Below are bios for those candidates running for election to the two open seats on Champlain Country Club’s Board of Directors. Members can vote in the Pro Shop, at the Annual Meeting on May 21st, or proxies will be mailed upon request. In chronological order of last name, the candidates running for the open seats are Wally Johnson, Todd Lagrow, Kaleb Nichols, and Ben Roberts (incumbent).
Wally Johnson
- Two year member Champlain Country Club
- Started golf career as caddy at CCC 1960s
- Played as greens fee player, member guest with father 1970-1990s.
- Sports editor St. Albans Messenger 1964-67. Assistant Sports Editor Burlington Free Press 1968-75 Vermont Sportswriter of the Year 1971. Golf writer, Free Press, Member US Golf Writers Association. Current member USGA since 1978.
- Member St. Lawrence University Golf Club 46 years. Director of golf leagues SLGC 2010-2021. Director of Public Relations, St. Lawrence University Golf Course 1978-2021. Sports Information Director, St. Lawrence University Golf programs 1975-78, 2000-2016.
- College Sports Information Director’s Hall of Fame 2013, CoSIDA Lifetime Achievement Award 2016 CoSIDA Warren Berg Award 2001, ECAC Irving T. Marsh Award 1995, Pete Nevins Award 2012, American Hockey Coaches Association Jim Fullerton Award 2017.
- Academic: BFA class of 1967, UVM class of 1971.
Todd Lagrow
Hello, CCC Members! My name is Todd Lagrow and I have been a lifelong golfer and member of Champlain Country Club for over 10 years. I am asking for your vote for a position on the board here at CCC. In my professional life, I am a Vice President at NFP, an insurance brokerage located in South Burlington, Vermont with offices all around the country. My role at NFP is that of a Property & Casualty advisor. I have lived in St Albans since 2003 with my wife Tina. We have two sons, our oldest is a freshman at UMass Boston and our youngest is a sophomore at BFA. I have served the community as much as possible in my time in St Albans. I coached Little League baseball for many years with both of our sons having gone through the program. I also served on the board of St Albans Little League for 7 years, and was our league President for four of those years. I coached basketball, assisted in coaching soccer and baseball for St Albans City School from 2015 to 2018. I am currently the golf coach for the 7th & 8th grade team at Georgia Elementary School. I started playing golf at the age of 9, following my dad around the course with a sawed off 9 iron. I became a member of Kwiniaska at age 10, where we had a large group of kids who made the loops I then joined Rocky Ridge, where my father played and was a member there for almost 25 years. I have had the privilege over my years of playing golf, of participating in Vermont Amateur tournaments, Pro-Ams with life long friends and traveled to Ireland to play around the country. I have enjoyed being a member of Champlain over the years, and seen many positive changes in the course and facilities over that time. We have a wonderful course and an extremely friendly membership. I am proud to be a member and to call Champlain my home course. I am asking for your vote to join the board to continue the great work of our current and prior board members
Kaleb Nichols
Hi All,
I’m Kaleb Nichols, I am running for an open seat on the board of directors at Champlain Country Club. I was born and raised in St. Albans. After graduating from college in 2014, I moved back home and joined CCC. My professional background has always been related to sports, having worked for the Philadelphia Flyers, the Albany Devils on the AHL and currently at Kevin Smith Team Sports & Corporate Apparel as a team sports sales representative.
I always had a love for golf, but other than some driving range sessions as a kid I had never played golf before joining CCC. I immediately became addicted to playing golf and have been a member ever since. Making many great memories with both old and new friends.
My interest in joining the board is to contribute toward continuing improvements to the course and clubhouse, plus keeping the course a great place for the members and their families to enjoy. I always try to look at things from both sides to see how we can come to a resolution that works well for the needs of all, but do not hesitate promoting debate to help turn over every rock.
I would appreciate your vote this spring and thank you for your time.
Ben Roberts (Incumbent)
My name is Ben Roberts, and I am running for the open position on the Champlain Country Club board. I am from St. Albans VT and learned to play golf through the junior golf program at Champlain. After college, I moved back to St. Albans and became a member at Champlain Country Club again. Being a member at Champlain is something I am very prideful about. In my professional life I am a Senior Production Underwriter for an insurance company where I handle our largest complex accounts. I work closely with our brokers and the policyholders to design and price our programs. Outside of work, I coach hockey and enjoy spending time with my family. I was fortunate to be appointed to an interim spot on the board when a board member resigned at the end of last year. In the short time I have been on the board, I have gathered that Champlain is in a unique position, and with our current financial position we are able to plan and act on making improvements to our course and facilities. As many are aware, we have made several key improvements to the course and clubhouse in the last few years. Not to mention we are at capacity from a membership standpoint, which is a great position to be in. The past and current board members, alongside Champlain Country Club’s staff, have done a great job to put us in the position we are in. If chosen to be on the board, my goal would be to help assist and build off this momentum while being diligent with our next financial decisions. As a board member I would look to bring fiscal responsibility along with new ideas to help our membership continue to make the most of our course. I feel very confident I can help assist on projects, communication, and am prepared to put in the work in whatever capacity is needed. I currently run a charity golf tournament every year in memory of my brother, Connor Roberts. This year will be the seventh annual tournament. We have seen great success with it and have sold out every year. If I were elected, I would look to use the lessons learned organizing my brother’s tournament to help with our member tournaments. I appreciate your consideration and hope to win your vote for this year’s election.