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Chapter Delegates Meeting 2020: The Covid-19 Edition

In a lot of ways, I feel fortunate that I have not had to participate in 12 virtual meetings a day like my wife does working from home in our upstairs makeshift office. I still get to go to my office as we all are in our industry. Working at a relatively small course has kept me away from the virtual meetings. I am sure that there are a lot of you that have had a bunch of these. I had my first real Zoom conference in place of attending the event in Lawrence, KS. It was different but productive and informative as usual.

Obviously, the topic of Covid-19 and how it has impacted the golf industry is the hot topic. The GCSAA has done a good job of cutting costs to make the best of a bad situation. With the GIS being virtual this year, which is a big revenue driver for the GCSAA, the belt must be tightened. And 2020 is the 2-year cycle where dues cost increases are voted on. The dues are raised based on CPI over that 2-year period. Rounds here in TN seem to be great and would normally be a good sign towards being OK with a $10–15 annual dues increase. But remember the country club down the street that can’t have the weddings, association events or host the 40 Christmas parties that they normally host and might have a banquet/F&B line that is absolutely floundering due to local restrictions. So please remember that dues increases are on the ballot this winter, up $15 for A&B, up $10 for C. Please let me know your thoughts on this topic.

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I got a preview of the virtual GIS and it looks pretty cool. I’m not the most tech savvy guy, but it kind of felt like the combination of zoom and a VR platform. The company who is putting the event together seems to be doing a great job. If the show not being in person is deterring you from attending, do me a favor and check it out before you rule it out. I think it might be a pretty good event with no limits on the number of people that can attend an education session.

There is a topic concerning the bylaws that has been brought up by Adam, the Chapter Executive of Michigan. It is not up for a vote this year but maybe next. Essentially it would state that during a year such as 2020 pandemic year when government regulations affect our abilities to manage our businesses, there would be no elections held for the GCSAA board. All members would stay in their place for the next cycle. I think that the GCSAA board members have done a great job this year in shifting focus. I think John Fulling had ideas of what he wanted to accomplish this year without knowing the hand they would be dealt for 2020. But they did a great job of shifting gears to communicating with state and local government bodies to lobby on behalf of the golf industry. Then they had to figure out the GIS issue. All of these issues took place while business as normal had to continue with all of the programs and member services in normal operation.

Board Voting for 2020. There are three people looking at one position on the board: Marc Weston, Jon Christianson and Chris Reveire. All three seem like solid individuals. I know Marc a little bit, we worked on a service project together at National Golf Day. I have met Chris a few times at delegate events. I will try to get their Bio videos out to you to evaluate.

Anyways, I have wrapped up this Zoom experience and waiting for the next.

Brad Marcy

Indian Hills Golf Course

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