Meet the Board: Meet Bobbi Hanada

Meet Bobbi Hanada

by Alejandra Duffy

As you can see, we're starting a new series on our blog to help you get to know our Board members. Maybe you already know some of them, but hopefully you'll understand why they give so much time and love to the Pacific Women's Golf Association after reading each of their stories. 

Today, we're interviewing Bobbi Hanada, the PWGA Treasurer. 

MY GOLF JOURNEY

In 2007 my girlfriends suggested we take a Saturday Community Ed class on golf and the rest is history. My late husband liked the idea I was taking up golf and he would take me out to the driving range, so we could practice. We did get to golf together for a couple of years until his health prevented him from playing. After his passing, golf became my salvation. Golf took me out of the house and surrounded me with wonderful supportive friends who kept me busy golfing! In 2014, golf gave me an opportunity I didn’t even think was possible in my wildest dream. The Fresno City College golf coach came to an event I was attending and she needed golfers for her Jr. College golf team. Couple of my other friends said they would do it so we signed up together to go back to school so we could be on the golf team.  So at Medicare age I was now a college student and on a golf team! We mature players were on the traveling team and we had fun playing with the young ones. We were given no slack because of our age, we practiced and played in 100 plus weather and we had to walk the courses. This was an incredible experience. One I will not forget.

WHY I PLAY GOLF

I love the friendships associated with playing golf.  I have some amazing friends that I met through golf. Golf is my social life. Golf is my travel trips. Golf gets me out of the house and exercising. Golf challenges me to improve my game. Golf rewards my competitive spirit. I love the challenge of golf and I love my golfing buddies!

PWGA INVOLVEMENT

All it took was one golfer to invite me to join their ladies group who were playing that day. The following week, I joined that ladies golf club, the Riverside Ladies. I later joined another golf club, Dragonfly, and they appointed me their handicap chair. I then became the handicap chair for both clubs. Later a couple of my golf buddies recruited me to be on the PWGA executive board as the handicap director, which I enjoyed so much that I was nominated to stay on as the Treasurer. I love being on the board and working with our members.

DREAM ROUND OF GOLF

I keep pinching myself since just playing golf is a DREAM! I have been blessed to just play golf in many different countries and states, which include Singapore, Japan, Vietnam, Ireland, Mexico, and of course, my favorite, Hawaii. My dream round of golf is to play a round without any errors, although that will never happen! My goal is to continue golfing in different countries and states and hopefully golf until I’m in my 90”s!

PERSONAL BACKGROUND

I was born in Hawaii and moved to California when I was a teenager. I attended Reedley Jr. College and received my BA and MA from Fresno State. I retired from education after 38 years of service. I was a classroom teacher, a resource teacher, and vice-principal and finished my career with 20 years as a school principal. I loved my job in education because no two days were the same and there was never a dull moment. I have 2 adult children: my daughter Lacey, who lives in Hong Kong with her husband Deno; and my son Grant, who will be graduating from the University of Michigan with a PHD in Neuroscience Biomedical Engineering this year. They are also my motivators, challenging me to stay young and vibrant.