About

Don Brown is Vice President and Commercial Relationship Manager with Kitsap Bank, and has served on First Tee — South Puget Sound’s board since 2011. He attended Pacific Lutheran University and has lived in the Puget Sound Region since 1995. He understands the impact that competing in sports can have on the youth in our community is confident that First Tee — South Puget Sound is a safe place for our youth to be mentored. His favorite First Tee Core Value is perseverance because, “the difference between difficult and the impossible is that the impossible takes a little longer to accomplish.”

Thomas Dashiell is a business and real estate attorney at the law firm of Davies Pearson, P.C. in Tacoma. Thomas has been serving on The First Tee Board since 2016. Thomas has played golf since he was a child and loves not only the game, but the qualities and characteristics it instills in the youth, such as honesty and integrity. One of The First Tee’s goals of providing access to the game of golf for children who would not otherwise be afforded the opportunity to play is one of the driving forces Thomas had for joining The First Tee of South Puget Sound.

Matt Enloe is an Account Executive in Parker, Smith & Feek’s benefit department where, much like a caddie, he walks alongside his clients and advises strategic direction. Matt partners with middle market employers to craft benefit strategies that help keep healthcare costs in the fairway and drive results even further by leveraging technology.  Enloe re-joined First Tee in 2020 as a board member after being part of the founding group in 2010 and serving as Executive Director until 2015. Enloe also was a certified Level II First Tee coach and is passionate about the programs ability to facilitate inter-generational mentoring and life skills through a activity based learning model. Although Enloe played basketball in college he nonetheless understands the character education that comes through all sports, and has seen the First Tee’s impact on youth, especially through the organization’s partnerships to serve parts of our community that have been historically marginalized.

Chandler Hueckel is a Director of Client Services and Financing Specialist at Private Practice Transitions in Tacoma. He grew up in Olympia, Washington and has always enjoyed playing golf with family and friends. Chandler has had a passion for many different sports throughout his life, and recognizes the daily life lessons they teach kids. He has been on the board at The First Tee of South Puget Sound since 2016, and has enjoyed helping the organization continue to flourish and serve kids by providing access to such a wonderful game.

Ann Locsin recently retired from The Coca-Cola Company, where she spent 25 years as a Marketing Executive.  Retirement allows her to spend more time giving back in her community.  Ann and her husband, Ramon, live in Fircrest and are active members of the Fircrest Golf Club.  As a passionate sports enthusiast, she can be found most days on the course or on the courts playing tennis and pickleball.  Ann firmly believes that sports are a very important part of shaping young lives.  She was drawn to The First Tee based on their mission of introducing golf to those who might not otherwise have access to the sport.  Making diversity and inclusion a priority will drive social change and better the lives of children and their futures.

Phil Mondau is a Residential Real Estate Broker at Keynote Real Estate out of Gig Harbor. Phil has loved working with kids in the past and appreciates the opportunity to be part of an organization that helps embed values that can be used in all aspects of life. The First Tee’s emphasis on the fact that no child is every turned away from their programs due to financial hardship is what drew Phil in. The goal of helping kids grow as people while removing barriers to entry for a sport where you get exercise, camaraderie, competition, and strategy all wrapped in one is what makes the First Tee so special. He’ll be looking forward to having his three kids take part in the First Tee programs as they get older.

Steve O’Brien is a life long resident of Tacoma and is President of Puget Sound Beverage Service. He enjoys working with kids, and has been a Washington Junior Golf Association Rules Official, a ski instructor, and a junior basketball coach. In addition to serving on The First Tee of South Puget Sound Board since 2017, Steve fulfills his desire to work with kids by serving as a First Tee coach. Steve not only impacts the youth through his board participation, but has a direct impact on them as a coach at various different programming locations.

Russ Olsen is currently the Executive Director of the Washington State Pollution Liability Insurance Agency. His past 20 years of public service has focused upon balancing the needs of economic development while protecting our valuable natural resources. Russ has a Bachelor of Arts degree from St. Martin’s University and a Masters of Public Administration degree from Seattle University. Russ played golf for Saint Martin’s College and currently is the Director of Instruction at Tumwater and Mint Valley Golf Courses. Russ joined The First Tee of South Puget Sound as a coach in 2015 and joined the Board of Directors in 2018.

Michelle Roberts has been employed by Lemay Mobile Shredding as Director of Marketing and Sales for the past 15 years. She has served on The First Tee of South Puget Sound board since 2017, and is a member of the Harbottle Golf Classic committee. The Harbottle Golf Classic is a fundraiser event for The First Tee of South Puget Sound held in September to raise funds for the Youth Scholarship Fund. She loves to play golf and shares the Nine Core Values with others in her community to expand the values The First Tee instills in their participants.

Lee Rushton owns and operates the local Real Property Management Franchise in Puyallup, Washington. He has spent every waking moment focused on Property Management for the past 10 years. Being a landlord himself, he can empathize and understand any situation that any landlord has been in or will be in. He looks forward to each and every challenge that opposes his team in any way. In his time away from the office, he enjoys spending time with his beautiful wife and their four kids, taking care of his small farm (29 animals), and a competitive round of golf.

Richard Schmalz is a business banking relationship manager with KeyBank in Tacoma. Richard joined the First Tee Board in January of 2020. Richard grew up playing the game of golf and has always enjoyed the life lessons and friendships the game has provided along the way. Richard became aware of the First Tee program while partnering with The Gig Harbor Rotary Club to bring SNAG equipment into all of the elementary and middles schools in the Peninsula School District. The First Tee’s focus on instilling core values and building character in our youth is really what hooked Richard in for life, and ultimately why he wanted to serve this amazing organization.

Steve Sloboda is a Residential Real Estate Broker with the Chambers Bay office of Windermere Real Estate. Steve first joined the First Tee Board in 2016 and co-chaired the Harbottle Golf Tournament committee. After a short time away from the Board he is excited to be back involved with an organization he holds in such high esteem.

He was initially drawn to First Tee because of the positive impact it had on his own children going through the program. His family went beyond the sessions and implemented many of the First Tee’s core values into their daily lives. Joining the Board has been a great way to bring a parent’s perspective into the planning and development of our local First Tee chapter’s mission of using the game of golf to develop important life lessons for kids of all backgrounds, cultures, and economic statuses.

Dalton Thacker is a business transactional and employee benefits attorney at the law firm of Eisenhower Carlson PLLC in Tacoma. Dalton joined the First Tee Board in January of 2020. As a previous college athlete, Dalton was initially drawn to First Tee because of its focus on instilling core values of character and perseverance into the lives of youth – which he saw first-hand while volunteering at the First Tee’s PLAYer program at Chambers Bay. What led Dalton to eventually join the Board was his desire to further one of First Tee’s missions of bringing golf to kids of all backgrounds, cultures, and economic statuses.

Jason Wing joined The First Tee of South Puget Sound’s board in April 2016 and currently serves as the Governance Chair. His professional career began as a lieutenant in the US Army stationed in Germany over 25 years ago, and he continues to serve in the Army Reserves today. Jason currently works for Starbucks as a District Manager in the local area and is proud to call Tacoma his home. With his wife Jennifer, they have two children, Claire and Brandon, who stay very busy at school and on the soccer fields and golf courses. Jason’s passion for golf and kids is why he serves as board member at The First Tee of South Puget Sound.