66 South Central Ave., Fairborn, OH 45324
Email: sohiostaff@pgahq.com Website: Southern Ohio Office: (937) 754-4263
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Dayton, OH – Tre Dang-Miller, recently joined the Southern Ohio PGA team as our new Junior Golf Manager. In this role, Tre will lead day to day operations of the SOPGA Junior Tour, while spending time connecting with our members and engaging the local community to help grow our Drive Chip & Putt, PGA Jr League and other community based programs.
“We’re thrilled to share that Tre has joined the team of the Southern Ohio PGA,” noted Executive Director Patrick Salva. “We strive to build our bench with great young professionals and did so with Tre last year as an intern on our team. He clearly showed his passion and energy for the game. Beyond that, it was his ability to connect with young people and the rest of our team that stood out and made him a great choice to take over our Junior Golf events.”
Tre is in the process of completing his undergraduate degree at The Ohio State University where he is studying Professional Golf Management. At the same time, he is actively pursuing his PGA Membership and is a Level 1 Associate. Tre served as an intern with the Southern Ohio PGA in 2025 and held roles at The Golf Room and Reston National Golf Course.
“Although I am new to the section and new to the state, everyone here has made this feel like a home to settle in and get to work,” said Tre. “I look forward to serving our community and building great relationships with all of our members!”
A native of Berkeley Springs, West Virginia, Tre spent five years serving in the United State Marine Corps prior to getting into the golf industry.
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Columbus, OH – On a humid August afternoon in Licking County, the girls’ golf team at Utica High School stood in a semi-circle around a row of gleaming new golf bags. Eleven of them, each filled with a full set of clubs, waiting to be claimed. Coach Pam Vickers called it a “magical day,” and she wasn’t exaggerating. For several of her players, it was the first time they’d ever owned their own equipment.
One of those players, freshman Chloe, could hardly wait to try hers. Her mother, Bonnie, admitted she cried reading the email announcing the donation.
“She is so thankful and loving the game,” Bonnie said. “She’s out there every night now, hitting balls until dark.”
Another player, Emmie, a senior and team leader, had always borrowed clubs — hand-me-downs that were too short and mismatched. When she took her first swing with her new driver, it sailed 150 yards. “She could hardly contain herself,” her mom said. “We are absolutely blown away.”
Moments like those are what the Southern Ohio PGA’s Clubs Fore Kids program was created for. Launched in early 2025 under the umbrella of PGA REACH Southern Ohio, the 501(c)(3) charitable foundation of the Southern Ohio PGA Section, the initiative aims to make golf accessible by removing one of its biggest barriers, equipment. In less than a year, Clubs Fore Kids has already placed more than 80 full sets of clubs into the hands of high school players across the region, including those in Columbus City Schools and small-town programs like Utica’s.
In Columbus, the story unfolds differently but with the same heartbeat. PGA Professionals Mark Williams, Ryne Kitchen, Scott Pealer and Gerry Hammond hosted clinics at their various facilities, bringing the game to schools that once had no golf programs at all. At Champions Golf Club, Mark and Ryne taught kids who had yet to step foot on a golf course. Scott’s clinics fostered the love of golf that can turn into a lifetime of enjoyment of the game. Gerry used The Golf Depot as a central hub for the entire district’s kids to get together and see the game up close rather than on television or in passing.
With the support of Clubs Fore Kids and guidance from city recreation specialist Al Sallee, those barriers are fading fast. This fall, 12 of the 16 Columbus City high schools fielded golf teams, double the number from a year ago. In neighborhoods where football and basketball long dominated the after-school landscape, kids are now learning to chip, putt and compete on courses across the city.
“They just needed a chance,” Williams said. “We started with a handful of students and now we have more than 100 who want to play.”
That “chance” is what Clubs Fore Kids delivers. Bags of clubs, yes, but also belief. The belief that golf isn’t reserved for private clubs or well-funded programs, that it can belong to anyone willing to pick up a 7-iron and try.
For PGA REACH Southern Ohio, the mission is only beginning. We are expanding Clubs Fore Kids throughout Central and Southern Ohio, reaching new communities and building relationships with schools that want to start or grow their golf programs.
From the rolling hills of Utica to the fairways of Columbus, these stories share the same truth: when you give a young person the tools to play, you give them something far greater than a game. You give them confidence, belonging and a new place to call their own.
And sometimes, it all starts with a single swing.