The NOGA Board Member and Inverness Club member earns the 2026 Joe Dey Award
In a glitzy awards ceremony at the United States Golf Association’s Annual Meeting in New York City on the final Saturday in February 2026, Toledo’s Jerry Lemieux was feted as the winner of the Joe Dey Award, presented annually since 1996 to recognize exemplary volunteer service and leadership in the game.
Lemieux, a member at Inverness Club in Toledo and a past president and current officer of the Northern Ohio Golf Association, has served as a USGA Committee member for 19 years. One of the organization’s most respected rules officials, he has worked at its premier championships, including U.S. Opens and the Walker Cup, while serving as a trusted mentor to new volunteers.
Jerry is known for his exceptional reliability and responsiveness, always willing to step in when needed to support the USGA and its championships at the highest level.
“Jerry started his USGA journey in 2006 as a member of the Regional Affairs Committee,” said Jake Miller, Director of USGA Regional Affairs Midwest. “Women’s golf is extremely important to Jerry. There was a point in time where he was the only male committee member on the Girls Junior Championship Committee. He served on the Women’s Public Links Committee and currently serves on the National Committee as well as being a contributing member to the Rules of Golf Committee.”
Beyond championship play, he is the most active Rules Queue Volunteer, resolving thousands of golfer inquiries and providing daily support to the Rules team. “Jerry’s part of a unique group of USGA committee members that helps our rules team answer the tens of thousands of rules questions that the USGA receives annually,” Miller continued. “He’s done about 30 to 40 percent of those.”
Lemieux was a key part of the team that helped orchestrate the successful merger between NOGA and the Toledo District Golf Association, working closely with both Boards and NOGA CEO Robb Schulze. “Jerry was really the go-between between the Toledo District Golf Association and the Northern Ohio Golf Association when we started to collaborate and work together eventually ending up in a merger of the two organizations,” Schulze said. “He’s a little bit of a bulldog. Once he has something and he’s looking to accomplish, he’s all in on it.”
Jerry brings his rules acumen to his home club as well. “Jerry is the rules expert for the Inverness Club and in Toledo,” said John Swigart, an Inverness Club past president. “He goes and takes the test every year, and every year he gets 100%. He’ll talk to anybody about the Rules of Golf. It doesn’t matter if it’s junior golf, membership, collegiate golf, high school golf, amateur golf or professional golf. He’s in the mix and he loves it. It’s a passion of his.”
JJ Weaver, the Director of Golf at Inverness Club, has worked directly with Jerry to spread knowledge of the rules. “We’ll do spot videos and they’re really about helping your average golfer understand the rules of golf better,” said Weaver. “He does it because he wants people to respect the rules the way he respects the rules, and to love the game the way he loves the game.”
That love of the game extends to working to bring major championship golf to Toledo. “Many are familiar with Jerry’s contributions to our championships as an exceptional referee,” said John Bodenhamer, Chief Championships Officer of the USGA. “He’s officiated at more than 80 USGA championships both domestically and internationally. It’s remarkable. But what a lot of people might not know is he’s brought so many championships to Inverness Club, one of America’s greatest clubs.”
“He was our championship chair for the 2019 Junior Amateur.” said Inverness’ Weaver about Lemieux. “He was integral in the Solheim Cup when we hosted it. He’s is the championship chair for the U.S. Women’s Open Presented by Ally in 2027. He’s a friend of the game.”
On that same Saturday at the Annual Meeting in New York City, the USGA announced that three more championships will be conducted at Inverness: the 2033 U.S. Girls’ Junior; the 2036 U.S. Women’s Amateur; and the biggest golf championship on the planet, the 2045 U.S. Open.
It’s likely Lemieux will be a big part of that planning, too.
“The Joe Dye Award really exemplifies the volunteer spirit that is at the heart and soul of the USGA,” said the USGA’s Bodenhamer. “If there were ever a dictionary of golf terms, and one opened the page to the definition of ‘volunteer’, there would be a picture of Jerry Lemieux.”
