About

Tom serves as the President of the Board and Chairman of the Executive Committee. He is a senior investment partner of The Flint Hills Group at Morgan Stanley. Tom brings 40 years of business and civic experience to the program. He has hands-on experience in financial and organizational development. He has served on numerous charitable boards, most recently as President of the Board of the Mental Health Association of Kansas. As a founder of First Tee Greater Wichita, Tom brings a passion for golf and children’s developmental programs

Patricia serves as the Vice President of the Board, is a member of the Executive Committee and is Chairperson of the Program Committee. She is very involved in volunteer activities, mostly involving golf.  Patricia is a member of the Board of Trustees of Wichita Collegiate School, Junior Girls liaison for Women’s Golf Association of Wichita, a staff member for Kansas Women’s Golf Association.   Her passion for excellence in golf has brought her many outstanding player awards.   Patricia is an activist for golf and its virtues.

Managing partner of Klenda Austerman, one of Wichita’s largest law firms, Austerman is active in many civic and community organizations, including the Wichita Chamber of Commerce. He is a board member of Wichita Festivals, INC. and was an owner of the Wichita Wingnuts, a former professional baseball team in Wichita.

Hale serves as Treasurer of the organization and a member of the Executive Committee.  Hale is the former chairman of Ritchie Corp.  He has ties to non-profits that go back 37 years.   Now retired, his wife, Jane and he are long-time volunteers and supporters of Rainbows United, a nonprofit group that serves children with special needs and their families.   Hale’s work over the years with the Greater Wichita Economic Development Coalition has established him as a true visionary for the City of Wichita,   Hale was recently named the 2014 recipient of the Uncommon Citizen Award by the Wichita Metro Chamber of Commerce

In May 2004, George R. Kolb was appointed City Manager of Wichita, Kansas. Kolb oversaw a
workforce of 3,200 members and a budget of more than $500 million for a community whose
population exceeds 358,000.

For the past 30 years, Kolb has been involved with the operations of municipal governments in
Georgia, Michigan, Virginia, and now Kansas. During this time, he has held management
positions in various capacities from directing a major utilities operation in Virginia to serving in city
management positions overseeing all operations of municipal governments. Kolb’s development and
implementation of unique and invaluable skills has facilitated improvements for organizations to focus on
excellence in municipal service delivery and customer service in a public sector environment.
Kolb has obtained the International City/County Management (ICMA) Credentialed Manager designation. He
was one of the first local government management professionals worldwide to be credentialed through the
ICMA Voluntary Credentialing Program.

Prior to joining the City of Wichita, Kolb served various communities in Georgia, Virginia and Michigan. He is a 1996 graduate of the Harvard University, John F. Kennedy School of Government Senior Executives in State
and Local Government Program. Kolb received his Masters of Public Administration from the University of
Michigan and his undergraduate degree in business administration from Eastern Michigan University.
In addition to serving on the NFBPA Board of Directors, he was a member of the Wichita Art Museum Board of Directors and the Greater Wichita Economic Development Council

Mr. Sullivan graduated from University of Illinois College of Dentistry and College of Business and recently moved to Wichita, KS. Mr. Sullivan is currently the Executive Vice President and Dental Director at Delta Dental of Kansas.

Alan Clark has been a Class A member of the PGA of America for more than 25 years. He has provided leadership for several prominent golf clubs in the St. Louis area along with both the director of golf and general manager tracks. He is also engaged in the development of software technology, featuring hands-free video capture through smart devices for golf and sport. Alan has been with First Tee Greater Wichita since May 2020.

Our Program Director is Corey Novascone. Corey comes to us with a successful background in golf. Corey was a member of the WSU golf team from 1994 through 1998. He won the Kansas State Amateur title in 1996. After college, Corey played several years of professional golf. From 2008 to 2014, Corey was the Customer Service Manager for The Golf Warehouse. However, what really attracted us was his success in working with kids. From 2013 to 2015 Corey was the head golf coach for both the boys and girls teams at Kapaun Mt. Carmel. During his time there, his teams became the 2013 and 2014 Girls State Champions and the 2014 and 2015 Boys State Champions. He went back to coach at Kapaun and lead the girls’ team to another state championship in 2020. Corey has a strong passion for working with kids and helping them succeed at whatever their endeavors may be. Corey has been with First Tee Greater Wichita since its inception in 2016.