ELMSFORD, N.Y. - Ellie and Ollie Lazare of Metropolis Country Club in White Plains, N.Y., will be awarded the Metropolitan Golf Association’s highest honor, the Distinguished Service Award, at the Associations 103rd Annual Meeting and Dinner on Wednesday, December 6th, at Westchester Country Club in Harrison, N.Y.

The DSA is presented annually to a candidate who has contributed "...distinguished service to golf and its related activities, consistent with the valued standards and honorable traditions of the game." Both individually and as a team, Ollie and Ellie Lazare have spent more than 30 years working tirelessly for golf in the Metropolitan Area. Their dedication to giving something back to the game has made their names synonymous with the term "volunteer".

Lifelong members of Metropolis Country Club, the Lazares will join the company of an impressive list of past winners, including Ike Grainger, Joe Dey, P.J. Boatwright, Jim Hand, Ann Beard, Rees Jones, and last year’s recipient, Jim Cotter.

The selection process for the DSA starts with nominations from the local golf community. All nominations are then submitted to the MGA Management Committee which determines the final ballot from more than 40 nominees. The ballots are then submitted to the DSA Committee, comprised of members of the press and representatives of the local golf community, for voting. The MGA Executive Committee reviews the results and names the winner.

In addition to the Lazares, this year’s ballot included Dave Anderson, columnist for the New York Times and former Pulitzer Prize winner, and Howard F. Treiber, leader of the Treiber Insurance Agency who devised a number of programs to help area clubs address their insurance needs.

Ellie Lazare began her service in golf with the Women's Metropolitan Golf Association in the late 1960's. She served as Chair of the Tournament Committee and later as President in 1977 and remains active with the WMGA today.

Ollie Lazare joined the MGA Tournament Committee in 1972, served as a Board member and Tournament Official for the Westchester Golf Association. He too remains active today and most recently served as President of the Westchester Seniors Golf Association.

As a team, the Lazares have been members of the Green, Tournament, and Golf Committees at Metropolis-Ellie was the first women to serve on the clubs Board and Admissions Committee-but perhaps the Lazares made their greatest impact with the Westchester Golf Association Caddie Scholarship Fund. Both still serve on the Board of Directors and have seen the Fund become one of the largest in the country, supporting more than 270 students in 2000.

Other items of business at the Annual Meeting will include the election of officers and the presentation of the Association’s Player of the Year Award.