Grand Haven Mens Golf Assoc.

The Grand Haven Men’s Golf Association Spotlight Golfer for February/March 2014 is Harry Hasty. Our criteria for selection include such considerations as major contributions/dedication to the organization, golfing accomplishments, outstanding character, and being someone you’d like to know. With Harry’s hole-in-one at #17 on December 20, 1913 he qualified with aces on all counts. Below is Harry’s story; I’m certain you will find it interesting and concur that we’re glad he’s one of us!

Harry C Hasty, Jr. was born on August 11, 1946 in Jacksonville, Florida. He is the son of two south Georgia farmers. His Dad (along with 9 brothers and sisters) grew up farming in a small Southwestern Georgia area called DoeRun (near Moultrie, Ga.) His mother grew up on a farm outside of Hazelhurst, Ga., along with her 12 brothers and sisters. All of those aunts, uncles and cousins taught Harry what a large family was like, but being an "only child" himself, he longed for brothers and sisters he never had. At the early age of 6, Harry moved with his mother and father to St. Augustine, FL, where Harry grew up. His father purchased a small, run-down, soft drink bottling plant in downtown St. Augustine, and the family lived in an apartment above the business. Harry walked to school every day through what is now historic St. George St., past the oldest wooden school house and through the City Gates. Harry began working at the early age of 7, cleaning out the bottling plant every day after school.

His favorite sport at the time was baseball, and he chose to excel at that. His father let him choose the "one high school sport" he could play, as all other time was spent working in the plant. By age 14, Harry actually mixed the formulas for the soft drinks (including NuGrape, SunDrop, Grappette and other beverages) and totally ran the plant during the busy summer. At age 16, he ran his own soft drink route, delivering soda to customers all over town. Keeping to his word, his Dad let him continue to play baseball, and Harry played all four years of varsity baseball, before graduating from Saint Augustine High School in 1964. He had also taken up bowling on weekends, and was reprimanded by his High School counselor for skipping baccalaureate services in order to attend the state men’s bowling championships in Ft. Lauderdale, where he finished 35th in the state.

Harry entered St. John’s River Junior College in Palatka in the fall of 1964, taking up tennis at school. He loved the ability to play another sport, and made the

college tennis team in his second season at Palatka. He knew he had to make some serious money to attend Florida State University (Tallahassee), his lifelong dream, so in the summer of 1965, he began working as a sightseeing guide on the sightseeing trains in St. Augustine. Giving guided tours to tourists, selling train tickets on commission, and getting a commission from local attractions for getting tourists into their attractions provided Harry with the means to make that dream come true.

In the Fall of 1966, Harry packed up and left home for life at Florida State (GO NOLES), where he majored in accounting. Working hard during the summers and a part time job at school left little time for sports. He did manage to take up handball, intramural football, and his "first round of golf" at the school course!

Upon graduation in 1968, Harry worked in the accounting world of Armstrong World Industries (the flooring, ceiling and furniture company). On an early assignment in Pensacola, Florida, Harry began to take up golf with the local guys who played once a week after work. Later in Charlotte, NC, this expanded to every Saturday morning outings, and Harry was "hooked on golf" for life. His next assignment took him to Dalton, GA., as Armstrong had just purchased its first carpet plant, and Harry was sent as Controller. It was in Dalton that Harry met Gay, a nurse from Mt. Dora, Florida, and they were married in 1976. Together, they raised 4 children and settled in Roswell, GA, just outside Atlanta, where they resided for the next 20 years. Brian (Specialty Insurance) lives in Cumming, Ga. with wife Beth and 4 grandchildren. Lisa and her husband, Cameron, live in St. Augustine with two of Harry and Gay’s grandchildren. Todd (I/T specialist at Harris, Inc) in Melbourne with this wife Braille (a dentist with her own practice in the area) delivered the most recent grandson who is now 1! Rob, a bachelor and CPA resides in St. Augustine. Four kids and 7 grandkids keep Gay and Harry very busy and on the road a lot!

It was during life in Atlanta that Harry really got into golf "big time". He was a member of Indian Hills Country Club, where he served on the MGA Board of Directors, in charge of the annual Member-Guest tournament. He worked at Wells Fargo Armored Service Corp. as CFO, later traveling the country as Vice President of Operations. Almost 5 million air miles later, Harry decided to make a significant career change, but only with the approval and buy in of Gay! Both Harry and Gay knew they were adventurous, but in 1996, the opportunity to "prove it" suddenly appeared. With Gay’s blessing (and the kids starting to get out of

college), Gay and Harry embarked on a 3 month security consulting trip to Saudi Arabia, working with a Royal Family member to develop the security business in the KSA. That trip lasted six years, and Harry steered the armored car, guarding, and ATM business development in the Kingdom. In the meantime, Gay (who had added a Master’s of Psychology degree) served as the medical officer to the American Consulate in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia’s large city on the Red Sea! Together they were able to use Saudi as a "launching pad" to travel and visit the rest of the world. Last count they had visited in 35 different countries on 6 different continents!

After living through 911 in Saudi, both Harry and Gay felt it was time to "head home", but a "slight detour" occurred and they stopped off in Cyprus for a two year security business engagement. They returned to the States in 2004.

The greatest "opportunity of my work life" popped up in 2006, according to Harry. He was approached by earlier business partners to build a military vehicle assembly plant in West Point, Mississippi, to make MRAP (mine resistant ambush protected) vehicles for the US military’s use in Iraq and Afghanistan. Harry worked in Mississippi (traveling home on weekends) until the contract was completed (some 10,000 vehicles later) in 2012, when he retired.

Gay had retired about three years earlier, and she and Harry began their search for their ultimate retirement home. They wanted it central to all of their grandkids, and having both grown up native Floridians (a rarity in Grand Haven), the choice wasn’t hard. Gay found the house, and Harry flew home for a 10AM Christmas Eve closing in 2008. Harry wrote a check for the house, immediately looked at Gay and said, "come on, it’s time for me to see it", and she took him to their new home off the 18th tee at Grand Haven! Asked if he always placed that much faith in Gay, Harry’s answer was quick….. "she knows more about what makes me happy than I do"!

Grand Haven is the best retirement decision that we could have made, says Harry. He and Gay both agree on that! They have taken up golf together (Gay plays with the ladies 9 holers) and Harry has felt right at home in playing Wednesday’s with the MGA. "It’s a great bunch of guys and a great way to meet people!"

Harry is the MGA’s 2013-14 tournaments chairman, and has served with distinction as a planner, organizer, leader and communicator. Please join in congratulating Harry on his achievements, and on this well-deserved recognition.