At the 104th Annual Meeting of Washington Golf, held October 25th at Bear Creek Country Club, Tammy Halstead of Redmond, Wash., was voted onto the association’s Board of Directors.

An avid golfer, Tammy is the Rules and Player Education Chair as well as the Tournament Chair for the Evergreen Women’s Golf League, which plays at Willows Run Golf Complex in Redmond.

Known for her intelligence and thoughtfulness, Tammy was steered to be on the Board by Collin Westwood, the WA Golf assistant director of course rating, and she is looking forward to her time on the WA Golf Board of Directors. “I was appreciative of Collin’s support,” she says, “and that they were seeking a variety of perspectives and strengths from the Board’s members.”

As someone who likes to be involved, and who has spent many years in various leadership roles, Tammy is clear about what makes the process work.

“I’ve served on other boards, and usually got frustrated with inaction,” she says. “Golf is inherently an activity, and I think our Board needs people who are hands on, who participate. ‘How can we do this better?’; ‘How can we get more people involved?’. I don’t want to just show up at a meeting once in a while. I want to roll up my sleeves and do things.”

Part of her focus will be to find ways to reach people who have busy lives and not much time for golf. “Lots of people like the game, but just don’t have the time,” she says. “What kinds of leagues, or events, or non-green grass activities can we help promote, as gateways for busy people into the game. I’m not surprised at the growing popularity of indoor facilities; they take less time to do. How to translate getting people from the simulator onto a real fairway.”

Tammy’s journey into the golf community is not unlike others. Devoting herself to a full-time career had limited her time spent on the golf course, but her retirement in 2003 finally allowed her the time to play more golf. In 2007, she joined the Evergreen Women’s Golf League, and the gregarious and outgoing Tammy immediately made a lot of friends. “I’ve met some amazing women, people who have become great friends,” she says.

One of those new golf friends suggested the idea of the two of them volunteering together for the WA Golf Course Rating Team. “We went into it together, and I loved it right away,” she says. “We got to see, and play, courses we wouldn’t normally get to. Also, rating a course provides a real understanding of the game, and of why a course is rated a certain way. I find it really interesting.”

She has volunteered on the WA Golf Course Rating Committee for over 10 years. On the Course Rating Team, she started out under longtime WA Golf staffer John Saegner Jr., then when he retired she served with Kevin Jones, then Nate Schroeder, and now with Collin Westwood.

In 2022, Tammy was named the WA Golf Course Rating Volunteer of the Year. Tammy has been volunteering with the WA Golf Course Rating Team for over a decade, and she also serves on the Course Rating Committee where she is the current Committee Chair.

Tammy grew up in Idaho Falls and graduated from Idaho Falls High School. In 1985 she graduated from Idaho State University in Pocatello with a degree in accounting. She maintained a close connection with the university, where she served on the College of Business Leadership Board from 2003 to 2016 and the ISU Foundation Board of Directors. In 2001, Tammy received the ISU Professional Achievement Award for the College of Business. In 2012, she was instrumental in initiating and organizing the Master of Accounting Endowed Chair Class Challenge. In 2016, she led a Leadership Board campaign to fund the data center for the Technology, Teaching and Learning Center located at the Business Administration building. In 2021, she was honored with the Homecoming Distinguished Alumna Award from Idaho State University.

Tammy’s career in finance and accounting focused on publicly-traded and tech startups in the Puget Sound region. She helped take companies public and played a primary role in numerous mergers and acquisitions. Tammy served as Chief Accounting Officer and Chief Financial Officer with InfoSpace, Inc. She began her career in public accounting at Ernst & Whinney (now Ernst & Young LLP). Tammy served in finance and senior management roles at other companies including GoGoMobile, USWeb, Cosmix,Inc. (acquired by USWeb) and ConnectSoft Inc.

During her retirement, Tammy continues to serve on various non-profit boards as a community volunteer or mentor with organizations including Pawsitive Alliance, Washington CASH, the Grameen Foundation and City Year Seattle.

She and her husband, Sanjay Menon, live in Redmond, Washington, but they spend several months each winter at the Bajamar Ocean Front Golf Resort in Mexico, where Tammy volunteers as a course marshal, because, of course.