Deb Richard decided to be a Pro Golfer at Manhattan Junior High. At MHS, Deb won the State 6A golf championship every year. Awarded a University of Florida scholarship, she led them to three SEC Championships. In 1984, she won the US Women’s Amateur Championship and the World Amateur Championship representing the US team. She received the Broderick Award as the nation’s outstanding female collegiate golfer in 1985. Qualifying for the LPGA Tour in 1986, Deb Richard played golf professionally until injuries forced her retirement. She was inducted into the University of Florida 
Hall of Fame in 1995 and she joined a Who’s Who of women’s golf in 1996. She was inspired by a young girl with Juvenile Arthritis in 1995 to form the Deb Richard Foundation which provides scholarships for physically challenged college-bound youth.
In 1994, Florida University selected her as one of their top 40 Athletes of the Century. She won the Founders Cup Award from Golf Digest. In 1996, Richard received both the Samaritan Award and the Kids Good Sports Award from Sports Illustrated. Florida named Richard one of their Distinguished Alumni in 2004 and she entered the Kansas Golf Hall of Fame in 2006. Her Foundation awards two to three scholarships annually worth $5,000 per year for up to five years. “The scholarships have nothing to do with golf,” said Richard. “It’s about giving a physically challenged young person the opportunity to live a dream.”