I'm sure I'm not alone when I say that the Fall was a bit of a grind. Between the Chapter meetings, Board Meeting, Harvick Pro-am, Belfair search, Assistants Association event, presentations at 3 PGM Universities, and the PGA Annual Meeting, I'm tired! But that hectic schedule did allow me to spend time with many current and future PGA Members, and that time is incredibly valuable to me. 

With that busy fall schedule in my rear view mirror, I can take a quick look back to assess 2023 and then turn my attention to whatever is coming next. In particular, I want to share the following information with you:

1. Compensation Profile Update and Upcoming request to report increases to me

2. Upcoming Member & Section Survey

3. Looking ahead to 2024

Compensation Profile Update

As you can see below, we far exceeded our Compensation Profile goal and will be receiving enhanced ADP funding this year. Thank you to every Board member and CPGA staff member who made calls or sent emails in support of the goal. $19,500 is a nice chunk of change, and I'm sure Jeff and the staff will find a way to put it to good use.

Reporting Compensation Increases To Me

For much of 2023, one of my main talking points was around the $1.7 million in compensation increases for CPGA Members in 2022. That information was self reported by CPGA members, and I will again be sending emails to the section members asking them to report 2023 raises for themselves and their staff. The dates of those emails will be as follows:

• December 5

• December 12

• December 19th. I collect the data using THIS FORM. Please feel free to promote this to your chapter members beginning December 6th!

Member & Section Survey

You may remember that I surveyed CPGA Members last December for information that was requested of me, but that we do not collect as an Association. I plan to do a similar survey again, but in January this year. As a reminder, HERE is a link to last year's survey and HERE is a link to the results summary. Please do not share the survey link yet, as I need to make some edits and potentially add some questions. Please let me know if you have any information you would like me to collect in this edition of the survey.

Looking Ahead To 2024

In my October report, I mentioned that I wanted to do more one on one Career Coaching (like I did when I started this job 6 1/2 years ago), and that I have created a virtual option for Career Coaching opportunities. I promoted this in my follow up email to attendees of the 10 Chapter Meetings, and have been happy with the results so far. I also plan heavy promotion throughout the winter, as many CPGA Members actually have a little free time for the next few months. The link to schedule a Career Coaching Session HERE...please feel free to promote this to your chapter members! 

In addition, I am trying to find ways to provide opportunities for networking, mentoring, and personal / professional growth to Carolinas PGA Members and Associates. I have been working with Lowcountry Chapter education chair Kory Reitz on a Mock Interview Day at Colleton River in January and hope to do the same thing the following day in Charleston. Please speak with your Chapter education chair and let me know if there is anything that I can do for you locally that satisfies my goal of providing opportunities to CPGA Members for networking, mentoring, and personal / professional growth.

In addition, please CLICK HERE to see my proposal for a program aligned with the goal stated above. Jeff Abbot will be asking for your feedback on the December 7th Board call, and I welcome any suggestions. 

Final Thoughts

I am sorry that I am missing the Board call this month, but I am taking the opportunity for some much needed time away with my family. With that said, I am out of town from December 1 - 7 and December 10 - 18. In my absence, my collegues will be covering for me as follows:

• December 1 - 7 - Greg Stenzel (gstenzel@pgahq.com), Jim West (jwest@pgahq.com), & Keith Soriano (ksoriano@pgahq.com)

• December 10 - 18 - Don Sweeting (dsweeting@pgahq.com),  Jim West (jwest@pgahq.com), & Keith Soriano (ksoriano@pgahq.com)

I hope all of you have a happy and safe holiday season, and I look forward to seeing everyone in 2024.

Respectfully submitted, 

Mike Mueller

All Active Positions

October 2023 Career Services Report Link

November 2023 Career Services Report Link

December 2023 Career Services Report Link

PGA Compensation Profile - Carolinas Section Participation

Job Preferences - Carolinas Section Participation