For decades, Black caddies in Augusta played an essential role on some of the city’s most prestigious courses, including Augusta National Golf Club. They were more than carriers of clubs. They were course strategists, green readers, mentors, and trusted confidants to some of golf’s greatest champions. Their knowledge of the course often made the difference between victory and defeat. Their wisdom, professionalism, and resilience left a lasting imprint on the sport and on Augusta’s cultural identity.

The Men on the Bag experience brings to life the rich history and pivotal role Black Caddies played in assisting the world’s top golfers in winning the most famous golf tournament in the world: The Masters. See experienced actors portray such notable caddies as Willie “Pappy” Stokes, called the Godfather of caddies, and Willie Frank “Cemetery” Perteet, the personal caddie of President Eisenhower. 

As the FACS Associate Dean for Extension and Outreach, Dr. Allisen Penn is responsible for leading the college in fulfilling its land-grant university mission of providing Georgia’s residents, businesses and communities access to quality educational experiences and the institution’s knowledge base. 

Dr. Penn is a proven leader who brings extensive experience and skills to support Extension and outreach programming. She works closely with leaders from the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, UGA Extension, the Office of the Vice President of Public Service and Outreach and other colleges and units for the successful application of research to priority needs of the state. 

She also leads through the Georgia Clinical Translational Science Alliance to address health and wellness needs, particularly in rural and underserved populations, by strengthening and expanding research collaborations with faculty from a variety of disciplines.

Vera Stewart is a nationally recognized TV personality, cookbook author and entrepreneur whose career in the food and hospitality industries spans over four decades. She is an accomplished speaker and covers a wide variety of topics, all of which are motivational.  Vera’s philosophy is based on a winning attitude and passion for perfection. 

Vera graduated from the University of Georgia with a degree in Home Economics education in 1974. Early in her career in 1997 she was named Small Businessperson of the Year and is a 2010 Business Hall of Fame Laureate. In 2019 she was recognized with the ‘Bulldog 100’ award, signifying the top 100 growing businesses in Georgia. 

Launching her career in the 1980s with a cottage catering business, VeryVera, she has become a household name with ventures that included a bakery and café, and a national mail order business for her signature cakes and casseroles. She currently has the cooking and lifestyle show The VeryVera Show, the VeryVera Cookbook Series, the VeryVera Cooking Camp, and VERA, a catering, concierge and hospitality service for patrons of the Masters tournament in Augusta, Georgia. 

With a passion for Southern dishes passed down through generations, her manifold business endeavors have inspired people all over the nation to create memories in the kitchen. The VeryVera Show started Season 15 this month and is syndicated in 72 metropolitan markets across 32 states. The ever-so-popular VeryVera Children’s Cooking Camp finished its 23rd year this summer. 

Her first cookbook, Recipes from my Table, contains recipes she sold in her café and across the country as mail order. Vera’s 2nd cookbook, Occasions, contains more than 140 recipes that will elevate all your gatherings for family and friends. These tried-and-true recipes were gathered from over 40 years of catering expertise. Vera recently completed the trilogy to her cookbook series, Generations, which released in May 2026

Dr. Michael Toews is the Associate Dean for Extension in the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences at the University of Georgia. 

He leads a statewide team of more than 1000 Georgia Cooperative Extension faculty and staff representing 4-H youth development, family and consumer sciences, and agricultural and natural resources. A Kansas native, Dr. Toews earned a BS in biology at Fort Hays State University followed by an MS and PhD in entomology at Oklahoma State University.

Following post-doctoral fellowships at Kansas State University and the USDA-ARS, he joined the faculty at the University of Georgia in 2006 as a research entomologist with responsibilities in insect ecology and integrated pest management. Dr. Toews subsequently acquired state Extension specialist responsibilities for stored product entomology, graduate teaching responsibilities, and a Co-director role at the Center for Invasive Species and Ecosystem Health. As a faculty member, he served on 26 graduate student committees, mentored 6 post docs, published 112 peer reviewed manuscripts, and secured more than $21 million in extramural grant funding.

From 2020 to 2025, Dr. Toews served as the Assistant Dean-UGA Tifton Campus where he collaborated with faculty to boost graduate student enrollment by 48%, post-doctoral scholars by 57%, research expenditures by 46%, and grant dollars awarded by 55%. Additionally, he catalyzed initiatives to modernize campus infrastructure including domestic and fire protection water supply, information technology, field research services, research laboratories, and the Tifton Campus Conference Center.

Dean Anisa Zvonkovic is Georgia Athletic Association Professor and Dean of the College of Family and Consumer Sciences. 

Prior to becoming a full-time administrator, she was continuously externally funded for her work, with funding from the National Institutes of Health, the Department of Defense, the United States Department of Agriculture, the National Institute of Food and Agriculture, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and smaller programs and foundations. 

Dean Zvonkovic's research has focused on how people manage work demands with their personal lives and has focused on specific occupations and demands (for example, commercial fishing families, people whose jobs require frequent travel). She has worked with interdisciplinary teams throughout her career. 

Dean Zvonkovic received her bachelor’s degrees in psychology and religious studies from the University of Virginia and earned both her master’s degree and Ph.D. in human development and family studies from the Pennsylvania State University. 

Originally from Washington DC, Dean Zvonkovic has lived in many states and is pleased her children have relocated nearby in Athens. She enjoys Pilates, high tea, and taking her poodle, Jolene, on long walks.