Longtime Longmeadow CC Members To Receive Newly Combined Distinguished Service Award
By Steve Derderian sderderian@massgolf.org
NORTON, Massachusetts (June 16, 2025) — As a continued part of its 125-year celebration, Mass Golf is introducing a new way to honor the individuals who have served the game as leaders and kept the game and its events running strongly for decades.
The newly established Mass Golf Distinguished Service Award combines the legacies of two long-standing honors: the Women’s Golf Association of Massachusetts’ May Jackson Award and the Massachusetts Golf Association’s Frank H. Sellman Distinguished Service Award, recognizing exceptional volunteer service and leadership across the state’s golf community.
The inaugural recipients are Roberta Bolduc and Cary Jubinville, both of Longmeadow Country Club, whose combined decades of service reflect the very spirit of this new honor. They will be recognized at the 2025 Mass Golf Annual Meeting in October.
“Roberta and Cary represent everything this now-unified distinction stands for: longtime service, leadership, and a deep love for the game,” said Jesse Menachem, Mass Golf’s Executive Director/CEO. “Their contributions have especially resonated in Western Massachusetts, where their vision and commitment have helped shape a vibrant and enduring golf community. Anyone who’s spent time alongside them knows how deeply they care, not just about the game, but about the people it brings together. Honoring them in unison makes this all the more special.”
Roberta Bolduc fell in love with golf the first time she picked up a club. “I had no idea as a teenager what an impact it would make on my life,” she said. “I just knew I loved the game.”
That passion grew into a lifelong mission to support and develop women’s golf. Wanting to thoroughly understand how the game was supposed to be played, she enrolled in Rules school. She connected with fellow honoree Cary Jubinville and joined the “Western Mass Tribal Council,” a dedicated group of volunteer Rules Officials.
While she said earning the award is an honor in itself, sharing it with Jubinville makes it even more meaningful. “I can’t think of a better person than Cary to get this award,” she said. “I’ve seen the enormous amount of time and days he’s spent on amateur golf in Massachusetts.”
Before she gained national recognition as a USGA leader, Bolduc was organizing Women’s Spring Team Matches at Springfield Country Club and driving hours east to compete. Most teams were based around Boston. To change that, she began recruiting Western Mass clubs into the Women’s Golf Association of Massachusetts, including Longmeadow, helping build a stronger, more connected statewide community.
She later served on the WGAM board of directors, won 14 club championships at Longmeadow, and competed in 10 USGA championships. She joined the USGA Women’s Committee in 1997, became Chair, and officiated more than 50 national championships, including 22 U.S. Women’s Opens.
Roberta Bolduc keeps watch on the field as a Rules Official during the 2023 Massachusetts Women’s Amateur Championship at Dedham Country & Polo Club. (Mass Golf)
At the 2008 Curtis Cup at St. Andrews, she addressed the crowd as Chair of the Women’s Committee. “The Scottish Air Force dropped paratroopers on the fairway,” she recalled. “It was something you would only dream of, and it’s gone on to be an incredible event.”
While she never knew May Jackson on a personal level, Bolduc and her daughter have often played in an event to honor the late Jackson at The Country Club in Brookline. In turn, the Longmeadow Country Club Women’s Golf Association announced this year that it will rename its Fall Women’s Invitational to the “The Roberta Invitational,” or affectionately, “The Roberta.”
“It’s been one of the greatest adventures of my life,” she said, reflecting on her life in golf. “Golf has given me so much, and I’ve loved every minute—playing the game, fostering friendships, and being part of something bigger than myself.”
Roberta Bolduc poses for a photo with the Griscom Cup when the event was held at Longmeadow Country Club in 2022. (David Colt, file)
“No one loves amateur golf more than Cary Jubinville, Tom Landry, former MGA Executive Director, once eloquently stated.
Jubinville’s connection to the game began as a caddie and junior member at The Orchards Golf Club in South Hadley, where he’s remained deeply involved for over 40 years. He captained the golf team at Dickinson College, qualified for three Massachusetts Amateur Championships, and never lost touch with the grassroots side of the game.
But his greatest contributions have come as a volunteer. Jubinville joined the MGA Executive Committee in 1989 and, in 2000, became the first Western Massachusetts native in nearly 30 years to serve as President of what was then the Massachusetts Golf Association. Like Bolduc, he has helped strengthen ties between Western Massachusetts clubs and statewide leadership and has long been a go-to Rules Official and Official-in-Charge for USGA, MGA, and Mass Golf events.
Jubinville took after the late George Cohen, a Chicopee native, who was a long-time tournament official who served 17 years on the MGA’s Executive Committee. Mass Golf’s Senior Player of the Year Award is named after Cohen. Since then, Jubinville has served on nearly every major Mass Golf subcommittee and remained a trusted Rules Official and Official-in-Charge for Mass Golf and the USGA.
Jubinville also led many behind-the-scenes efforts to support competitive golf in the region. When the USGA awarded The Orchards the 1987 U.S. Women’s Amateur, it asked the club to underwrite the event for roughly $5,000. Jubinville, then heading the finance committee, stepped up and rallied resources to make it happen. An insurance agent by trade, he secured autographed donations from the likes of Jack Nicklaus, Pat Bradley, Arnold Palmer, and Amy Alcott, and those items were auctioned to help raise funds.
He also played a lead role as co-chair of the 2005 U.S. Junior Amateur at Longmeadow Country Club, overseeing preparations and facility enhancements for the national championship. “If the USGA didn’t think the golf course was strong enough, they wouldn’t have selected it,” he said at the time. “The golf course isn’t the entire reason, but it’s a pretty important factor.”
Known for his even temperament, encyclopedic rules knowledge, and unwavering dedication, Jubinville continues to serve as Board Chair of The Lesley Cup Matches, and in 2024 was inducted into the Western Mass Golf Hall of Fame.
Cary Jubinville got his start as a caddie and junior member at The Orchards Golf Club. (David Colt, file)
About The Sellman Award
The Frank H. Sellman Distinguished Service Award was established in 1988 in order to recognize individuals who have exhibited exemplary service to the game of golf during the course of their careers. The award was named in honor of Frank H. Sellman, a longtime member of Brae Burn Country Club who served as Secretary-Treasurer on the executive committee of what was then known as the Massachusetts Golf Association (MGA) from 1961 to 1969. Sellman also served as president of Wellesley Country Club, where he was also a member. He was also the former chairman of the membership committee for the New England Seniors Golf Association.
About The May Jackson Award
The May Jackson Award, initiated at the Annual Meeting in 1988, honors outstanding women who have contributed to the growth and continuity of the WGAM. They have set the standard of excellence for all of us to follow. The May Jackson committee and the WGAM Executive committee will not necessarily give this award annually, for this is a very special award for very special people – like its namesake, May Jackson. May Jackson passed away in August of the Year 2000. Her contributions to the WGAM and the development of women’s golf in Massachusetts were numerous. The recipient of this award has received a specially designed golf WGAM pin, and their name will be added to a plaque that is displayed in the WGAM office.
About Mass Golf
Mass Golf is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization that is dedicated to advancing golf in Massachusetts by building an engaged and inclusive community around the sport.
With a community made up of over 130,000 golf enthusiasts and over 360 member clubs, Mass Golf is one of the largest state golf associations in the country. Members enjoy the benefits of handicapping, engaging golf content, course rating and scoring services along with the opportunity to compete in an array of events for golfers of all ages and abilities.
At the forefront of junior development, Mass Golf is proud to offer programming to youth in the state through First Tee Massachusetts and subsidized rounds of golf by way of Youth on Course.
