3JN Employee Focus: Miguel Vega

Welcome to our newest series, "Employee Focus". In this series, we’ll take you through the first class members of our club’s staff so you, the member, can get to know them on a more personal level. This week’s featured staff member is our Head Groundskeeper, Miguel Vega.

Name: Miguel Vega

Position: Head Groundskeeper

Age: Unknown, but estimates range from 48-73 years old

Sign: Capricorn 

Years in the turf industry: 7

Bio: Miguel grew up on the hard scrabble streets of Oaxaca, Mexico in a traditional middle class household as the 19th of 26 children. Miguel's father was an itinerant farmer who worked tirelessly to provide for his large family while his mother Catalina worked as a professional homemaker and part-time Avon sales rep.

From a young age, Miguel developed an entrepreneurial spirit, beginning his professional career at the age of six by running a pickpocket ring with some local neighborhood kids at the ‘el Gato Loco’ mini-golf course and has been working full-time ever since.

At the age of nine Miguel finally moved out on his own and settled in the San Ángel barrio of Juarez, the same neighborhood featured in a 1984 Rand McNally article entitled “21 Places in Mexico to get kidnapped”.

After launching a successful career selling romance novels door to door, Miguel stubbornly refused to pay protection money to the local cartel and was forced to flee the city.  In the biggest decision of his life, Miguel decided to immigrate to America.

After working several years at a Lubbock, TX Dave and Busters, Miguel started a lawn care business and fell in love with dirt, weeds and hardpan. His wife Margarite urged him to pursue this passion by furthering his education. With help from the GCSAA, Miguel received a grant to audit a few on-line Turf Management classes at Haskell Indian Nations University, where he studied Golf Course Maintenance with an emphasis in Crabgrass. 

After several unsuccessful stints at lower end municipal golf courses and driving ranges throughout southeast Kansas, Miguel finally got his big break when CPG hired him in the summer of 2012.

Interests and hobbies: Playing on his flip phone, Cervezas with Ernesto, hoarding, amateur astrology, pickelball.

Role models: Erik Estrada, Steven Seagal, Kamala Harris, George Toma

Favorite TV Shows: Live PD, Reno 911!, Sabado Gigante, Liga MX, Flip or Flop

Favorite Hebicide: RoundUp   

Favorite Musician: Kenny G (before he "sold out")

Celebrity crush: AOC  

Greatest off-course achievement: Obtaining catastrophic health insurance coverage

Advice to members: Play the ball up 

Favorite quote: “Life can be very small, if you don't stop! Look around every so once in the while, you might miss it.” -Ferris Bueller

Favorite golf memory: “When CPG and I drink two bucket of cerveza and seven meszcal at company Christmas party and he tell me I was his amigo. I like that.”