Issue link: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/309813
Rollins, now 33, has spent time with Alberta Golf in three other roles before assuming the lead job. He began working for the association as a Competitions Intern then moved on to become the Manager of Player Development. From there he continued upward into the Assistant Executive Director role before taking over the top job in the organization, this past January. Inside Golf: You've been with Alberta Golf for over a decade now in various roles. Did you see yourself staying that long when your career began? Matt Rollins: I had no idea. I knew that I loved the game. It's been a big part of my life all along. It's always been close to me. I started off working in the back shop in Golden, B.C., and worked on the maintenance crew there for a couple of years [during which time he was enrolled in the sports management program at Mount Royal University in Calgary]. I had a lot of support from that club; I played a little bit of competitive golf. It was just a really good place to start and enjoy the game... I started out as an intern, then in player development and I loved that. I loved working with our top athletes and helping them secure post-secondary scholarships and to prepare for success on the national stage. iG: Did you see yourself having the role of Executive Director? MR: I never knew I'd end up in this role. I wondered what it would feel like once I got here when I knew it was happening. Now that I'm here, and now that I've had the last four months to work in this position, I love it even more than anything else I've been involved in with the association. I feel like I can touch on a lot of the things that are going on here. I love it. I feel very passionate about it and I feel that will help motivate me to work hard and do some good things for our industry. iG: What is the current state of the membership base and does this signify an increase or a decrease from the past few years? MR: A lot of the other provinces have dealt with a decrease and we did the past year mainly related to the floods. Typically we have around 200 member clubs and within those we have approximately 57,000 individual members. Our number went down last year, probably by about 2,000 individuals, largely due to McKenzie Having spent over a decade in the office, Matt Rollins isn't exactly the new kid on the block at Alberta Golf. Now, though, he is the executive director. Matt took time out of a busy schedule to discuss with Inside Golf the challenges his association, and the game, are facing and what he thinks the future holds. 12 Now that I'm here, and now that I've had the last four months to work in this position, I love it even more than anything else I've been involved in with the association. INTERVIEW BY GORD MONTGOMERY IN CONVERSATION ALL IMAGES COURTESY ALBERTA GOLF Meadows shutting down, Highwood shutting down and Hidden Valley being completely wiped out (due to the floods). I anticipate them coming right back on, except for Hidden Valley; they've closed their doors, so I don't see any changes happening there. McKenzie Meadows plan to make a full bounce back this year and Highwood, I believe, plans on having 9 or 18 of their 27 holes open this year with an early start on one of their nines. They're going to bounce back. They've had a lot of volunteer support and acted quickly so they should be all set for this year. IG: What's the biggest change or changes you've seen during your tenure at Alberta Golf? MR: One of our biggest changes, I guess, but it was a change for the better, is moving our board of directors to a policy governance board. It's really their responsibility to set the strategic plan, discuss the vision and the mission of Alberta Golf, keeping an eye on what's best for the industry and our members, and then it's up to our staff and operational volunteers to really set that plan in motion. I feel like having a board focused on the bigger picture has been an amazing move for us and help set us up for the future, to remain relevant and have an important role to play in the industry. IG: You took over your present position from longtime executive director Brent Ellenton, who'd been with Alberta Golf for 25 years in that role. Tell me what you learned from Brent leading into your taking over and the challenges you now find yourself facing as the lead man? MR: I was fortunate; I had a little over a year that I knew this was going to happen. I had that time to talk to Brent, to pick his brain about the association and the industry on a larger scale, things to watch out for, and he was just a really great mentor to me. Some of the best things I picked up from Brent were how he was so humble about what he did here. He never took any of the credit for himself; he was always passing that off to his staff or volunteers. He was always so thankful for what everybody else did. He also stayed out of the details of all the staff and volunteer roles. He wouldn't micro-manage and would let the other staff roll with what their responsibilities were. He'd always be up to speed with what was going on and he loved to catch up with everybody, ask questions if he had some, but for the most part he let