Sewickley's Tapas Talks hosts Carol Semple Thompson

The grand ballroom of the Allegheny Country Club was the setting for the first in the Tapas Talks 2024 speakers’ series featuring local women’s golf legend and World Golf Hall of Famer, Carol Semple Thompson.

On Feb. 15, more than 120 series subscribers sat in rapt attention as Thompson recounted the highlights of her nearly six decades-long amateur golf career that includes 118 USGA Championships, seven USGA titles, and designation as WGAPA Player of the Decade for the 1970s, 1980s, 1990s, and 2000s. In 2003, she won the Bob Jones Award, golf’s highest honor. In 2008, she was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame and was among the first 14 women admitted as members of the Royal & Ancient Golf Club of St. Andrews in 2015.

Among her many fascinating anecdotes about her experiences on the women’s amateur golf circuit was an account of a poignant personal conversation that she and her Curtis Cup teammates had with Queen Elizabeth II in 1976 during their audience with Her Royal Highness. Thompson generously donated her speaking honorarium to the Parkinson Foundation of Western Pennsylvania.

In addition to Thompson’s presentation, guests were treated to a lavish tapas buffet before the talk and an ice cream dessert bar afterward. Created to inspire, inform, connect and give back to the Sewickley community, Tapas Talks has become a dynamic community venue where residents come together to learn about and celebrate the achievements of their accomplished neighbors in a convivial social setting.

The event was made possible by donations from sponsors including Heritage Valley Health System, Wilpen Hall, First National Bank, Fermata Brewing Company, Pittsburgh Botanic Garden, Pittsburgh Paws Pet Resort, The Sewickley Public Library, and Howard Hanna.

Future Tapas Talks in this year’s series include Energy Innovations: Creating Much More than Electricity by Donald E. Evans, CEO and president of Pittsburgh Gateways Corporation on April 25. The final presentation in the series will be AI: Artificial Intelligence The Future is Now by Dr. Byron Galbraith, serial entrepreneur and chief scientist at Bloomfire and David Pawloski, senior director at Oracle Regulated Industries and Commercial on Oct. 24.

For more information, visit tapastalks.com or the Tapas Talks Facebook page.