Hit the Ground Running

As the newly elected President of the East Tennessee Golf Course Superintendents Association, I’d like to take a moment to introduce myself. My name is DJ Lerchen, and I have been the Golf Course Superintendent at The Sevierville Golf Club for the last 10 years. As your representative for ETGCSA, I would like to first start by thanking the past President, Pat Rose, and congratulating him on a job well done. He has served on the ETGCSA for many years supporting its vision for the growth and development of golf course superintendents.

I am pleased to announce that we have hit the ground running. The Board of Directors for ETGSA and myself have already been busy planning events and speakers for this upcoming year. We worked diligently to put together an exciting array of host sites and speakers for the 2019 season. The names of the board members are listed below as are the meeting locations for the year. I want to personally thank all the clubs who have willingly chosen to host our monthly meetings this year. I want to challenge everyone to attend our meetings this season to support the vision and growth of the ETGCSA. This is a great time to share your experiences and collaborate with others in your field. Also, I want to encourage superintendents to bring their assistant superintendents and equipment managers so they can be a part of our learning opportunities and networking opportunities.

2019 ETGCSA Board of Directors

President – DJ Lerchen

Vice President – Travis Hopkins

Treasurer – Jordan Clark

Directors – Jeff Rumph, Tim Long, Joe Hill, Roger Frazier

Advisory Member – Michael Crawford

The ETGCSA hosts the ETGCSA Scholarship and Research Tournament at the end of the season each year. For those who have participated in the past, we all know the golf courses we get to play are the best of the best! The purpose of these tournaments is to raise money to allow us to help fund research at The University of Tennessee. We also have the great opportunity and responsibility to award scholarships to future leaders in our industry.

This year we were able to award two ETGCSA scholarships. The first scholarship went to Brinkley Mull, a University of Tennessee student and aspiring golf course superintendent. The second scholarship was awarded to Chris Kleinschmidt, a University of Tennessee student who also strives to become a golf course superintendent. I want to congratulate our scholarship winners and encourage these students in their career path in the turfgrass industry. I believe I can speak for everyone and say that ETGCSA members are all here to help encourage young men and women to succeed in this industry.

The ETGCSA is very thankful for the continued support of The University of Tennessee and the vendors for their commitment to our industry. On behalf of the board, I want to thank them for their support, and I want to encourage all of our members to attend the meetings this year and take advantage of all the information that will be shared.

DJ Lerchen

2019 ETGCSA President

DJ Lerchen, 2019 ETGCSA President