Thursday, December 19, 2013

Get the Education You Want


Of the many seasons in the golf course maintenance industry, one important and valuable season has begun; education season. The recently completed New York State Turfgrass Association (NYSTA) Conference and Show in Rochester, N.Y., kicked off my season.  There are several more in the region as well: Green Industry Show (Atlantic City, N.J.), Ontario Golf Course Maintenance C&S, The Golf Industry Show, NERTF, and many chapter education days on the calendar. This is not meant to show how busy I am, more to explain how you are the most important key to these valuable resources.
The agendas for each of these events are set by your colleagues and industry peers to deliver value to you, the turfgrass manager. They work hard to develop potential topics, engage industry experts to present these topics, and communicate with you to inform you of these valuable educational opportunities. Often, the only feedback those who administer these events get is based on numbers. If attendance is good, the agenda and information must be delivering value to attendees. If attendance is poor, the agenda must have missed the mark. Is that a fair assessment of an event?  If you did attend, can those administrators assume you got value from the event? If you did not go, was it because of the education offered? Numbers develop more questions than they answer. 

I was asked to join the NYSTA education committee and aid in developing the agenda for the 2013 conference and show. It became clear how difficult it is to provide a valuable agenda based on numbers. It is even more difficult to assemble topics without feedback.  That is where you come in. Input is critical in delivering value to you and your peers. Often those who develop these programs are begging you for input and feedback. You have the ability to reach out to those in charge of developing these education agendas. 

Many agendas are already set for 2013-2014 events. If you are in attendance, reach out and give your feedback to the administrators after the event. If you don’t attend because of the agenda, reach out and alert them of that as well. Perhaps your chapter has an education director or chapter representatives on the event board. These people are working hard to develop educational programs that will deliver value to you and your industry peers. Please help them deliver what you want by volunteering your input and responding with your beneficial feedback. With this information, they will be able to develop programs you will be able to enjoy year after year.
Cheers!
Kevin

Tuesday, December 3, 2013

The NEGCOA is Filling the Food Banks

#GivingTuesday looks toward an allied association here in the Northeast for another great way to help our communities. The New England Golf Course Owners Association promotes a great avenue for giving. Courses in three states have signed on to take part.  This was taken from their website (NEGCOA.org) where more information is available:


Participate in Turkey Day


The New England Course Owners Association (NEGCOA) invites you to participate in Turkey Day during the month of November. This is a cooperative effort to allow the golfing public to golf for free while helping to help support New England Food Banks and community food pantries.

Here's what you can do: 

  • Set a date for Turkey Day at your course.  Treat the day as a tournament or special outing day.  
  • Promote the day and the desired donation. Most food banks and food pantries prefer supermarket gift certificates. Others will accept food donations. Some accept actual turkeys. Contact your local food bank or pantry to find out what they prefer.
  • Advertise, promote and encourage community participation.
“Turkey Day is our way of giving back to the local communities. We expect to donate over 600 turkeys and thousands of dollars to local food banks and pantries,” comments Dudley Darling, Board member of NEGCOA and owner of Juniper Hill Golf Course in Northboro, Massachusetts. 


Try to take this idea to your facility and see if you can get some turkeys to fly to the food banks in your area!  When you do, be sure to credit the NEGCOA.



Cheers
Kevin

Thanks Coach!

Every chapter is trying to engage members and motivate them to participate in chapter meeting and events.  One thing has become clear over time, family commitments have become more of a factor.  If you don't believe me, just ask a superintendent whose children play sports. Then ask if they coach. You might not believe what you hear!

GCSAA Class A member Andrew McHugh in New Hampshire coaches his sons' baseball teams, and has coached up to five basketball teams in one season.  Bob Kelly, CGCS, in New York has a daughter who plays softball at a high level. Guess how many teams he coaches? Guess how many games she plays? A lot. While I was on a visit to Ontario I went three for four. I asked four members if they coached their kids hockey teams, and three said yes.

I was told by one superintendent that perhaps people in this line of work take an active role in the things they do on and off the course, and children's sports are no exception. I agree. So maybe if chapters found a time in the kids' off-season to host a chapter event perhaps everyone could attend. If anyone actually knows when that time occurs, could you please let me know.

To all our GCSAA member coaches, two quick words: Thanks Coach!

Cheers

Kevin

Giving Tuesday OGSA Style

Leading off GCSAA's observation of the national program #GivingTuesday is a great article by Reg Langen, assistant superintendent Richmond Hill Golf Club. Originally printed in the Summer 2013 issue of Green Is Beautiful, the official publication of the Ontario GSA.  Here is the article.
 
