GROWING A FAN CLUB
K-State couldn’t have known it gained a high-value student 
asset when the kid from Buhler joined its athletic training 
program in 2016.
“I was always a K-State fan growing up and spent four years 
there getting my B.S. in Athletic Training, minor degree in 
kinesiology and secondary degree in gerontology, and doing 
three years of clinical rotation with K-State Athletics and 
local high schools. I worked mainly with baseball for a year 
and basketball in the spring of 2019 when Bruce Weber was 
coach and won the Big 12.”
K-State would groom this serious kid to become national 
ATC® (Certified Athletic Trainer) certified in Spring 2019 
and launch him into an orthopedic practice at Advanced 
Orthopaedics Associates, P.A. in Wichita to prevent, 
diagnose, treat and rehabilitate injuries. 
PAYING PD’S EARLY GOOD WILL FORWARD
“I came back to Prairie Dunes in March 2024. I had gained 
enough experience and wanted something different. I’d 
always really liked working here. I’d grown up in the area. I 
like the people. I like the connections with the community. 
Members aren’t just members; they’re also my friends. And I 
like sports a lot. I’d played football, basketball and baseball at 
Buhler and love being around golf, tennis and pickleball. 
“I messaged Carissa Jackson on Instagram to ask if she 
thought I would be a good fit as an athletic trainer. She gave 
me Becky Carder’s contact information. I started part time 
in 2024 and continued working at the practice in Wichita. I 
made the switch to full time here earlier this year, dropping 
down to PRN at Advanced Orthopaedics Associates on the 
east side of Wichita.”
Joining Becky, Joe became TPI Level 1 certified in his first 
months back at the Dunes. More about how that earns 
dividends for PD members in a minute.
“MONEY CAN’T BUY ME LOVE”
He’s probably too young to know that Beatles tune. 
“Prairie Dunes had a big impact in the formative years of 
my life. I went to junior college because I didn’t know what I 
wanted to do. A beautiful course, sunrise to sunset, gives you 
a lot of time for soul searching.
“True story, one time I thought, if I ask a girl to marry me it 
would be here.” Joe got engaged to Eva, a PA who works 
the emergency rooms at Ascension Via Christi locations 
in Wichita whom he met at church, on the 14th green in 
December 2022. They married April 15, 2023.
“I was at PD when Cory Griess started on grounds crew, 
before he worked his way up to golf course superintendent. 
He’s a friend. I worked with him to plan how that event was 
going to go down. He let me back on the course to do it. The 
day we got engaged I literally drove all the holes from 1 to 14. 
No one was on the course at the time. I had a friend plant a 
camera on the green at hole 14 and he hid and videotaped 
the engagement.”
SO, NOW, WHO’S SHAPING WHOM
Joe passes around a lot of credit. His parents. Eva. K-State. 
His colleagues at his former Wichita practice. The long view 
permitted by times of summer solus at Prairie Dunes. You, the 
member. And boy oh boy, does the guy who works long days 
Monday, Wednesday and Friday have his sights set on you.
“There’s still room in my schedule to serve more clients, 
men and women in their 20s to 80s and beyond, who want 
balance training, stretching and strengthening. 
“TPI (Titleist Performance Institute) training is available to 
everyone as well, including kids. It helps you move better as a 
golfer by maximizing your golf swing. Shoulder and hip turn. 
Ankle range of motion. Shoulder range of motion. It helps 
with all of this.
 
“… I walked into the grounds crew office, 
met [then] Superintendent Jim Campbell, 
told him I was a new college student, 
needed to make money and hoped he’d 
put me to work. He hired me on the spot. 
 
“… I worked during the school year, once 
over Christmas break, and heavily over 
the summers. Manual labor taught me 
discipline, how to work hard and how to 
get up early.”
20

View this content as a flipbook by clicking here.