He's an admitted "cheesehead," but Dean Allgeyer has learned to love the climate of the Sandhills as much as he does the snow and the Green Bay Packers of Wisconsin.

Allgeyer, who came to this area in 1990 after graduating from the Golf Management Program of Ferris State University, is 42 years old, happily entrenched as the general manager at Beacon Ridge Country Club and sold on the Sandhills.

"I wanted to get away from home and find what it was like in other places," he explained of his decision to move south.

Allgeyer had heard a lot of good things about a guy named Chip King, who was director of golf at Mid Pines Inn and Golf Club. So he dropped in one day, asked for a job and the rest, as they say, is history.

"I went to work with Chip in August of 2000," Allgeyer said, "and it was a great decision. Chip is a great guy and he taught me a lot. He's definitely my mentor."

King left Mid Pines just over a year ago to manage Grandfather Golf and Country Club in Linville.

The lessons King taught the eager Allgeyer have obviously paid off. He has just been honored by the Carolinas PGA Section by being announced as the Horton Smith Trophy winner.

CPGA awards are nothing new for Allgeyer, however, as he was presented the Bill Strausbaugh Award in 2006 and the President's Plaque in 2008. The Strausbaugh Award goes to an individual who shows outstanding integrity, commitment to mentoring PGA professionals and makes a significant impact on the careers of PGA professionals, according to the CPGA. The President's Plaque is presented for leadership in the area of Player Development, covering all manner of golf activities relating to growth of the game.

The Horton Smith Trophy is awarded to the PGA professional who continually exhibits a commitment to the development and improvement of golf education for the PGA golf professional.

The release from the CPGA reads in part: "The early and continuing education of a PGA professional can provide a lifetime of success, and for Allgeyer, making persistent contributions to learning programs and growth of the game efforts are just a few ways he has found to maintain an active and motivational presence in the Carolinas PGA Section.

"Beginning with his service on a voluntary basis with the CPGA Education Committee, he made it a point to look at the changing roles of PGA professionals when organizing education seminars. In that way he organized 12 separate learning opportunities for Carolinas PGA professionals that included seminars on OSHA maintenance, memory skills and instruction. He was also an instructor for pre-business school seminars which taught Level 1 and 2 apprentices the ins and outs of preparing to become a PGA professional, a task that can be daunting to those just starting out. Finally, his service on the CPGA Employment and Ethics Committee provided him the opportunity to examine and elevate the standards of integrity and honor in Carolinas PGA professionals.

"Allgeyer has aided Wounded Warrior Project, Back Pack Pals, Sandhills Community College and Susan G. Komen Foundation in fundraising efforts and has volunteered at non-profit and educational institutions throughout his career."

"Winning the Bill Strausbaugh Award three years ago was a great experience, but I never expected it to come this far," said Allgeyer. "I've always tried to learn something new each day and pass that on to fellow PGA professionals to help them further their own knowledge and education. I never thought it would to turn into something like this, and I'm deeply humbled."

Allgeyer spent 10 years at Mid Pines, five as an assistant professional and another five as head professional. He also served as director of golf for both Mid Pines and Pine Needles.

He then moved to Wake Forest Golf Club near Raleigh, where he was general manager. He spent two years there before returning to the Sandhills as general manager of Beacon Ridge.

Despite his involvement with the CPGA and his demanding duties at Beacon Ridge, a club with some 335 members, Allgeyer still finds time to spend with his wife, Stacey, and two children, Anderson, 11, and Hanna, 9.

"Anderson started playing golf about a year-and-a-half ago," Allgeyer said, "and he loves it. He made the West Pine Middle School team this year and they won the middle school state championship."

Allgeyer serves as one of the coaches for the team and also helps coach his daughter's recreational basketball team.

"Our family is very tight," he said, "and we do a lot of things together."

Allgeyer, who played on the Ferris State golf team his senior year, has never seriously considered playing professional golf.

"I have played in some sectional events," he said, "and made it to the quarterfinals of the CPGA Match Play Championship once. But I don't play often now, just some one-day events more for fun than anything else. Rob Pilewski (another former Mid Pines and Pine Needles professional) and I did finish in the top 10 in the Pro-Pro Championship one year."

Allgeyer has obviously found his niche.

"I enjoy working at Beacon Ridge," he said, "and the membership here. I love this area. When I got here, there were some things that needed stabilizing. The condition of the course was kind of up and down.

"We hired Keith Osterman as course superintendent in 2007 and the course is in great shape now. Keith is definitely an all-star."

Beacon Ridge caters to outside play, which helps keep costs down for members.

"Our costs aren't outrageous," Allgeyer said. "The normal initiation fee is only $7,500, and dues are $260 for family memberships."

Beacon Ridge, designed by Carolinas Hall of Fame architect Gene Hamm, is a course that's a pleasure to play, according to Allgeyer.

"The thing I enjoy most about the course is that it forces players to use all their clubs," he said. "There are a lot of difficult shots, and the elevated greens make it play longer than the 6,500 yards from the back tees. The tight fairways and small greens offer a challenge."

But as much as Allgeyer enjoys meeting that challenge, he's perfectly content to handle those he encounters in his day job.

"This has been my lifeblood since I left Ferris State," he said. "I came here almost 20 years ago, and I haven't looked back."

Allgeyer, along with nine other special awards and honors recipients, the 2009 players of the year, the Johnny Palmer Trophy winner and 2009 Hall of Fame inductee, Jim Westbrook, will be honored at the Carolinas PGA Section's annual Big Week Special Awards and Honors Ceremony presented by Club Car Feb. 21 in Myrtle Beach.