Community Living Toronto participants "filling" important roles at Donalda Golf and Country Club with GCSAA Class A member Scott White, training dogs by OGSA member Nic Bell at Muskoka Highlands Golf Links, and GCSAA Class A member Neil Acton at Deer Creek Golf working to raise money for underprivileged children to enjoy outdoor educational events. 

Great members contributing to their communities!  What a great way to kick off #GivingTuesday.

Cheers!
Kevin

Friday, November 8, 2013

Save the date: Nor'easter Ski Day Jan. 17

In 1993, members of the Vermont GCSA and the Northeastern GCSA began a friendly rivalry to be held on the slopes of Vermont’s ski areas each year. The annual event includes a competitive ski race option for those who would like to participate. Fitting enough for these two groups, the winner of the ski race receives the Cup Cutter trophy (and yes, the joint meeting in June on the golf course awards the ski Boot Award).

Last year for the first time, members of both associations decided to open up the event to all the golf course superintendent associations throughout the Northeastern U.S. and Canada. The turnout was fantastic for the reinvented event, as over 100 members from all over the Northeast made the trek to Killington for the day’s festivities.

After a great day on the slopes, attendees were treated to an outstanding Après Ski party at the Wobbly Barn on the Killington access road. Killington was very gracious in hosting the group by providing affordable pricing on lodging and highly discounted lift tickets not only for the day, but through the weekend as well.

The Nor’easter Ski Day 2013 also served as a fundraising event for fellow superintendent Matt Dutremble of Ardsley CC. Matt was seriously injured after Hurricane Sandy while cleaning up storm-damaged trees on his golf course. This year's event will benefit a superintendent in need as well.

This event is quickly becoming a must attend for ski enthusiasts of any level. I can attest to that personally. I don't ski, and I would not consider missing it! It will be a fun day and is guaranteed to be well attended. Will you be there? Be sure to save the date and look for details as they become available.

Add your name to the comments, and let your industry peers know that they will see you at Killington on Jan. 17!

Friday, November 1, 2013

Value in the strangest places

How do we deliver value to our sponsors? That is a long-standing question for many chapters and sponsors alike.

This year's host of the Ontario GSA McClumpha Memorial event, GCSAA Class A member Mark Prieur, came up with a new answer to this question. Reflecting on the tee sign conundrum - not everyone plays from the same tee (seniors and ladies play forward) - Prieur noted that one thing about the golf round remains the same: Everyone finishes at the cup. He added value for event sponsors with just a few dollars, and his answer was simple: stickers. 

Prieur printed sponsor logos on clear mailing labels and placed those labels inside the cups. Done! The concept is simple, but the result was clear and effective. It looked great and caught my attention immediately. Several people asked about the process, thus indicating the value was recognizable. The cost for promoting two sponsors is equal to the price of 36 labels. Add putting green cups to that if you like, and the staggering cost might escalate by another dollar. Prieur has used this technique for many events at Trafalgar, and it is always well received. There is only one downside: The labels don't hold up well on rainy days.

Feel free to try this at your facility as well. When you do, be sure to credit our colleague Mark Prieur!

If you have any other creative ways to add value to sponsors at your events or facilities, please add your comments to the blog.

Monday, October 14, 2013

Welcome to the Northeast regional page

As your field staff representative in the Northeast, I have always put an emphasis on my duty to communicate to you: the member.

All communication tools have their pros and cons, as we all know. I really enjoy writing for your chapter publications, which allows me to share information with you on a monthly basis (strength). If I actually wrote all I wanted, I would fill half the publication and your advertisers and chapter executives would really dislike me (con). I signed up for Twitter not long after starting in this position. I got instant access to a whole following (pro). But really, 140 characters? I think that was designed by people who believe there's enough leg room on airplanes (con). In addition, we communicate all our field staff engagements and meetings to the GCSAA staff and board through a newsletter-style document (pro); but now there are nine of us, each with five to 10 things to write about. You do the math (con).

So let me officially welcome you to our newest tool: the regional blog. I hope to bring you useful information on a more timely basis than chapter publications, have a little leg room to add more detail, and keep it relevant to you here in the Northeast.  All that, and you get to participate too. That is six pros for you scoring at home. Hopefully they'll be very few cons to work on later, but let's not spoil the launch.

This should be fun! Welcome to the Northeast region page, where along with my blog, you'll find news, resources, links and forum discussions just for you. I look forward to communicating with you again soon.