Education Time

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

Scott Woodward, 2019 President