Daytona Beach, Fla. – North Dakota State University’s Amy Anderson, a member of the 2012 USA Curtis Cup Team and winner of the 2009 U.S. Girls’ Junior, has been selected as the recipient of the 2012 Dinah Shore Trophy Award. Administered by the LPGA (Ladies Professional Golf Association) Foundation, the award was presented to Anderson during the annual National Golf Coaches Association (NGCA) Division I Women's Collegiate Golf Awards Banquet held at the Embassy Suites in Nashville, Tenn. on Friday, May 25 following the NCAA Division 1 competition at Vanderbilt Legends Club.
The Dinah Shore Trophy Award recognizes a female collegiate golfer who excels in both academics (3.2 on a 4.0 scale) and athletics, while maintaining a 78.00 or less scoring average. The nominees must also demonstrate outstanding leadership skills and community service.
“The Dinah Shore trophy is a very prestigious award that recognizes its recipients for being not only great golfers, but most importantly for being outstanding, unselfish people of high character,” said Matthew Johnson, North Dakota State University’s women’s golf coach. “It is a very meaningful award, and I am thrilled that Amy has been chosen for this great honor.”
Anderson, a native of Oxbow, N.D., has balanced an impressive college golf career while maintaining an impeccable community service record. She is a junior at NDSU and will graduate in Accounting with a minor in fraud investigation next year. A solid performer on and off the golf course, Anderson has maintained a 3.96 grade point average (GPA), while sustaining a 73.0 scoring average this season.
As part of the Dinah Shore Trophy Award, North Dakota State women's golf program will also receive a $10,000 grant. The award and the grant are funded through The LPGA Foundation's Dinah Shore Scholarship Fund and the Friends of Golf (FOG) organization.
Anderson holds several records at North Dakota State University including most tournament wins in a season at five (all three seasons), running her career totals to 15 wins, and has tallied 28 top-10 finishes. She was selected to the first team All-Summer League for the third straight season and was a repeat Summit League Champion MVP and individual champion this year. Anderson is scheduled to play in the Curtis Cup Match at The Nairn Golf Club in Scotland June 8-10 and the World University Golf Championships in the Czech Republic in July.
Off the course, Anderson has demonstrated her passion for helping others by getting involved in many community outreach programs. She has assisted with clinics and instruction at the local LGPA-USGA Girls Golf site in Fargo, helping young girls with different aspects of their game, and has visited multiple elementary schools reading books to children and promoting a healthy lifestyle. She is also actively involved in Brookdale Baptist Church ministries, which includes caring for children in the nursery, playing piano and violin for music ministry, serving at church events and recruiting volunteers for the United Blood Service’s blood drive. On campus, Anderson serves as the vice president for Brookdale’s campus ministries, selecting Bible study materials and organizing events. She also serves on the Student Athlete Advisory Committee and assists with organizing community involvement events for NDSU’s athletic programs.
The Dinah Shore Trophy Award is a cooperative effort between The LPGA Foundation, Friends of Golf and the Kraft Nabisco Championship – one of the LPGA’s four major championships and the largest contributor to the Dinah Shore Scholarship Fund. Past winners of this prestigious award include: University of California senior Pia Halbig (2011), University of Central Florida senior Katie Detlefsen (2010), Duke University grad and LPGA Tour member Amanda Blumenherst (2008, 2009), University of Arkansas alumna and 2011 Kraft Nabisco champion Stacy Lewis (2007), and the University of South Carolina’s Erica Battle (2006).
The LPGA Foundation introduced the Dinah Shore Scholarship Fund in March of 1994 in honor of the late Dinah Shore, a graduate of Vanderbilt University and an honorary member of the LPGA and LPGA Tour Hall of Fame. Including this year’s award, the Dinah Shore Trophy Award has contributed more than $144,000 to women’s collegiate golf programs.
About the contributing organizations
Friends of Golf (FOG) is a fundraising organization founded and administered by Eddie Merrins, golf professional emeritus at Bel-Air Country Club in Beverly Hills, Calif. FOG contributes annually to collegiate, high school and junior golf programs throughout the country, and Dinah Shore was considered the “First Lady” of FOG.
A part of the LPGA Tour since 1972, the Kraft Nabisco Championship was designated as a major in 1983. Three-time champion Amy Alcott began a winner’s tradition of jumping into the lake at the 18th hole after her victory in 1991. The event was called the Colgate Dinah Shore from 1972-81 and the Nabisco Dinah Shore from 1982-99. Dinah Shore’s legacy and heritage is preserved with the “Dinah Shore Walk of Champions” at the 18th hole at Mission Hills Country Club. In addition, a statue of Dinah Shore, serving as the walk’s focal point, was created by noted sculptor George Montgomery, who was Shore’s former husband. The tournament’s trophy is called the Dinah Shore Trophy.
Established in 1991, The LPGA Foundation is a 501(c)(3) charitable organization committed to empowering and supporting girls and women through developmental and humanitarian golf initiatives. Key priorities include: LPGA-USGA Girls Golf; scholarships and the Dolores Hope LPGA Financial Assistance Initiative for those in the golf industry experiencing severe hardship. The LPGA Foundation is supported by corporate and private donations, foundation grants and contributions from LPGA members. For more information on how to contribute to The LPGA Foundation, please contact LPGA headquarters, 100 International Golf Drive, Daytona Beach, FL 32124, or by phone, 386.274.6200.