Editor:

This is a letter of concern addressing the Safford City Council regarding its proposed changes impacting not only the golf course, but also our community as a whole. With recognition and appreciation of the immediate economic downturn facing all of America's rural communities, please listen to our concerns.

The women's association also includes our spouses and friends. We are mostly retired, and many of us choose to winter here primarily because of what we regard as a continually rewarding golf experience. The reasons for that include our reception here by the personnel at the golf course. Your current application of contract bidding for Mr. Burt Watkins' position may prove in the broader view to be very short-sighted. You are risking the loss of 28 years of dependability with a very satisfied patronage. You are also risking the loss of a man who has qualified himself as a professional golfer by the American Professional Golf Association. You may think lightly of those important qualifications, but they come into play greatly when a group proposes to have a tournament play at the golf course.

Mr. Watkins has been instrumental and invaluable to our association and to the general public at Mount Graham Golf Course. He is always very accommodating and helpful to make our tournament play successful and enjoyable. He is very quick and reliable to suggest play formats that allow the new player, the poor player or the infirm player to be competitive even with the stronger player. Without Mr. Watkins' extensive background in golf, much of the successful play at Mount Graham Golf Course will surely be lost. Without his expertise in these matters, many would be unable to play. As it is, everyone is able to enjoy a pleasant experience at the golf course.

There is always the beginner, or sometimes the stranger to our area, who finds himself in violation of golf or of our course rules. Mr. Watkins always exercises a demeanor that corrects the situation and, at the same time, encourages the individual to have fun and enjoy the rest of the day.

Your current proposal for bids for Mr. Watkins' position risks the loss of competence, reliability and dependability and at the same time sets into motion the possibility of having a different person in that position every year — or do you have something entirely different in mind?

As an association, we suggest you continue Mr. Watkins' contract, thus ensuring no interruption of the long-established success at Mount Graham Golf Course.

Sincerely,

Mount Graham Women's Golf Association