HOT SPRINGS VILLAGE -- The Hot Springs Village Property Owners Association recently added two members to its leadership team, Gary Myers, as director of Agronomy, and Shawnee Cooper, as director of Human Resources.
Myers will oversee golf course and grounds upkeep at the Village's eight premier golf courses, along with other POA-operated areas. Cooper will handle all human resources issues for the POA's 520 employees.
"Both Gary and Shawnee have key expertise in their fields and will be assets to the entire community," CEO Lesley Nalley said in a news release. "Gary has worked at some of the best golf courses in the country and is a demonstrated leader in the course superintendent field. Shawnee and her family have a love for this community that is unmatched, and she will work diligently to recruit and retain employees that have that same kind of commitment to Hot Springs Village."
Myers has an extensive background in turf management and golf course maintenance at some of the most prestigious golf clubs in the country. He has been golf course superintendent at Tucson National Golf Club, Desert Inn Hotel and Country Club, and TPC at Summerlin in Las Vegas. He was the regional director of golf course maintenance operations at TPC of Scottsdale, and manager of golf course maintenance operations at Walt Disney World. Before coming to Hot Springs Village, he was director of agronomy at BallenIsles Country Club in Palm Beach Gardens, Fla.
Cooper has worked in hospital administration and human resources for nearly two decades, and has a business administration degree from Southern Arkansas University. She was on the Arkansas Healthcare Human Resources Association Board and is a member of the Society for Human Resource Management. She served as president of the Workforce Alliance for Growth in the Economy board in Columbia County, and was also president of the board for a domestic violence shelter. She and her husband, Dennis, are both Rotarians. They decided to relocate to Hot Springs Village after attending a Rotary Club meeting in the community and deciding it would be a great place to live.
"Our more than 200 clubs and organizations are one more reason people fall in love with Hot Springs Village. We are pleased that one of those organizations was a pathway for finding such talent," Nalley said.
Local on 07/28/2017