Latest news with #Byler
USA Today
06-05-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
Meet the woman behind Hobe Sound's tough course conditioning at the U.S. Senior Challenge
Julie Williams Special to Golfweek Jackie Byler puts a lot of stock in the quality of a golf course's greens. They have been her primary focus these past two years as superintendent of Hobe Sound (Florida) Golf Club, a private facility with a small membership that sits amid some of South Florida's most prominent courses – Medalist and McArthur to the north, Jupiter Island Club to the east. This is something that Byler, 38, picked up from Dick Gray, the former head greenskeeper at PGA Golf Club in St. Lucie, Florida, who became an important mentor for her as she navigated her way to the superintendent position at Hobe Sound. 'When I first started, my biggest focus was the greens and just kind of start getting my program figured out on what products I wanted to use and the timing of all of it,' Byler said, 'and I felt like just with my experience working with Dick Gray, he was kind of always known for his greens also. 'Kind of sticking with the program that was very similar but knowing that the greens are the most important anywhere and that if you have good greens, that's the thing – sometimes you'll have a little bit more forgiveness in other areas. But the greens are the things that make or break people's careers.' Hobe Sound doesn't often open its doors to outside events, but the course welcomed 26 four-man teams of senior amateurs – including several nationally ranked players – on April 28-30 for the U.S. Senior Challenge. Need a break? Play the USA TODAY Daily Crossword Puzzle 'Our interest with this was we just felt that bringing some of the best senior amateurs to the club and putting our course to the test was something that was very interesting to us,' Hobe Sound general manager Jason Hayes said before the tournament. And truly, it was a test. Players raved about course conditioning on a challenging layout that never offered a break. Having come from PGA Golf Club, Byler knows something about putting a course in tournament condition. Byler is a former field hockey player who graduated high school in 2005 knowing she wanted a job outdoors. She attended Penn State for the turfgrass science program and stepped into the golf industry by way of a pair of back-to-back internships at Disney's golf facility. 'That's when I realized being in Florida during the winter is a lot better than Pennsylvania,' said Byler, a Pennsylvania native. 'So that's where learning to work with the warmer season grasses started.' Byler transitioned to PGA Golf Club at the beginning of 2012 as a second assistant/irrigation tech. Over the course of 11 years, she worked her way up the ladder. As a kid, Byler loved helping her mom with the flower beds every spring and summer – picking out plant material, putting down mulch and generally spending time outside. She dabbled in golf with her father, Jeff Byler, from the time she was 11 years old. First she would just hit a shot or two, then she'd drop a ball by the green and play in and eventually, she could put together a full round. The combination drew her to a career in golf, even though she very nearly bailed on that idea after a foray into athletic field maintenance that began with a quest for Penn State football season tickets. After missing the online ticket sales window because she was working at the university's Valentine Turf Research Center, she decided to approach some of the stadium grounds crew while working in a shared wash area for equipment. 'If you guys need somebody for the fall to work on staff, let me know,' she told them. That led to a grounds crew job in which Byler pitched in on jobs like maintaining the perimeter of the stadium, the parking areas and the intramural fields. 'That was a great trade-off because then doing that, yes we had to do some work early in the morning on game days but we got paid to sit on the sideline and watch the games,' she said. 'For awhile, I thought I wanted to get into athletics because I really enjoyed that side of things and really enjoyed college football.' Alas, golf won out. Throughout her time at Penn State, Byler, as a woman in turfgrass science, was in the minority. Often, her classes would include 30 to 50 students, and she'd be the only female. As her career progressed, she sometimes felt brushed to the side or like people would discount what she was saying simply because she was female. Just as often, though, people were welcoming and gender wasn't a factor. Word of Byler's skillset traveled, and ultimately, it's what afforded her the chance to take the next step from PGA Golf Club in 2023. When the Hobe Sound job came open, Byler's name seemed to be coming up over and over again to the course's greens chair. Byler got a call one Saturday that he'd like to meet with her and when that went well, Byler found herself driving the golf course two days later with the outgoing superintendent. By Thursday, she had a job offer. 'I didn't necessarily know if I would ever have a chance to work at a private club,' said Byler, who is eager to continue building up Hobe Sound. She's making the most of the one that came her way.
