiring of Joey Seabright for the position of Head Golf Professional.

First and foremost, Joey’s work ethic and member relations are unmatched. He is, in essence, the face of the Club. He opens the shop, sets up tournament courses, greets the members’ families at the pool in the summer, and handles the daily operations of the Club. Jason Martin brought both professionalism to the Club that generated a lot of participation among the membership and a great reputation within the community and the Western PA PGA. Our Club will forever be thankful his efforts. However, his success was due in part to the tireless work of Joey.

As the president and board members, you understand the challenges of running and trying to grow a country club in a smaller city like Wheeling. There is a limited amount any pro can do on his own without an influx of money into the course and the Club; however, in this case, because of Joey’s local ties, he has the ability to attract members based solely upon his personal relationships throughout Wheeling. He can do this without any appreciable loss in service to the standing membership or requiring an expenditure of funds we have been repeatedly told the Club does not have. He is an intelligent, polite, and highly skilled golfer. We believe he is what Wheeling Country Club needs to grow, especially to attract younger members which the Club desperately needs.

Unlike many of the pros applying for this position, being the pro at our Club will not be a stepping stone for Joey. This is his home, and this is where he wants to be. The type of loyalty he exudes is not only rare in the club pro profession, but is also an attribute worth rewarding.

We understand Joey may not have answered questions in the interview the way the board would have liked. But please remember – you cannot let a 10-minute interview decide a person’s (or the club’s) future. He has been essentially interviewing for this position for the last five years, and you would be hard pressed to find any member unhappy with him or his performance in his role at the club.

Had we known Joey was not the clear-cut choice as the next golf pro, we would have shown our support sooner. But know that we 100 percent support him and we desire him to lead our club. We are fearful of losing members because of this decision and we do not want to take steps backward from the growth we’ve experienced over Jason’s tenure.

Again – please reconsider hiring Joey. We have full confidence in his ability as the next golf professional.