Century Club of San Diego

NEWS
PURPOSE
HISTORY
OFFICERS

The Century Club of San Diego Names Peter Ripa Tournament Director for Farmers Insurance Open

Joins from Crowne Plaza Invitational at Colonial, Ft. Worth; Wilson Plans Retirement After Leading Club for 20 Years

SAN DIEGO, Calif. -- The Century Club of San Diego, a 501(c) (3) charitable organization and the host of the PGA Tour’s Farmers Insurance Open, today announced the hiring of Peter Ripa as its new tournament director. Ripa will serve as tournament director for the 2012 Farmers Insurance Open and succeed Tom Wilson as executive director of the Century Club following Wilson’s planned retirement at the conclusion of the 2012 tournament.

“Peter is a great fit for the Century Club and the Farmers Insurance Open because of his excellent experience running one of the tour’s premier tournaments, the Crowne Plaza Invitational at Colonial in Ft. Worth,” said Tom Monson, 2012 president and general chairman of the Century Club. “He also held a leadership position in American Junior Golf, so he adds organization skills that are important to the Century Club and its work in the community. We look forward to Peter continuing to build on the fine work of Tom Wilson, who has helped the Century Club put on one of the most popular events on the PGA Tour and become a major contributor to local causes.”

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Ripa comes to the Century Club from the Crowne Plaza Invitational at Colonial, Ft. Worth, Texas, where he was the tournament director for the past five years. During his tenure at the Colonial, the tournament experienced unprecedented growth and solidified its place as one of the premier events on the PGA Tour. Prior to the Crowne Plaza Invitational, Ripa was the chief operating officer and assistant executive director of the American Junior Golf Association.

A 25-year veteran of the golf industry, Peter earned his B.A. in finance from the University of South Florida and M.B.A. in Marketing from Kennesaw State University in Georgia. He has served on the board of directors of the PGA TOUR Tournament Advisory Council (TAC) and was chairman of the TAC Mobile Device Task Force. His wife Theresa and two children, Gabrielle, 13, and Andrew, 10, are looking forward to relocating and become part of the San Diego community.

“I’m pleased to be joining the Century Club team and becoming an active part of the San Diego community,” said Ripa. “I’ve admired the tournament and organization from afar. To everyone involved in the PGA Tour, there is an obvious synergy of all of the partners, including the Century Club, Farmers Insurance, the City of San Diego and the PGA Tour. Combined with the spectacular golf courses and setting at Torrey Pines, San Diego has created a tournament that is among the elite championships on the PGA Tour. I look forward to working with the Century Club team to ensure the Farmers Insurance Open continues its run as a world class professional golf experience.”

Ripa will succeed Tom Wilson as executive director of the Century Club at the conclusion of the 2012 event, a post Wilson has held for the last 20 years. Under Wilson, the tour event at Torrey Pines has blossomed into a favorite for on-course fans and an international television audience. Under Wilson’s leadership, the tournament has pioneered many programs that contribute to school and charity projects. These include the Support our Schools and Chip-In-For-Charity Programs.

Under Wilson, charity dollars went from $270,900 in 1993 to over $1,000,000 each year for the past seven years. The tournament has led the PGA TOUR tournaments television ratings 15 of the past 20 years. The tournament’s purse has increased from $1,000,000 in 1993 with the winner receiving $180,000, to $6,000,000 in 2012 of which the champion will receive $1,080,000.

“The Century Club is incredibly grateful for all of the work Tom Wilson has done over the years to solidify our tournament’s global recognition as one of the finest on the tour,” said Monson. “The real beneficiaries are the San Diego charities that have received the tireless support of the Century Club and the almost $20 million raised during the years under Tom’s stewardship.”

Wilson, who lives in Rancho Bernardo, plans to spend more time with his wife, Vicki, who recently retired from 34 years of teaching, play more golf, travel, and do more volunteer work with a few of his favorite charities. He will work with Ripa on the transition during the 2012 tournament, which is the week of Jan. 23 through 29, 2012.

“I’ve known Peter to be one of the top tournament directors on the PGA Tour and am pleased he was selected by the Century Club as my successor,” said Wilson. “The selection process was rigorous and he is definitely the right person to lead the Century Club as it continues the tradition of excellence at the Farmers Insurance Open.”

About The Century Club of San Diego
Founded in 1961, the Century Club of San Diego is a non-profit volunteer organization that has generated over $20 million for worthwhile community causes and school programs through the Farmers Insurance Open and other charity events. The 2012 Farmers Insurance Open marks the 50th anniversary of the tournament and will include special civic and other events to recognize the milestone. For more information, please call (858) 886-4653 or see www.farmersinsuranceopen.com.

PURPOSE OF ORGANIZATION

Brandt Snedeker and Tom Monson

The Century Club of San Diego is a non-profit corporation organized for the main purpose of administering and promoting San Diego's annual PGA TOUR event, the Farmers Insurance Open. The net earnings of the corporation are used solely for charitable purposes, including the primary support of the San Diego County Junior Golf Association and for donations to other charities and golf-related activities in the San Diego community.

