CYANMAGENTAYELLOWBLACK

E4 Herald-Banner Saturday, MarcH 31, 2012

By David ClaybournHerald-Banner Sports editor

Wright Park golf professional Bo Hartline may hold a record for longevi-ty.

“I might be the longest superinten-dent to run a course in the state of Texas,” said Hartline. “Most superinten-dents, they move on in five to six years.”

Hartline’s been mowing the grass, watering the greens and taking care of the nine-hole municipal golf course in Greenville for more than 33 years. He’s continuing a family tradition that’s gone on in Greenville and Hunt County since the 1950s.

“There’s been a Hartline every decade running this course,” said Hartline.

Bo’s grandfather, Horris Hartline, was the first family member involved in the golf business as the maintenance super-visor at Preston Hollow in Dallas.

Bo’s father, Pinkey Sr., worked at Wright Park, Oak Creek in Greenville and Sand Hills in Campbell, plus at Eastern Hills in Garland and Cypress Creek in Scroggins, Texas.

Bo’s brother, Kenny, owns and oper-ates Hartline’s Golf Center near Campbell.

Another brother, Pinkey Jr., operates a golf cart business in Lake Jackson.

His son, Bobo, runs Texas Golf Carts in Campbell.

A nephew, Newt, was the assistant pro at a course in Sugarland and a Lone Star Conference champion golfer at Texas A&M University-Commerce.

Cousin Ricky Hartline Sr., operates a golf cart business in Crockett and his son, Ricky Jr., has a golf cart business in Quinlan.

Other relatives, Butch Hartline, June Hartline and Bub Hartline, have worked at Pecan Hollow in Plano, Eastern Hills and Calabasas Country Club in California.

Bo Hartline learned from his “grand-pa, dad and uncle” how to take good

care of the grass at a golf course.“If you aerify, water and fertilize you

can grow anything,” he said.Hartline’s also learned how to treat

the diseases that affect the grasses and he’s earned his pest control license to keep the bugs from ruining the greens.

Hartline’s also developed people skills along the way.

“I love to meet people,” he said. “One of the hardest things is you get attached to people. Now they’re all passing on and it’s like losing your grandpa all the time. I go to a lot of funerals.”

Hartline works with golfers of all ages. He’s been conducting a junior golf program in Greenville since he started at Wright Park and for the last three years has served as golf commissioner for the Texas Amateur Athletic Federation that puts on state junior golf tournaments each summer.

“It’s good to see them grow up and do things,” he said. “You never know who you’re going to touch or what difference you’re going to make so you have to be careful with kids.”

He also works with a lot of senior golfers.

“The Baby Boomers are all retiring so golf should pick up,” he said. “I think there’s going to be a mass allotment of golfers here pretty quick. Right now it’s going to be great in the future.”

Golf has allowed him to meet all kinds of people. He’s played in pro-ams with famous musicians including Glen Campbell, Mickey Gilley, Charlie Daniels, Roy Clark, Kenny Chesney and Tracy Lawrence, plus with former champion bull rider Donnie Gay, the late actor Denver Pyle and champion golfer Doug Sanders.

Hartline is one of the city’s top golf-ers. He placed eighth in the Texas Senior Open in 2008, shooting 18-hole rounds of 72, 70 and 74, and set a course record at the Quarry in San Antonio with a 65 in a tournament. He’s also won tournaments in and around Hunt County.

What is it about golf that appeals so much to him?

“It’s a gentleman’s game,” he said. “It’s honesty and integrity. It’s the only game I know where you can be at the very bottom and in one shot be at the very top.”

How much longer will he keep work-ing in the business? He says until he can’t do a good job, which should mean many more productive years.

“I don’t plan on doing it when I’m 92,” he said.

Now, that would be quite a record if he’s still at Wright Park when he’s 92.

THE FUTUREH E r a l D i n g

r e c r e a t i o n & H e a l t H

By amber PompaHerald-Banner Staff

Susan Spoonemore has had her hands in a num-ber of projects during her time at Hunt Regional Medical Center at Greenville, having worked her way up from an intern to the public relations coordinator for Hunt Regional Healthcare.

What started as an internship to complete her public relations degree at Texas A&M University-Commerce ended up being a full-time job for Spoonemore.

She served as an intern for almost a full year before being offered a position in the develop-ment and communica-tions department. All in all, she has served six years at HRMC.

Prior to going back to school, Spoonemore was in broadcasting. She start-ed off at KIKT and even-tually moved to WBAP where she hosted the “Midnight Cowboy,” show.

“I thought I’d go back to school to get a degree in broadcast journalism, to maybe be a reporter,” she said. “I changed my mind and decided that public relations might be more up my alley. It had a lot to do with the hours involved in broadcasting. I don’t mind working odd hours here or even on the holidays, just not forever, and that seems to be the way it goes in broadcast-ing.”

While she may not have

chosen to further pursue a path in broadcasting, having eventually gradu-ating in 2007 with a bache-lor of science in journal-ism-public relations, it did help prepare her for her role at the hospital, par-ticularly in regard to using social media like Facebook and e-newslet-ters and improving her media relations and advertising skills.

Spoonemore started the Social Media project for Hunt Regional

Healthcare, is a part of The Foundation for Good Health, the hospital’s charitable health founda-tion, and was very involved in this year’s fund-raising gala, which raised a record $117,000. She was involved in get-ting the word out to the public about the Lou and Jack Finney Cancer Center and the West Wing, and the recent improvements made to the seventh floor Rehabilitation Center

and the Emergency Room.“It’s very important to

make these advances, not just for the hospital, but for the community,” said Spoonemore. “And that’s where I come in. It’s my job to tell everyone how great this hospital is in regard to the services we provide and the awesome care it affords its patients.”

This may seem like Spoonemore just doing her job and it is, to a cer-tain extent. The other side of the story is that Spoonemore’s mother has

sought treatment at the hospital for chronic emphysema and bouts of pneumonia and therefore knows first hand how great the care is at the Greenville hospital. In fact, they just received a five star rating for the treatment of pneumonia for the fourth year in a row.

“I know firsthand the kind of care she is given here at the hospital,” she said. “I wouldn’t want her to be at any other hospi-tal. Our care truly is excellent here and that’s

coming from a daughter, not an employee.”

When not at the hospi-tal, Spoonemore is at home in Celeste spending time with her husband, Kelly, and three boys; one college freshman, one 10-year old and one first-grader.

“They’re my off-time and they keep me plenty busy,” she said. “When I finally get a moment to myself, all I have the ener-gy to do is put on my pajamas and crawl into bed to enjoy some quiet time.”

PrOFilE On

PrOFilE On

Bo Hartline

SuSan Spoonemore

aMBer PoMPa / Herald-Banner

Susan Spoonemore is the public relations coordinator for Hunt regional Medical center.

Hospital public relations pro spreads positive message

golf superintendent spends 33 years on the links

david clayBourn / Herald-Banner

neither rain nor sleet nor snow stops Wright Park municipal pro Bo Hartline from playing and winning in golf.

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