DAYTONA BEACH, Fla., October 25, 2016 – The Epson Tour, Road to the LPGA, recognized John and Valli Ritenour, founders of IOA (Insurance Office of America), as the 2016 Eloise Trainor Award recipients during a ceremony at the Epson Tour Championship, which was held at Alaqua Country Club. The award, named in honor of the Tour’s founder, is presented annually to a person or group that has a significant impact on the game of women’s golf.
The IOA Golf Classic was scheduled to be the penultimate event of the 2016 season before Hurricane Matthew ripped through Central Florida. The Tour was forced to cancel the IOA Golf Classic. Hurricane Matthew continued to make its way up the eastern part of Florida and began to threaten the possibility of the following week’s Epson Tour Championship, which was scheduled to be played at LPGA International in Daytona Beach. Due to damage on the golf course and the community of Daytona Beach needing time to recover, the Tour was in dire need of a new place to contest its Tour Championship. Just a week prior, the Web.com Tour was forced to cancel its Tour finale due to the hurricane.
The players were of course dying for one more opportunity to play their way into the top 10 and earn an LPGA Tour card. Once the Tour decided that LPGA International was unplayable, John and Valli came to the rescue and allowed the Tour to play the final event at Alaqua Country Club in Longwood.
“John and Valli Ritenour stepped up and saved the end of the Epson Tour season and have been so supportive of the Tour for many years now,” said Mike Nichols, Chief Business Officer of the Epson Tour. “You can just tell that John and Valli want the absolute best for the players and the Tour and when Hurricane Matthew threatened the Epson Tour Championship, they reached out to us and were willing to do whatever they could. Their contributions to women’s golf have been felt by all of the players that were able to play the final week and earn a Tour card and it was my honor to present them with the Eloise Trainor Award.”
The Ritenour’s and IOA are title sponsors of two Epson Tour tournaments. They host the IOA Championship in Beaumont, California and the aforementioned IOA Golf Classic, which started in 2013.
"The Epson Tour provides a wonderful opportunity and is such a blessing for the fine young players who are working their way to the LPGA Tour," says John Ritenour. "Valli and I were excited to be part of such a great event and to be honored with this important award.”
Epson Tour Chief Business Officer Mike Nichols presented the Ritenour’s with the award during the Making Strides Against Breast Cancer Brunch, which was held at Alaqua Country Club during the final round of the Epson Tour Championship.
Past Winners
2015 Walt Lincer, Florida’s Natural
2014 – Mike Vadala
2013 – Chairman Moon from Volvik
2012 – Zayra Calderon
2010 - Executive Women’s Golf Association (EWGA)
2009 - Renee Powell
2008 - Jocelyne Bourassa
2007 - Cynthia D. Rihm
2006 - Sherrin Smyers
2005 - Karrie Webb
2004 - Decatur, Ill. Tournament Committees (1985 - 2004)
2003 - Wilma Gilliland
2002 - Bob Hirschman and Connie Shorb
2001 - Diane Lewis
2000 - Betty Puskar
1999 - Lew Williams
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