Yahoo
12-04-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
Mendoza Ford raffle raises $120,000 for Vermilion Parish schools
MAURICE, La. (KLFY) — Today, Mendoza Ford hosted the 6th annual car raffle to help raise funds for the Vermilion Parish School Board. Participants of the raffle had a chance to win a 2024 Ford F-150 4×4 truck along with seven other prizes including a $500 reward, spray in bed liner, $250 reward and so much more. The raffle had over 12,000 tickets sold which equated to over $120,000 that goes to funding for the schools of the parish. Superintendent Thomas Byler hosted a Facebook live to announce the winners and expressed on social media how ecstatic he was for this year's turn out and is looking forward to what the schools can accomplish with this funding. 'We want to thank all of you who supported Vermilion Parish schools…So we truly appreciate all that you've done to help this event go on.' Byler said with gratitude on Vermilion Parish School System's Facebook. Close Thanks for signing up! Watch for us in your inbox. Subscribe Now Trump says he would respect Supreme Court decision to return wrongly deported man Mendoza Ford raffle raises $120,000 for Vermilion Parish schools What is the historical significance of the New Iberia Spanish Festival? 2025-2026 LPSS Revised Dress Code For Students Notre Dame High School improving the Pioneer Legacy Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
29-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Poll: A third of Utahns say housing costs are so expensive they've considered moving out of state
The price of housing is causing a significant number of Utahns to think about leaving the state for some place that's more affordable, according to a new poll. Even though a majority of Utahns, 56%, say housing is too expensive but they aren't going anywhere, a third agreed with the statement, 'Housing is so expensive that I've considered moving out of state.' That sentiment was strongest among Utahns under 30, with 58% of those in that age group looking at a possible move to find affordable housing. The numbers were also higher among those who weren't born in Utah, or who have lived here less than 20 years. Just 6% of Utahns overall say housing is affordable in the state and another 5% aren't sure, according to results released Friday from a Utah Public Opinion Pulse Poll conducted by Phoenix-based Noble Predictive Insights The nonpartisan public opinion polling, market research, and data analytics firm said a total of 609 Utah registered voters were surveyed March 11-13 and that the poll has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.9 percentage points. 'The storm cloud in these numbers is that young voters and newer transplants — who drive economic progress and keep the state lively — say they're most likely to move,' David Byler, chief of research for Noble Predictive Insights, said. But, he added, 'The silver lining is that they don't want to move — and that people will stay if the state can get housing prices under control.' Keeping Utah's younger generations from having to leave the state to buy homes has been a priority of Gov. Spencer Cox and other state leaders. The governor's housing adviser, Steve Waldrip, has said housing has 'become a moral issue.' Affordable housing is the top issue for 21% of Utahns polled, ahead of every other option including inflation, health care, education, taxes, immigration, climate change and abortion. A majority of Utahns, 53%, selected affordable housing as one of their top three concerns. 'Cost is the key economic concern right now,' Byler said. 'Not unemployment. Not taxes. Cost. And voters are telling us that housing prices are driving the cost crisis.' The poll results were less decisive when it came to proposed solutions. Asked if they'd be willing to move further from their work if new, less expensive housing was built, 43% of Utahns said an additional half-hour commute was an acceptable tradeoff, but 35% said they wouldn't move and 22% weren't sure. And 49% of Utahns said they'd support building new apartments nearby to lower housing costs, but 32% were opposed and 19%, unsure. Support was higher in Salt Lake County, the poll found, but lower in Utah County. Byler said it's younger voters, newer transplants and families thinking about moving away from Utah due to housing costs who are 'the most willing to relocate within the state and/or support new apartment construction for more affordable housing.' Another poll, released by Envision Utah in January, showed more than two-thirds of Utahns believe the state is dealing with serious or even crisis-level housing issues. But there was disagreement over the cause, with only just over a third blaming the short supply.
