This is the title I chose for my personal blog, which is meant to give me an outlet for one of my favorite crafts – writing – plus to use an image from my favorite sport, golf.  Out of college, my first job was as a reporter for the Daily Astorian in Astoria, Oregon, and I went on from there to practice writing in all my professional positions, including as press secretary in Washington, D.C. for a Democrat Congressman from Oregon (Les AuCoin), as an Oregon state government manager in Salem and Portland, as press secretary for Oregon’s last Republican governor (Vic Atiyeh), and as a private sector lobbyist.  This blog also allows me to link another favorite pastime – politics and the art of developing public policy – to what I write.  I could have called this blog “Middle Ground,” for that is what I long for in both politics and golf.  The middle ground is often where the best public policy decisions lie.  And it is where you want to be on a golf course.

I have mentioned this one time previously, but I want to do so again.

The course where I play most of my golf, Illahe Golf and Country Club in Salem, Oregon, won an award recently from the Oregon Golf Association (OGA), the region’s leading golf promotion organization.

The award:  “Facility of the Year.”

Here’s what the OGA wrote about Illahe:

“Illahe received the ‘Facility of the Year’ award for the simple reason it stepped up on numerous occasions to support golf in Oregon and Southwest Washington.  This has involved hosting major junior and adult amateur tournaments, as well as hosting this year’s OGA Annual Meeting.

“As we have worked with the leadership at Illahe over the last year, they have always been interested in supporting golf in Oregon and, in particular, junior golf.  

“On top of its own substantial junior golf programs, Illahe has hosted the OGA Junior Tournament of Champions for three straight years.

“Looking forward to 2026, Illahe is slated to host the Girls Juniors America’s Cup, a 54-hole event consisting of 18 teams and each team consisting of the top four girls from each state/country.  It has done so because, to state the obvious, junior golf is very important to the future of the sport all of us love — and this award recognizes that.

“Thank you, Illahe, for all you do to support golf in our area and congratulations on being selected as the OGA Facility of the Year.”

I am proud of honor for Illahe.  It is an indication that the Club fosters solid relationships with its members – especially junior golfers – even as it supports golf in the region.