President’s Message
EDUCATION TIME
Virginia Turfgrass Journal is the official publication of The Virginia Turfgrass Council P.O. Box 5989 Virginia Beach, VA 23471 Office: (757) 464-1004 Fax: (757) 282-2693 vaturf@verizon.net
Scott Woodward 2019 President
Hello Fellow VTC Members, I’m writing this column in September so it is hard to imagine by the time you read this, our warm season grasses will be shutting down for the winter. Cool seasons will be getting a break from over 50 days of 90 degree heat and soon it will be time for some education, re-certifications and camaraderie with our peers in the turf industry. VTC has plenty of opportunities coming up, below are a few: December 9 – 12: Turfgrass and Horticulture Short Courses in Henrico, VA January 21 – 23: M-A-T-E Conference in Fredericksburg, VA February 25 – 26: “Come to the Bay” in Virginia Beach, VA
A lot of new and exciting things are happening at the M-A-T-E conference this year. The conference committee is still working on the educational lineup and additional speakers. Some that we have lined up so far are: Logan Freeman – A Maryland Golf Course Superintendent who will be speaking on Fostering Cooperation Across the Turf Industry. Mr. Freeman was featured in a recent GCSAA publication. The popular Virginia Tech Graduate Student Research Contest returns on Wednesday of the conference. Josh McPherson – A Virginia native who is now with the University of Missouri speaks on Positive Coaching for Turf Managers Tyler Bloom and Dean Graves – Maryland Golf Course Superintendents speak on Recruiting and Retraining Green Industry Employees
The M-A-T-E conference will not disappoint! We will once again hold our annual Corn Hole Tournament, so sign up today. There will also be some great educational tracks and as always there will be plenty of time for networking. See y’all there!
Scott H. Woodward
President, Virginia Turfgrass Council
6 | VIRGINIA TURFGRASS JOURNAL November/December 2019 www.vaturf.org
PUBLISHED BY Leading Edge Communications, LLC 206 Bridge Street Franklin, Tennessee 37064 (615) 790-3718 Fax: (615) 794-4524 Email: info@leadingedgecommunications.com EDITOR Mark Vaughn, CGCS VTC OFFICERS President Scott Woodward Woodward Turf Farms (540) 727-0020 Vice President Michael Skelton Culpeper County (540) 727-3412 Treasurer Jimmy Viars, CGM Gloucester County Public Schools (804) 815-2779 Secretary Phil Bailey, CGCS Virginia Green Lawn Care (757) 572-1981 Past President Rick Owens, CGCS Laurel Hill Golf Club (703) 674-6934 VTC DIRECTORS Wes Bray Scott Caskie Tony Montgomery David Smith T.J. Skirsky Craig Zeigler VTC ADVISORY MEMBERS OF THE BOARD Mike Goatley, Ph.D. (Chair) Shawn Askew, Ph.D. Jeffrey Derr, Ph.D. David McCall Ph.D. EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR/ DIRECTOR OF PROGRAMS Tom Tracy, Ph.D. (757) 464-1004 VIRGINIA TURFGRASS FOUNDATION Brandyn Baty (757) 585-3058
