Association News

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Michigan Superintendents Unite

Four golf course superintendent association chapters in Michigan have officially merged, forming the Michigan Golf Course Superintendents Association. The new chapter will focus efforts on membership benefits, advocacy, environmental stewardship and education.

The former chapters, the Northern Michigan Turf Managers Association, the Western Michigan GCSA, the Greater Detroit GCSA and the Mid-Michigan Turf Association, are now districts and will be influential in developing leadership, facilitating educational programs and services, and maintaining a network of regional superintendents.

Toro Extends Support of NGCOA

The Toro Co. has extended its sponsorship and support of the National Golf Course Owners Association (NGCOA) and will continue as the association’s “Preferred Supplier of Irrigation and Turf Equipment” through at least 2012.

Toro has been a preferred supplier of the NGCOA for the past five years and a longtime member and supporter of the association, which represents golf course owners and operators worldwide.

The two organizations will develop an integrated marketing program, including print and online media, events and promotions, to communicate management practices that promote a more stable and profitable business for members. In addition, the partnership will continue to strengthen the industry via the collaborative application of resources at major national and regional events, including the involvement of Toro’s channel partners with NGCOA chapters.

GCSAA Scholarships

The Golf Course Superintendents Association of America has awarded scholarship money to 16 college students as part of the GCSAA Scholars Program administered by GCSAA’s philanthropic organization, The Environmental Institute for Golf.

First-place winner David Golembeski, New Milford, Conn., received a $6,000 scholarship as well as the Mendenhall Award. The second-place winner, William Overly, Louisburg, Kan., received a $5,000 scholarship and the MacCurrach Award. Both will also receive an all-expense-paid trip to the GCSAA Education Conference and Golf Industry Show in Orlando, Fla.

Shane Brockhoff, Carole Townsend, Chris Parsons, Ian Gallagher, Meghyn Stalcup, Gregory Caldwell, Christopher Skvir, Tyler Wenger, Jonathan Chase Webb and Nathaniel Watkin were awarded stipends ranging from $1,250 to $2,500.

Merit Winners Richard Gillispie and Jon Cancel won $500. Luis M. Casado and Roque Buendia-Perez were awarded $2,000 Ambassador Scholarships.

Companies Attain GCSAA Silver Partner Status

Ariens Co., SePRO Corp., Aquatrols and Cleary Chemical Corp. have pledged their support of the Golf Course Superintendents Association of America and its members by committing to participate in the association’s Partner Recognition Program at the “Silver” level.

PLANET’S Green Industry Conference a Success

The Professional Landcare Network held its annual Green Industry Conference in Louisville, Ky., in conjunction with the GIE+EXPO. Jim Martin, president of PLANET, reported that membership is up 4.3 percent and that PLANET certification programs have grown. PLANET and its legacy associations have issued about 5,550 certification designations and the number of testing candidates has increased by 66 percent.

Martin also stated that in 2007, PLANET event participation numbers were up, with significant increases in attendance at Renewal & Remembrance at Arlington National and Historic Congressional cemeteries as well as PLANET’s Student Career Days. He also noted how pleased PLANET was with attendance at the first ever GIE+EXPO.

ASLA Inducts 2008 Officers

The American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA) inducted Perry Howard as the 60th president of the 18,000-member society during the 2007 Annual Meeting and Expo in San Francisco, Calif.

Since 1989, Howard has served as program coordinator for the landscape architecture department at North Carolina Agricultural & Technical State University. Previously, he was a vice president at EDSA in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. Howard received his BLA from Louisiana State University and his MLA from the Harvard University Graduate School of Design. He has a long history of service with ASLA, holding positions in the Florida and North Carolina chapters.

Howard’s successor in 2009 will be President-Elect Angela Dye of Phoenix, Ariz. Founder of A Dye Design, Inc., she has more than 25 years of experience in landscape architecture. Previously ASLA’s vice president of government affairs, Dye has also served in positions in the Arizona chapter.

ASLA also installed three new vice presidents for two-year terms: Tom Tavella, Terry Clements and Jonathan Mueller. Continuing service on the executive committee are Todd Wichman, Gary Scott and Susan Hatchell.

Ginn Selected to Advisory Council

Edward Robert “Bobby” Ginn III, chairman and CEO of Ginn Resorts, has joined The Environmental Institute for Golf’s Advisory Council as its 25th member. The council provides guidance to The Institute’s board of trustees in the areas of outreach, fundraising and strategic planning.

Ginn Resorts is a privately held resort development and management company.

Golf Course Architect Mourned

William G. Teufel, a fellow of the American Society of Golf Course Architects and member since 1984, passed away November 5, 2007, in Seattle, Wash., at the age of 82.

After founding the landscape and golf course architecture firm William G. Teufel and Associates, Inc. in 1956 in Seattle, he designed a number of golf courses, primarily in the northwest United States.

Born in 1925 in Fairbanks, Alaska, Teufel attended Washington State University and the University of Oregon, where he earned a bachelor’s degree in landscape architecture in 1953. He is survived by a son, Mitch Teufel, and two daughters, Sandy and Shaye Teufel.

ANLA to Join OFA for Short Course

In the summer of 2008, the American Nursery and Landscape Association will join OFA—an Association of Floriculture Professionals for their annual short course, held in Columbus, Ohio. ANLA will hold their annual meeting prior to the start of the short course. ANLA will also partner with OFA on several education sessions.  

