This Tuesday marks the end of the first year with Clay Williams as manager of the Jackson Parish Golf Course (JPGC), causing him to reflect on some of the positive gains the division of the Jackson Parish Recreation Department and he has experienced.

“It’s been a huge blessing for me to step into this position, and I couldn’t have imagined a better first year. I have some highlights of the past year that I am very proud of that I’d like to share,” began Williams.

“As of February 16th, we have 198 members at our golf course, a number that we’ve seen continue to grow the past few weeks as golfing season approaches, so I feel confident we will be crossing the 200 mark soon,” said Williams while discussing the gains at the JPGC.

“Pro Shop sales showed a 22.5% increase over the last year, and we hosted 22 Tuesday Night Scrambles, which saw us bring in 715 golfers across those nights. We also made many improvements across the golf course, including updated signage at every hole, new flags and flagsticks, updating the cart path on hole 3, adding an asphalt cart pad behind the pro shop, and many notable changes and additions inside the pro shop,” concluded Williams.

The 2018 Jonesboro-Hodge High School graduate, who earned his undergraduate degree at Louisiana Tech before gaining a Master’s Degree in Sports Administration, then shifted to a more personal reflection.

“My love for Jackson Parish is something I’ve always been proud to put on display, and I come from a family that’s deeply rooted in the history of Jonesboro and Jackson Parish, so this role is something I feel that I was made for,” stated Williams. “While I am still learning many things about the sport of golf, managing a sports facility in the parish I’ve lived all 25 years of my life in is an honor I will never take for granted. I wish I could list everyone that I want to thank for helping me along the way, but that list is too long to even begin to try! I can’t wait to continue to build upon the progress we’ve made as we head into year two!”