FROM THE TTA PR ESIDENT
Doug Ward
Unique Surprises W
ith this letter, I trust everyone has experienced a productive and hopefully “fun” summer as the fall (football) season has arrived. No doubt, every summer unwinds with its own unique surprises, whether good, bad or somewhat in between. This year, early season dry weather seemed to challenge many, with late summer flood conditions being quite severe for others across the state. Fall armyworm activity, labor woes and of course the resurfacing of COVID with the Delta variant all seem to have factored into the scene of the 2021 summer. In spite of all the obstacles thrown our direction, the various TTA committees that help coordinate our conference and trade show have been hard at work putting together what I believe will be a rewarding event for 2022. At this point, our educational program has been finalized with speakers from all aspects of the turf industry. In addition, we once again will have a professional improvement expert on the docket for one of our morning sessions as well as numerous participants to conduct interactive workshop gatherings. To top it off, we are excited to have the world-renowned Sports Turf “Guru” George Toma as our Keynote Speaker on Monday morning to inspire our audience as we kick off the conference. Also of note, our tradeshow has had its footprint reworked to take better advantage of traffic flow and areas of congregation. Finally, a “Top Golf ” event has been formulated much like we had at our last live event in 2020. This year’s outing however, is being scheduled to begin significantly earlier to encourage everyone’s participation and with transportation being provided for this event, I hope everyone will be able to take advantage of this opportunity to experience this time of fun and fellowship. With conference info soon to be issued, please take a minute and make plans to be a part of this year’s return to the Embassy Suites and a much-anticipated live production of our turfgrass conference. Your attendance will not only add to your personal knowledge and exposure but will make a positive impact on getting our association back on track as a true personal gathering for professionals in the Turfgrass industry.
Doug Ward
The Official Publication of the Tennessee Turfgrass Association, the Tennessee Valley Sports Turf Managers Association and the Tennessee Golf Course Superintendents Association
Tennessee Turfgrass is the official publication of The Tennessee Turfgrass Association 400 Franklin Road Franklin, Tennessee 37069 (615) 928-7001 info@ttaonline.org www.ttaonline.org PUBLISHED BY Leading Edge Communications, LLC 206 Bridge Street Franklin, Tennessee 37064 (615) 790-3718 info@leadingedgecommunications.com EDITOR Dr. James Brosnan TTA OFFICERS President Doug Ward Belle Meade Country Club (615) 292-6752 Vice President Chris Sykes Tellico Village (865) 458-5408 Secretary/Treasurer Ryan Storey Vanderbilt University (615) 343-6694 Past President Jason Pooler Tri-Turf Sod Farms, Inc (731) 642-3092 Executive Director Melissa Martin Tennessee Turfgrass Assn. (615) 928-7001 TTA 2021 BOARD OF DIRECTORS
TTA President
731-692-3515 TifTuf Tifway Bermuda • Blended Tall Fescue Meyer Z-52 Zoysia • Palisades Zoysia •
Ryan Blair, CGCS Jason Bradley Bart Cash Ashley Gaskin Cal Hill Jeff Huber Brad Jean Jeff Kuhns Jason Sanderson Mark Stovall John Wagnon Jeff Wyatt TTA ADVISORY MEMBERS OF THE BOARD
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www.mccurdysodfarms.com • mccurdysodfarms@gmail.com
TENNESSEE TURFGRASS AUGUST / SEPTEMBER 2021 Email TTA at: info@ttaonline.org
Bill Blackburn Dr. Jim Brosnan Joe Hill Dr. Brandon Horvath Lynn Ray Jeff Rumph, CGCS Dr. Tom Samples Dr. John Sorochan Dr. Wes Totten
