Upcoming Event

Mixing It Up at the 2022 Deep South Turf Expo

By Melanie Bonds

The Deep South Turf Expo Board and staff have made a few significant changes to the activities this year! The Four Ball Tournament will be played as a one-day tournament on Monday, October 24th at The Preserve Golf Course. Event organizers have made the change to allow all players to participate in the Scramble and Tailgate on Tuesday at The Preserve. We believe that this is in keeping with the best interests of our vendors. The Preserve is an 18-hole course which has been integrated within an 1800-acre native preserve full of live oaks, cypress swamps, long leaf pines and native grass prairies and designed by Jerry Pate.

Also, we have an updated schedule of the Sports Turf Tour which we think will excite our sports turf attendees! This year’s event will be a short road trip to the University of South Alabama to tour their sports fields and maintenance facility. This will include their new football stadium, the Hancock Whitney Stadium. Hancock Whitney opened in 2020 and is the home of the South Alabama football program. This $78 million state-ofthe-art facility offers numerous opportunities for the athletics department and enhances the game day atmosphere. This brandnew stadium has a capacity of 25,450.

For the marksmen among our attendees, the Trap & Skeet Tournament will return to the Coast Rifle and Pistol Club, on Tuesday, October 25th. This outstanding facility is just minutes from The Beau Rivage in Biloxi. Participants will be treated to lunch and a practice round, then enjoy a friendly competition of both skeet and trap shooting at this fabulous facility.

Everyone should make plans to attend the “Tailgate Picnic” at The Preserve on Tuesday after golf. Our vendors are serving up some award-winning food at the tailgate and there will be a band for the guests’ entertainment. This is a fabulous networking opportunity, and we hope you won’t miss it!

Veteran extension agent, Pat Cobb, is making her first appearance at this year’s DSTE. Pat has been retired from Auburn University and the Alabama Cooperative Extension Service for some years and expresses her gratitude for the turfgrass industry. Pat says, “Anything I might have accomplished during my career wasn’t me, but a team effort. I have enormous respect and gratitude for all turfgrass managers and technicians, including the superintendents, lawn and landscape managers, sod producers, sports turf managers and all those who help get the job done! Once I joined the Extension, I thought I had died and gone to heaven as it was based in practical application!” We are so pleased to welcome Pat to this year’s Expo!

The education conference and keynote sessions are scheduled for Wednesday, October 26th with the breakouts on Thursday, October 27th. The entire schedule is printed on the following pages, and there is something for everyone. This is an opportunity to get your CEU’s while hearing about the latest research. It is also time when the host organizations hold their annual business meetings and elections for 2023. It is very important that all members attend the business meetings and take part in determining the direction of our turfgrass organizations.

The Tradeshow will open at 11:00. We encourage everyone to spend some time with all our exhibitors at the Tradeshow. Without them, this event would not be possible! The Tradeshow is an educational opportunity in itself, so take advantage of it! Visit our vendors who would appreciate the opportunity to provide you the latest updates in turfgrass technology and products. And to that end, we want to thank all our sponsors who are listed on the following pages for supporting the 2022 DSTE. Please take every opportunity to let them know how much you appreciate their support! •