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Feature
History of the Eastern Pennsylvania Turf Conference and Trade Show
By Mike Fidanza, Ph.D. – Professor of Plant and Soil Science, Penn State Berks Campus; Reading, PA (maf100@psu.edu)
and John Pope – Pope Soils Consulting and Counseling Services; Maple Glen, PA (overthefencegarden@gmail.com)
The Eastern Pennsylvania Turfgrass Conference and Tradeshow (i.e., “The Eastern”), first began as the Southeastern Pennsylvania Turf School, and was organized and conducted by William “Bill” White (19242011), Philadelphia County Agent with Penn State Cooperative Extension and Dr. Jack Harper (1923–2005), Penn State Turfgrass Extension Specialist (Table 1). Of note, these early years of The Eastern were part of a larger effort by many county agents in Southeastern Pennsylvania to bring the latest turfgrass science and research information from the land-grant university to turf managers as well as practicing horticulturalist and arborists, thus expanding the outreach into many segments of the green industry.
These first conferences or “turf schools” focused on education for those green industry professionals in the Philadelphia and greater Southeastern Pennsylvania region, and were held at the Jeffersonville Golf Club, in West Norriton, PA. As this annual educational event gained in success and popularity in the region, the conference expanded to include lawn, landscape, and grounds managers, and also an industry trade show where companies could display and promote their products and services. The conference was relocated in the early 1980s to the nearby Valley Forge Convention Center in King of Prussia, PA, to accommodate the need for more education and trade show space.
Also for two years during the early 1980s, The Eastern was combined with the Penn State Golf Turf Conference into one state-wide conference, and held at the Hershey Hotel, in Hershey, PA. The geographically diverse turf industry in Pennsylvania, however, wanted to return to the regional conference structure and format. Soon after that, five separate turf conferences were conducted in Pennsylvania: The Eastern, Penn State Golf Turf Conference (University Park, PA), Western Pennsylvania Turf Conference (Pittsburgh, PA region), Northeastern Turf Conference (Wilkes-Barre, PA region), and Northwestern Turf Conference (Meadville, PA). These conferences were hosted by Penn State Cooperative Extension and/or the Pennsylvania Turfgrass Council.
During the mid-1980s and into the 1990s, The Eastern was thee turf conference to attend, as it had a broad, regional appeal and participation from many segments of the green industry. At that time, The Eastern was a precursor to the big regional conferences of today such as the New England Turf Conference (Providence, RI) and the Carolinas Turf Conference (Myrtle Beach, SC). For many years, The Eastern was held at the Valley Forge Convention Center, which is in close proximity to the famous Valley Forge National Park where General George Washington and the Continental Army over-wintered in 1777. During the 1980s and early 1990s, the trade show portion of those conferences occupied two floors of the convention center with expansive space for booths and equipment displays (Figures 1 and 2). The education talks were located on the opposite side of the facility in the hotel ballrooms, with capacity of 300 to 500 for each room.
The Eastern was traditionally held during the first week of January, basically a few days after New Year’s Day, and it was a great way to kick-off the new year for the turf industry. In the age before cell phones, websites, social media, and “early order season”, the trade show was thee place to conduct business and network. Everyone who was anyone in the turf business was there: golf course, sports turf, lawn and landscape, grounds maintenance, equipment, chemicals, fertilizers, specialty products, and more. Because the education seminars were coordinated by the Penn State turf faculty and Penn State’s Cooperative Extension, The Eastern was one of the few places turfgrass industry professionals could earn an entire year’s worth application license credits as required by the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture (PDA). Later in the 1990s, the PDA allowed turf companies (i.e., distributors and dealers) to offer pesticide credits for their own one-day education events organized for their customers.
A highlight of The Eastern during those “Valley Forge days” was the USGA Year-in-Review presented for many years by USGA Green Section agronomist Stan Zontek (1949 – 2012). Dr. Paul Heller (1948 – 2010), Penn State turf entomologist, was always a favorite speaker as well. Dr. Heller presented with such excitement, passion, and extension knowledge of all things turf-and-bugs related. In the early 2000s, a Silent Auction was added to the trade show to raise needed funds to support the Penn State turf program (Table 2). A favorite item for sale was the autographed football from Penn State’s legendary coach, Joe Paterno (Figure 3). Many companies generously donated products and services, and many golf course superintendents donated rounds of golf. The Silent Auction was an excellent example of an industryuniversity partnership.
From the mid-1980s to the early 2000s, The Eastern was a 2½ day conference. From 2011 to 2014, The Eastern was moved from the Valley Forge Convention Center across the street to a hotel next to the King of Prussia Mall, in King of Prussia, PA. The conference also downsized into two full days, and the traditional tradeshow booth layout was replaced with tabletops, along with lunch being served at the conference. From 2015 to 2017, The Eastern returned to the Valley Forge Convention Center, which was now renovated into the Valley Forge Casino Resort. In 2017, an Industry Committee within the Pennsylvania Turfgrass Council was assembled to help strengthen and improve the conference and their fundraising efforts, and they even occupied a booth at the nearby Philadelphia Golf Show in Oaks, PA, to auction rounds of golf (Figure 4), thus promoting the Penn State turf program and raising much needed financial support at the same time.
From the mid-1980s to the early 2000s, The Eastern was a 2½ day conference. From 2011 to 2014, The Eastern was moved from the Valley Forge Convention Center across the street to a hotel next to the King of Prussia Mall, in King of Prussia, PA. The conference also downsized into two full days, and the traditional tradeshow booth layout was replaced with tabletops, along with lunch being served at the conference. From 2015 to 2017, The Eastern returned to the Valley Forge Convention Center, which was now renovated into the Valley Forge Casino Resort. In 2017, an Industry Committee within the Pennsylvania Turfgrass Council was assembled to help strengthen and improve the conference and their fundraising efforts, and they even occupied a booth at the nearby Philadelphia Golf Show in Oaks, PA, to auction rounds of golf (Figure 4), thus promoting the Penn State turf program and raising much needed financial support at the same time.
In 2018, The Eastern was relocated to South-Central Pennsylvania, at the famous Shady Maple Smorgasbord in East Earl, PA, and restructured into a one-day conference with industry participation as well in the form of modified table-tops trade show. Also for 2018, the conference rebranded the name as: “Eastern Pennsylvania Golf, Lawn, Landscape and Sports Turf Conference.”
In 2024, The Eastern will be conducted for the 54th time. We are grateful for those forward-thinking pioneers that started The Eastern, for those that followed and nurtured it to grow and prosper, and to those today that volunteer, attend, and participate to make The Eastern a success! The diverse geography and population regions in Pennsylvania warrant the presentation of turfgrass conferences throughout the Commonwealth (Figure 5), and our turfgrass industry looks forward to more education and outreach in 2024!