Yahoo
28-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Vermilion Parish schools awaits Congress' decision on education cuts
ABBEVILLE, La. (KLFY) — What direction will the future of education take impacting Vermilion Parish students if President Donald Trump's executive order to dismantle the US Department of Education is approved by Congress? 'I think that's the question still out on what that's exactly going to look like,' said Tommy Byler, Superintendent of Vermilion Parish. He said 8% of their budget comes from the federal government. 'What will it look like, where will it come from? I mean the bottom line is we still have to be able to provide services,' he said. 'That's one of those situations. When it happens, we'll have to make adjustments and see what really is the underlying cause. Yeah, I mean, there's less red tape then it's for the good. If it hurts the learning for our students and the services for our students, then it's not good. So ultimately, I think that the jury's still out on what that is going to look like.' Close Thanks for signing up! Watch for us in your inbox. Subscribe Now LPSS Superintendent speaks on President Trump's executive order to give states power over education He highlighted some funds for the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) and child nutrition programs run through the federal government. 'For the K-12 education, there's a couple of things and obviously, the other big concerns are for our students post-graduation, you know the funding for potential Pell grants and opportunities for kids outside of school. It may not affect us directly but when we're helping kids plan for the future, I mean, our ultimate goal is for them to be successful and we're still not sure exactly what that's going to look like,' said Byler. He said the topic has not yet been discussed with the school board. 'Not really, because as we start budgeting for the future, I don't really know what that's going to look like. You know, we'll have to get some guidance from the state.' Byler explained. 'I think for me, it's too much in the infancy of those stages of, you know, we've seen the executive order. Does it still have to go to Congress? What are the next steps? I think, as with anything, I mean, I think it's going to take a little while before everything, but again, we're not certain.' Byler said the next steps are unsure. As the school board starts budgeting for the future they will have have guidance from the state. 'Our goal is to provide the primary services that we currently provide, and if funding becomes an issue or there are other things that we have to do for the funding, then we'll just have to cross that bridge when we get there.' Byler said. 'It's in its infancy stages, and how that's going to trickle down to the local level, I think we'll see. Any red tape that they can cut easier for us to make decisions that are best for our kids is great, but not sure what that will look like at this point.' As Congress will have to agree to eliminate the Department of Education, Vermilion parish all they can to support their students. Vermilion Parish schools awaits Congress' decision on education cuts Battle over proxy voting for new parents intensifies in House GOP Interim 16th Judicial District Attorney speaks on new role Acadiana Foot Centers' treatment saves limbs A Heavy Rain Threat & Small Threat of Severe Weather Late Thursday & Friday… Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
06-03-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Blood drive to honor Roaring Spring woman who lost battle with cancer
BLAIR COUNTY, Pa. (WTAJ) — An upcoming blood drive in Roaring Spring will be honoring an area woman who lost her battle with breast cancer. Tana Byler passed away in November 2024 at the age of 40. She was a nurse for 19 years, and a mother and wife who fought breast cancer for four and a half years. 'She lived a shortened life of just 40 years; however, she accomplished more than most do in eighty years,' Byler's mother Tammy Holland said. Pennsylvania parents' quick actions help save son's life from rare infection Her family, friends and community said Byler did so much to help people, including donating blood. The American Red Cross will host the blood drive Thursday, March 27 at the Trinity United Methodist Church at 434 East Main Street in Byler's memory. The drive will begin at 12:30 p.m. and end at 6 p.m. 'She would be so very grateful and thankful for the community to come together for such a kind gesture in memory of her and helping others,' Michelle Mauk said. More information about donating blood can be found on the American Red Cross website. They also encourage those who wish to donate to use the Red Cross Blood Donor App or call 1-800-RED CROSS to book a time to give using the sponsor code TanaByler. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
