Committed to Service
A salute to some of the veterans in the McConnell Golf family
In honor of Veteran’s Day, we asked a few McConnell Golf employees what their time in the military meant to them. If you see them at your club on Nov. 11, take a moment to thank them for their dedication and service.
Written by Brad King
McConnell Golf, The Magazine: Fall/Winter 2024
Cecil Summers
CECIL SUMMERS
Locker Room Attendant at Sedgefield Country Club
Sergeant, U.S. Marine Corps
“We had a job to do,” says Vietnam veteran Cecil Summers.
But when that job was over and the Gibsonville, North Carolina, native came home, he, like many of his fellow vets, found a less-than-warm reception.
“They didn’t recognize us,” Summers says. But he says of his time in Vietnam: “it made me a better person.”
After his six years of duty in the Marine Corps, he soon set to work cleaning up the streets around Greensboro himself, in a way, by keeping the shoes walking on them shined to a military polish. Learning the craft from other veterans in the family, Summers shined shoes for more than 30 years in the city, holding down a regular spot at the Style and Cut barber shop in addition to a full-time supervisor job at Precision Fabrics. He started practicing his craft at Sedgefield Country Club when the Wyndham Championship returned there in 2008, and soon Summers met McConnell Golf CEO and founder John McConnell.
“Mr. McConnell asked me if I’d like to be the locker room attendant,” says Summers. “I said, ‘Well, I’m about to retire soon, and this would be right down my line.’”
He plans to spend this Nov. 11 among his fellow veterans.
“I like to get together with some of the guys,” he says. “I’m a lifetime member of the VFW.”
“I want my job here to make members have the best experience they can have that day — whatever we have to do to make them feel like they belong to a first-class operation.” — Eric Fournier
ERIC FOURNIER
Golf Operations at The Country Club at Wakefield Plantation
Lieutenant Junior Grade, U.S. Naval Reserve
During his junior year, Eric Fournier went on what his school called a “summer cruise,” but it was not the typical collegiate vacation. Circa 1974, Fournier was a student at the Maine Maritime Academy, his “summer cruise” took him and his shipmates on a cargo vessel to Da Nang Port in Vietnam.
“We hauled building material, supplies, and some vehicles, stayed there long enough to get unloaded and then came back to the States,” Fournier says of the training exercise. “I only had maybe two weeks in Vietnam, so I was pretty safe.”
After graduating, Fournier served as an engineer in the U.S. Merchant Marine while also remaining in the U.S. Naval Reserve before retiring. During his subsequent engineering career, he had kept up his golf hobby — making The Country Club at Wakefield Plantation a natural destination after his retirement in 2016.
Fournier strives to bring the lessons of his service to bear at his current job.
“One of the things you learn is teamwork,” he says. “Everybody on that ship is going to be pulling in the same direction. And you carry that esprit de corps throughout your whole career. I want my job here to make members have the best experience they can have that day — whatever we have to do to make them feel like they belong to a first-class operation.”
Left: Former U.S. Secretary of State, Colin Powell Right: David Wilson
DAVID WILSON
General Manager, Old North State Club
Colonel, U.S. Army
After enlisting as a private in the Minnesota National Guard in 1985, David Wilson decided to enter ROTC at St. Cloud State University and ultimately earned a commission in the Iowa National Guard. That’s where he was when the first Gulf War broke out.
“We got alerted and mobilized for Desert Storm,” he says. “But before we could even pack our trucks, they said, ‘We’re done. Don’t waste your time.’”
Wilson may have not gotten to Iraq, but during a 32-year career that included leadership roles at the Army Reserve’s 88th Readiness Division, the United States Joint Forces Command, and the United States Strategic Command, he oversaw the mobilization of countless troops.
“I was one of the guys responsible for deploying everybody,” he says. “I have jokingly said that I was the most hated guy in the Army for about seven years.”
While serving, Wilson began his non-military career by managing bars and nightclubs before moving into hotel operations, eventually leading him to Old North State Club in 2023. His military service informed his approach to the hospitality industry, and vice-versa, he says. “I had one of my NCOs say, ‘You’re not like other officers,’” says Wilson. “As far as I was concerned, these soldiers were our internal customers. They were deploying, so I wanted to help them out and give them the respect to be heard, instead of just barking orders.”