RAY SWANSON | Keystoner Wilson leaving job at Hickory course

Tom Wilson is heading south.
Wilson, general manager of the Hickory VFW Golf Course in Hermitage, is heading for Baton Rouge, La., where he will assume his new duties in December. Tom is joining up with a gaming industry for which he will oversee machinery and furniture.
"I really hate to leave." Wilson stated. "I have so many friends in the area. It's going to be tough."
Wilson said he will be departing later this month for his new position. He has been a permanent fixture at the VFW Course for the past 20 years.
"I've worked here at the course since I was about 15 years old," Wilson related. "I've been general manager for about the last eight years."
Opportunity knocked
He said opportunity knocked.
"You have to go where the opportunity exists and when this position became available, I just had to make the move. I'll go down first and then have my wife and children join me at a later date." Tom's wife, Lori, is from Las Vegas.
Tom has been an excellent general manager at the local course. And it is safe to say, that many of the course improvements have been made through his efforts.
Tom graduated from Hickory High in 1986 and furthered his education at Penn State University.
We're sorry to see Wilson leaving the area also and wish him the best of luck in his new position and future endeavors.
Antol prepping
Richie Antol, a Hermitage native now living with his family in Traverse City, Mich., was in town last week but headed back north, hopefully to get in some fishing.
Richie, an outstanding bowler (now on the Senior PBA Tour) is gearing up for the big ABC Bowling Tournament to be held next year in Reno, Nev. He has since retired from his life's work in the newspaper business, but still works several days a week at a Traverse City bowling establishment.
Antol, in his younger days, was a baseball manager for a number of years in the Hermitage youth leagues. He loves talking about the "good old days" when he was living in Hermitage. His uncle was the late George "Cookie" Kovach, one of the top-notch bowlers ever in the Shenango Valley.
Dynamic duo
When Dr. Gary Roberts, Hermitage optometrist, and Dr. Ron Galbreath, former basketball coach at Westminster College, get together on the racquetball court, the opposition is certainly going to feel the effects.
The two, who make it a habit of competing in tournaments across the country, recently returned home from a national tournament in Minneapolis where they nailed down the silver medal in the Senior's Division.
"These guys were awesome," said Roberts, talking about the opposition in the finals. "We did win one game though, so we weren't totally blitzed."
Good luck
Sharpsville High senior Joel Pokorney and Grove City High freshman Cameron Peterson will represent Mercer County in the PIAA Golf Championships Monday and Tuesday at Heritage Hills Golf Course in York, Pa.
The two qualified earlier this month by placing in the District 10 Championships in Cambridge Springs. Pokorney fired a 1-over par 72, and Cameron shot a 74. Pokorney's total was 146, Cameron's was 150.