MISSION STATEMENT

It shall be the mission of the Century Club of San Diego to be a major benefactor to local charities throughout the San Diego community; organize and manage the finest quality PGA TOUR tournament; stimulate and promote philanthropy by all parties associated with the tournament; and promote San Diego on a national basis.

BRIEF HISTORY

The Century Club was founded in July, 1961, when tournament officials of the then San Diego Open decided they must have a broader base of support than the single corporate sponsorship previously provided by the San Diego County Chevrolet Dealers Association (1952-54) and Convair (1955-60). The Century Club was so named because individual memberships were initially priced at $100 each ("Century" note). Under the leadership of the late Frank Alessio, the Century Club entered into a working partnership with celebrity host Andy Williams.

In the fall of 1967, and beginning in 1968 the tournament was titled the Andy Williams San Diego Open. That same year the club also became a partner with the City of San Diego for financial support from hotel/motel tax funds and the use of Torrey Pines Golf Courses as the home of the tournament.

By 1981, with mounting pressures from the PGA TOUR to increase purse monies and City financial support now withdrawn because of the effects of Proposition 13, the Century Club entered into its first agreement with a corporate sponsor, The Wickes Companies, Inc. In 1983 American Isuzu Motors assumed the corporate sponsorship for a three-year period, and in 1986 Shearson Lehman Brothers entered into a working agreement for corporate and title sponsorship that extended through the 1991 tournament. In 1992, Buick Motor Division became the title sponsor of the tournament through 2009. On January 18, 2010 the PGA TOUR and the Farmers Insurance Group of Companies announced an agreement whereby the Farmers Exchanges will title sponsor the 2010 tournament at Torrey Pines Golf Course in San Diego, to be known as the Farmers Insurance Open. After a successful event, Farmers Insurance agreed to continue as the title sponsor for the next four years through 2014.

ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURE

The Century Club, at this time, is comprised of 56 Active members. In addition, there are currently 9 Provisional members, 8 Associate members and 28 Honorary Members (Past Presidents and distinguished supporters.).

The Board of Directors is comprised of 15 members and includes the following officers: President & General Chairman, Executive Vice President (President & General Chairman-Elect), two Vice Presidents, Secretary, and Immediate Past President. The Board members are elected for four-year terms, with approximately 1/3 of the terms expiring each year. Officers are elected for one-year terms.

The Board is charged with the responsibility of the overall management and control of the business and affairs of the Century Club, with primary emphasis on establishing policies and procedures for the fulfillment of these functions.

The Executive Director and a staff of 6 full-time personnel - Director of Marketing & Hospitality, Tournament Relations Manager, Special Events Manager, Operations Manager, Marketing Communications Manager, and Receptionist - 2 part-time personnel - Business Accounting Manager and Ticket Manager -- in addition, a Public Relations Manager is under contract - these staff members carry out the day-to-day responsibilities and report to the Board of Directors.

There are 35 standing committees organized to help administer the functions of the club. Members are appointed to the committees on an annual basis.

DISTRIBUTION OF SURPLUSES

For many years, the majority of the proceeds from the tournament went almost exclusively to support the administrative operation of the San Diego County Junior Golf Association. However, the increased success of tournament activities since 1983 has produced increased proceeds and permitted an expanded policy for charitable distributions. The basic philosophy is one of allocating a certain amount of the net proceeds to continue to build the assets of the reserve fund, with the remainder made available for charitable distribution. Each year when the final net proceeds are determined, the Board of Directors decides on the specific amounts to be distributed and to be allocated to reserve, and the Charities Committee is responsible for recommending the amounts of distributions to requesting charitable organizations. Final charity distributions are presented to the Board of Directors for approval. In 2011 we donated over $1.3 million to over 200 charities.

ACTIVITY CHART

The steady growth of tournament marketing and operations and the resultant increase in the number of staff responsibilities in recent years have transformed The Century Club office operation from an 8-to-10 month seasonal situation to year-round. The 90 days immediately after each tournament (usually March, April, and May) are spent both in wrap-up activities and initial preparations for the next tournament, the next six months (June - October) are fairly steady with routine tournament preparations, and the pace intensifies rather significantly for each of the next four months leading to the tournament (November - February).

Part-time staff positions may be added during the six-month period prior to each tournament, and volunteer support is also utilized in many areas during that period.

The Century Club holds regular meetings of Active members on the average of once a month which usually includes four-six golf outings in the meeting schedule. The Annual Meeting is held the first part of May.

The Board of Directors meets on an average of once a month throughout the year, more frequently if needed just prior to the tournament.

Committees meet "as needed" to carry out their respective responsibilities, usually beginning in September or October.

SLATE OF OFFICERS



TOM MONSON President & General Chairman	JEFF BAGLIO Executive Vice President	SCOTT MORSE First Vice President

GREG KELLER Second Vice President	MIKE WHITTON Secretary	CHUCK YASH Treasurer

JIM HORTON Immediate Past President