Aulakh Receives IPNI Award

The International Plant Nutrition Institute has named Dr. Milkha Singh Aulakh, a senior soil chemist and professor at Punjab Agricultural University in India, as the winner of the 2007 IPNI Science Award. He will receive a special plaque and a monetary award of $5,000.

The IPNI Science Award is intended to recognize outstanding achievements in research, extension, or education, with a focus on efficient and effective management of plant nutrients.

Companies Support GCSAA

Eagle One Golf Products, Standard Golf Co., FMC Corp., Indian Valley Industries (Sandtrapper), TYCROP and Monsanto have pledged their support of the Golf Course Superintendents Association of America and its members by committing to participate in the Partner Recognition Program at the Silver level.

John Deere has committed to participate in the program at the Platinum level. The company contributed $100,000 to The Environmental Institute for Golf, and Gregg Breningmeyer, John Deere’s director of golf sales and marketing, represents the company on The Institute’s Advisory Council.

Superintendents Recognized by GCSAA

Golf course superintendents Donald Hearn, H. James “Jim” Loke and Oscar Miles have been selected as recipients of the 2008 Golf Course Superintendents Association of America Distinguished Service Award.

Hearn, a 37-year GCSAA member, served on the GCSAA board of directors and was the association’s president in 1987. He has also served on the USGA Green Section Committee. Hearn is a past president of the New England GCSA and is a past member of the Massachusetts Golf Association executive committee. A superintendent at Weston (Mass.) Golf Club for 29 years, Hearn also had stints at Lexington (Mass.) Golf Club and Vesper Country Club in Tyngsboro, Mass.

Loke, superintendent for the past 15 years at Bent Creek Country Club in Lancaster, Pa., is a 36-year GCSAA member and has served on numerous committees for the association. He currently serves on the USGA Mid-Atlantic Green Section Committee and the Pennsylvania Turfgrass Council Board of Directors. He is a past president of both the Central Pennsylvania GCSA and the Northern Ohio GCSA, and has served on the Ohio Turfgrass Foundation Board of Directors.

Miles, a 45-year GCSAA member, is a retired superintendent who last worked at the Merit Club in Libertyville, Ill. He has served on various GCSAA committees and hosted 13 professional golf tournaments. A past president of the Illinois Turfgrass Foundation, Miles also served on the board for GCSAA’s Indiana chapter.

The GCSAA board of directors selects winners from nominations submitted by affiliated chapters and/or association members. First presented in 1932, the award is given to individuals who have made an outstanding, substantive and enduring contribution to the advancement of the superintendent profession.

GCSAA Awards Royal Spanish Golf Federation Scholarships

Michigan State University students Francisco Javier García Ircio, Jimena Blanco Jaschek and Juan Muñoz Puro have each won $10,000 scholarships from the Royal Spanish Golf Federation funded by The Environmental Institute for Golf.

The scholarship is a two-year grant presented to individuals from Spain pursuing a turfgrass management degree from Michigan State University. Winners are selected by the Royal Spanish Golf Federation.

Garcia Ircio earned an agronomy engineering degree from Madrid Polytechnic University’s crop science program. Blancho Jaschek earned a degree in agricultural engineering from the University of Salamanca and also took the Higher Greenkeeper Course at The Autonomous School of Business Management in Malaga, Spain. Muñoz Puro has been working at the Centro Nacional de Golf.

York Inducted as IA President

Ewing Irrigation President Douglas York was inaugurated as the 2008 Irrigation Association president during the International Irrigation Show in San Diego, Calif. As president, York will concentrate on education, active membership involvement and lobbying initiatives within the association and green industry.

Synthetic Turf Council News

The Synthetic Turf Council experienced record attendance during its annual meeting. More than 100 attendees, representing 53 member companies and selected guests, were present at the forum, which focused on member education and open discussion of key issues. New board officers and members were also announced, with Joe Motz of The Motz Group in Cincinnati, Ohio, elected chairman.

Incoming officers include Vice Chairman Steve White, Secretary John Amato, Treasurer Dave Anderson, Director-at-Large Jim Dobmeier and Immediate Past Chairman Tom Peeples.  

Board members include Lanny Bailey, John Giraud, Stanley Greene, Jim Petrucelli, Alastair Scott, Sabrina Thomas and John Tidwell.

Project EverGreen Announces New President and Board Members

Project EverGreen appointed Chris Kujawa of Kujawa Enterprises, Inc. as president of its board of directors. Kujawa will succeed Cindy Code of GIE Media, Inc., one of the organization’s founders, who served as president for the past two years.

Project EverGreen expanded its board of directors to include Katie Bromm, Nick Cashier, Bill Nicholson and Dale Siems. It also named current board member Kirk Hunter to its officer group; and two current board members to its executive committee—Dan Carrothers and Alan White.

Green Industry Associations Create Careers Web Site

Twenty-seven associations from across the country have united to develop a national green industry careers Web site, designed to spark interest in the variety of positions that the green industry offers.

Initiated by the Minnesota Nursery & Landscape Association and the Professional Landcare Network (PLANET), the site is expected to launch in the summer of 2008. The founding partners were joined by 25 state associations and two national association sponsors, the American Society for Horticultural Science  and the American Nursery & Landscape Association.

High school students are the new Web site’s target market, but the site will also contain information for parents, teachers and guidance counselors.