ROCK HILL, SOUTH CAROLINA — `96, CEO of the National Golf Course Owners Association, will deliver Winthrop University's Aug. 19 Convocation keynote speech on how his college experience helped shape his future.
Convocation will officially usher in Winthrop's 134th year as a higher education institution. The ceremony serves as an official welcome to new freshmen and transfer students and their induction into the Winthrop community of learners.
Incoming students and the campus community will be in attendance at the 11 a.m. ceremony at the Winthrop Coliseum.
During Winthrop's Convocation ceremony, students will be welcomed to Rock Hill by President Dan Mahony, as well as Glenn McCall, chair of the Board of Trustees; Rock Hill Mayor John Gettys; Imani Belton, chair of the Council of Student Leaders; Adolphus Belk Jr., chair of Faculty Conference; and Linda O’Connor, chair of Staff Conference.
The community picnic will immediately follow on the lawn outside of the Coliseum.
Karen leads the golf industry’s trade association and initiatives to support the success of the golf course business. In that role, he chairs the board of the industry-wide advocacy coalition, We Are Golf, and serves on the Golf USA Tee Time Coalition board, a joint initiative with the PGA of America, and the advisory board of the World Golf Hall of Fame.
Karen has been quoted in The Wall Street Journal, Bloomberg, CBS Radio, NPR, the Golf Channel, Golf Digest and many others who call upon him for his industry insights. Karen has also served as CEO of two associations in the lodging and hospitality industry, and he is a certified association executive by the American Society of Association Executives.
Karen is married to Carrie Lyndrup ‘99, and the couple has two children. He is a past recipient of the Young Alumni Award and the Professional Achievement Award from the Winthrop Alumni Association. The last time he spoke at a Convocation was in 1994 as Winthrop’s Student Government Association president.
For more information about Convocation, contact Judy Longshaw, news and media services manager, at 803/323-2404 or e-mail her at longshawj@winthrop.edu.
