Elmsford, NY (August 13, 2026) — Dave Donelson and Helen Farrelly will each be honored with the Dave Anderson Spotlight Award at the Metropolitan Golf Writers Association’s 73rd National Awards Dinner on Tuesday, October 6th at Mountain Ridge Country Club in West Caldwell, NJ. The Dave Anderson Spotlight Award, named in memory of former Pulitzer Prize-winning NY Times columnist and longtime MGWA Board Member, Dave Anderson, highlights “exemplary service by unique individuals in the golf community.” Previous winners of this special recognition include hometown heroes whose names may not be familiar to the general public, but whose contributions to both the game of golf and their local communities are invaluable.
Donelson and Farrelly will join a distinguished list of other awardees who will be celebrated at the Dinner, including Judy Rankin (Gold Tee Award), Mike Whan (Paul Dillon Distinguished Service Award), Damon Hack (Lincoln Werden Golf Journalism Award), Ted Heins (Mary Bea Porter Award), Joe, Joe IV and Lauren LaCava (Family of the Year), and Siwanoy Country Club (Club of the Year).
Dave Donelson has been described by some as a modern-day Renaissance man. He’s a golf writer, the official historian for the Metropolitan Golf Association and a past-president of the MGWA. He’s also worked as an entrepreneur, had a career in broadcasting, and is an artist, a photographer, a fiction writer and a poet. But his true love is golf, and his years-long association with Westchester Magazine covering golf in the county, as well as his over 20 years on the MGWA Board of Directors is evidence of that. Donelson’s current book, Golf Westchester, a Tee to Green Encyclopedia covers everything golf-related in Westchester, beginning with the first municipal course he played in 1979. As a testament to his passion for the game and those who are involved with it, Donelson is donating all proceeds from this book to the MGA Caddie Scholarship Fund, which will impact the lives of hundreds of young people in the Met area.
Helen Farrelly is the Director of Communications for the Metropolitan Golf Association. Her career in golf began as an intern at the MGA after graduating from Lehigh University, where she studied history and communications. After a summer internship filled with travel to local championships and qualifiers, where she handled scoring, wrote tournament recaps, and contributed to the association’s social media channels, Farrelly was hired full-time in the communications department and took on additional responsibilities with The Met Golfer magazine and event coverage. She was promoted to her current role in 2016 and now oversees all communications efforts for the MGA, including the transformation of The Met Golfer into a fully digital publication and the continued growth of the MGA’s digital communications platforms.
“Dave and Helen have contributed tremendously to our great game throughout their careers,” MGWA president Hank Gola remarked. “The story of Met-area golf is rich and varied and both Dave and Helen have been tireless in telling those many tales. They exemplify those behind the scenes without whom golf would be a little less interesting and vibrant.”
The MGWA has celebrated the game of golf and promoted golf journalism since its inception in 1952, and its National Awards Dinner has been one of the highlights of the golf calendar since then. It has honored – and been attended by – some of the greatest names in the sport: Bobby Jones, Ben Hogan, Sam Snead, Byron Nelson, Arnold Palmer, Jack Nicklaus, JoAnne Carner, Gary Player, Billy Casper, Nancy Lopez, Tom Watson, and Annika Sorenstam, to name just a few. This highly anticipated event is supported by golf’s leading organizations and corporate supporters, Met Area clubs and club leaders, as well as local and national golf media. Through the Dinner and other events, the MGWA has raised millions of dollars for Caddie Scholarship programs in the Metropolitan New York area, the MGA Foundation, and the Dave Marr Journalism Scholarship.
Click here to purchase tickets to the Dinner. For more information, view this one-minute video or contact Robin Sauerhaft, MGWA Executive Administrator, at: rsauerhaft@mgagolf.org.
Follow us on Facebook and Instagram at Met Golf Writers Association,
and on X at @metgolfwriters