FORE YOUR INFORMATION Ju l y / A u g u s t 2 0 1 8
August 20, 2018 Tri Chapter Meeting Cordevalle Golf Club
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P R E S I D E N T ’ S M E S S AG E
Bill Hamilton, CGCS
Good bye July! Glad to see you go. You are always so arrogant in having to be "The Hottest Month on Record" once again! The past 30 days were quite the inferno. It's always a tough month on everything: plants, people, and equipment. Once I hear that the "Back To School" sales are on, then I know we've made it and things should start cooling down soon. We had a great Grass Roots Event at Peachtree Golf and C. C. in Marysville on July 23rd. Tracy Shanahan had the golf course in great shape for the twelve foursomes that enjoyed a fun scramble event. It's al-
BY
B I L L H A M I LT O N, C G C S
ways nice to get away from home and see how everyone else is doing. Congratulations to Kurtis Wolford, Brad Wunderlich, Sal Sorbello, and Sam Samuelson, for their well deserved awards. The tournament winner was Mike Baty and his crew from Grizzly Ranch. Good to see you guys make the trip. Next up on the meeting agenda is the TriChapter Meeting at CordeValle in San Martin. This is a true championship venue hosted by The NorCal Chapter this year. It's a long, deliberate trip, but I hope to see some SNGCSA members make the effort to be there on August 20. You deserve a nice break by then. A couple of business items need to be talked about. Firstly, we continue to have way too much of our balance sheet in Accounts Receivable. These are funds that are owed to the Association by our own members. Presently, this amount is over $11,000! We need that money from dues and meetings to keep our business moving forward. The future of our organization will steadily decline
if we don't make this right. The roster will shrink as members are discharged for nonpayment. We are a group of golf superintendents and affiliates, not a collection agency. If you owe money, then please pay up! Please don't have you and your club's name on our long list of delinquents. Going forward, meeting attendance must be paid in full beforehand, or with check/ credit card at the door. No more billings for meeting attendance fees. Secondly, beginning with the President's Cup meeting in October, the Tournament Committee is now requiring a valid handicap index attached to your GHIN number. We have to level the playing field for all members that are playing in the "net" event. If you don't have a valid index, then you are more than welcome to play in the "gross" event. Unfortunately, we've had too many net winners that "thought they were a 15." We've got to keep it real guys, and paying up and playing up are where we're at right now. Hang in there, the inferno is almost over.
2018 SNGCSA BOARD OF DIRECTORS PRESIDENT William Hamilton CGCS Lake Wildwood Association VICE PRESIDENT Kurtis Wolford Cherry Island G.C.
SECRETARY/TREASURER Scott McCullough The Ridge Golf Course
PAST PRESIDENT Scott Dickson Brightview
DIRECTORS Dave Bermudez Del Rio Golf & Country Club
John Farley Teal Bend G.C.
Keith Hill, CGCS Hidden Valley C.C.
Affiliate Representatives Matt Graves Belkorp Akoni Ganir, Simplot Partners
Mark Callahan Plumas Pines G.C.
M E E T I N G DA T E S
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2018
2019
August 20, 2018
January 8, 2019
Tri Chapter Meeting CordeValle Golf Club Hosted by Nor Cal Association
October 8, 2018 President’s Cup Tournament Schaffer's Mill Hosted by Bryant WAIT
November 15, 2018 Annual Association Meeting & Election Cherry Island Golf Course Hosted by Kurtis Wolford
December 6, 2018 Annual Holiday Event Teal Bend Golf Course Hosted by John Farley
Turf Tech Workshop The Ridge Golf Course Hosted by Scott McCullough
February 2-7, 2019 GCSAA Golf Industry Show San Diego Convention Center
2019 California Room February 6, 2019 Landry’s at the Omni Hotel
Visit our On Line Industry Calendar for all event https://californiagcsa.org/?page_id=3712
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F ROM T HE F IELD BY
JEFF JENSEN GCSAA FIELD STAFF
GCSAA recently announced changes to the annual Environmental Leaders in Golf Awards (ELGA). The changes will be effective immediately. In past Jeff Jensen years, categories were established based on facility type including Overall, National Public, National Resort, Chapter and Merit winners. The 2018 addition of the awards will feature four categories: Natural Resource Conservation, Healthy Land Stewardship, Communications and Outreach and Innovative Conservation. There will be one winner and two runners-up recognized for each of the four awards. The Natural Resource Conservation Award will recognize individuals who employ effective strategies for water conservation, energy conservation and sound wildlife management. The Healthy Land Stewardship Award will recognize individuals who employ effective strategies for efficient use of
pesticides and nutrients as well as pollution prevention. The Communications and Outreach Award will recognize individuals who effectively communicate conservation strategies with facility employees and others as well as share their efforts with golfers and other members of their community. The Innovative Conservation Award will recognize individuals who utilize or invent unique and innovative strategies for conservation at their facility. The changes were made to encourage more superintendents to apply for the awards. Superintendents who may not have met the overall requirements in the past can now apply for a single category while they work on weaker areas through the use of GCSAA’s Best Management Practices template. Applicants are encouraged to include photos and limited-size videos to help demonstrate their environmental efforts. California superintendents have dominated the awards over the years with Terry Stratton, Tim Powers, Gary
Ingram and Mark Condos all claiming Overall National awards. The 2018 ELGA application period opens Aug. 1 and closes Sept. 30. Applications will be accepted online at www.gcsaa.org/ELGA. I hope to see some additional applications this year as many of you have done numerous projects to reduce your environmental footprint. It’s great recognition for your career, facility and the industry as a whole. I hope you all enjoy the remainder of your summer and if I can be of any assistance please don’t hesitate to contact me at jjensen@gcsaa.org and visit my website at https://www.gcsaa.org/resources/region al-resources/secure/southwest for updates from around the region as well as a calendar of events.
