Cheney and Team Give Back, Keep Southern Highlands at High Level of Excellence
Southern Highlands Golf Club general manager Jason Cheney takes his role seriously and does everything in his power to implement best practices that will allow for his team to offer members and guests the best possible experience. But even as challenging as it is to operate one of the top clubs on the west coast, Cheney doesn’t let that stop him from also giving back to the Las Vegas community through various endeavors. Also, “team” has always been a huge part of his vocabulary. –By Brian Hurlburt, Las Vegas Golf Insider.
Cheney, originally from Fargo, North Dakota, moved to Las Vegas in 1997, taking a job at Las Vegas Paiute Golf Resort and staying there until 2010, leaving as the general manager for the same role at Anthem Country Club. In 2012 he became the director of operations for Pacific Links when they operated both DragonRidge and Southern Highlands. When owner Garry Goett repurchased Southern Highlands from Pacific Links a couple years ago, one of his first acts was to keep Cheney managing his club, which was founded in 1999.
“When I came to Las Vegas in 1997 from Fargo, North Dakota, I was initially overwhelmed with the shear size of this city,” Cheney says. “I have met some of the most amazing people through the community of Las Vegas golf. Whether it be from relationships formed with co-workers, cohorts from competing clubs or those that simply play the game, lifelong friendships have been established. Through my years of working in the Valley’s golf industry I was exposed to some amazing people who used the game of golf for philanthropic or community centric purposes. Nowhere was this more evident than when I began working in the private club setting. My desire to become more involved in our community was developed by what was being modeled by the members and owners I served on a daily basis. I speak with my team at Southern Highlands Golf Club often about the great fortune we have in being of service to a membership base that are stewards of the community in which we live. The Governor’s Black Tie event that takes place at Southern Highlands is just one example of the numerous philanthropic efforts I have been exposed to through the game of golf. To see millions of dollars being raised through our partnerships, on an annual basis, provides a tremendous level of intrinsic value and a deeper desire to get involved and stay committed to our community as a whole.”
Most recently, Cheney motivated Southern Highlands members and staff to help raise more than $30,000 via the Southern Nevada Junior Golf Association 100 hole marathon. Cheney, head pro Jim Delaney, assistant Brian Sanders and member and SNGA president Kenny Ebalo were a part of the effort. Former UNLV golfer Jeremy Anderson also raised some funds and played some holes with the Southern Highlands group.
Besides helping junior golf and the Governor’s Black Tie event, Cheney is on the board of the Las Vegas Golf Hall of Fame, Nevada Golf Alliance, UNLV Professional Golf Management Advisory and the Nevada Golf Course Owner’s Association.
Ebalo, a former SNGA player of the year, is a member and friend of Cheney and appreciates what he does for Las Vegas and the club.
“Jason is the absolute best!” says Ebalo, making sure this writer included the exclamation point. “Aside from all of the time he makes to help out golf in the community, he gives more of an effort into getting to know each and every one of our members. ‘No’ is an answer you hear at a lot of places, but at Southern Highlands, he and his staff go above and beyond to give a ‘yes.’”
