Janet McKinley - Charter Member of EWGA!
My love of the game of golf started over 45 years ago. My father was a great golfer and would take me to the local municipal park in Nashville where he would hit shag balls. Of course, my job was to pick up the balls he hit - but I got to hit a few, too. I was hooked!
Although I played tennis in high school and college, I ways liked going to the range and hitting balls. Soon after I graduated from the University of Tennessee, I put up the tennis racquet and started playing golf. I quickly realized how many doors were opened in the business world because of my ability to play golf.
I am a charter member of the EWGA-Atlanta chapter. I remember hearing an announcement on Star-94 (as I sat in traffic on GA-400) that a new women's golf association was starting in Atlanta. Since I had recently relocated to the city, I thought that this would be a great way to meet new people and improve my golf game.
I have served on both the national EWGA Association Board and the EWGA Foundation Board. This was a great way to meet business women from across the country and support an organization that I was passionate about. My most significant accomplishment while on the Foundation Board was creating the "Women on Par" scholarship. This scholarship is for women over the age of 30 returning to school or enrolling in college for the first time to pursue a degree. Just reading the stories from the thousands of women who have applied told me that we had made the right decision in establishing the scholarship. I encourage all of our members to donate to the "Women on Par" scholarship and make a difference in a woman's life.
I retired from BellSouth Corporate (now AT&T) as the Chief Corporate Auditor in 2007. I now have a lot more time to play golf, but, sadly, I haven't seen a direct positive correlation in my handicap! When I am not on the golf course, I spend a lot of time at the University of Tennessee where I serve as the Chair of the Development Council and participate on the Accounting Advisory Board and the Alliance of Women Philanthropists. I'm also at every football game and Lady Vol basketball game. My next goal is to establish a program with the young women in the MBA program at UT to teach them how to play golf and use it as a tool in advancing their business careers. And, I plan to keep working on my game, too!