The SNGCSA is now on Facebook and Twitter. Check it out!
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2018 GrassRoots Honorees honor our membership. For 2018 Thank you to the Superinthe honorees are as follows. tendent Tracy Shanahan for stepping up to host the 2018 GrassRoots Affiliate Merit Award which is Tournament at beautiful Peachtree given to the affiliate representative who has made contributions resultGolf & C. C. This event was ing in the betterment of the placed on the schedule late because SNGCSA and its members. All our we were rained out in March Sal Sorbello, BelKorp Affiliate Merit Award Winner & Bill Hamwhen it was originally ilton, CGCS President of the SNGCSA scheduled for William Land Park. Changing the date of an event and the location is one of the most difficult things to do, but we were fortunate enough to have the support of our membership in this adjustment and the event was a success. The GrassRoots is an opportunity for us to
affiliate members are great so the selection is always challenging. This year our honoree is Sal Sorbello, BelKorp Golf . Sal has been a long time member of the association and continues to support the association and its members through his position as the Golf Sales Manager of BelKorp Golf & Turf. Distinguished Member of the Year is presented annually to a superintendent whom has made contributions for the betterment of the SNGCSA, its members, and the golf course superintendent’s profession. Evaluation criteria for this award includes local or national committee participation, community service that represents the industry in a positive light, or local association participation. This year the award was presented to Kurtis Wolford, Cherry Island Golf Course. Kurtis continues to support our assoKurtis Wolford receiving his plaque for Distinguished Mem- ciation in ber of the Year from Bill Hamilton, CGCS several ar(Continued on page 8)
FORE YOUR INFORMATION Published by the Sierra Nevada Golf Course Superintendents Association EDITOR Bill Hamilton, CGCS OFFICE SNGCSA 3273 Richert Ave., Clovis, CA 93619 559-298-6262 Fax# 559-298-6957 sngcsaa@aol.com
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A F F I L I AT E P R O F I L E : T I M T E X E I R A , SIERRA PACIFIC TURF BY JOHN FARLEY When I saw that we were doing an affiliate profile on Tim Texiera and somebody was needed to write the article I jumped on the opportunity. You see, Tim and I go way, way back. When you’ve been in the industry for 30 years, you cross a lot of paths, and Tim and I crossed paths years ago up in Chico when Tim was working for Normac Irrigation. I was 20 years old and working in lawn maintenance and would go see Tim for all my irrigation needs. He was working behind the counter and answered many of my questions regarding sprinklers and sprinkler controllers. That was in 1982 and 1983. So as you can see, Tim and I have history, good history. Tim is a California native born in Oakland. He grew up in Hay-
ward and attended Chabot College and graduated with a degree in business. He was then called for service and spent two years in Vietnam where he saw combat. So the next time you see Tim, thank him for his service to this great country. After he returned from service he took a job with Automatic Rain based in Menlo Park which began his long storied career in the field of irrigation. He worked for Automatic Rain from 1972 to 1978. He then moved north to Chico where he took a job with Normac Irrigation. As I mentioned earlier, this is where Tim and I first met. I would go to Normac seeking irrigation parts and advice. Tim was always there willing to help me out. I would pick Tim’s brain regarding irrigation design, repair, and installation.
He was very knowledgeable and always helpful. He stayed with Normac from 1978 all the way Tim Texeira until 2004, 26 years! In 2004 he moved to Arizona and took a job working for Watertronics. Then in 2010, Sierra Pacific Turf Supply came calling and asked Tim If he would be willing to come back to California where he would be given his old territory. He happily agreed
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TIM TEXEIRA, and has been with Sierra Pacific ever since. It’s funny how careers can come full circle and bring you back to your roots where it all began. Tim is again here in Northern California calling on the same guys he used to call on years ago like me. I’m glad he’s back and so is Tim. He’s a little older and maybe a little slower, but he’s more knowledgeable now than ever. His golf game has not suffered the ravages of time. He’s a solid stick. I know because I regularly get paired up with him in the monthly meetings. He’s down the middle and his short game is just as solid. Tim’s a good guy and good for the golf industry, and he’s now thinking about retirement.
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SIERRA PACIFIC TURF CONTINUED After a long career serving the turf industry he’s finally thinking about hanging it up. Having been in the business for so long I wanted to know what he would and wouldn’t miss about his job once he calls it quits. Regarding the things he said he was going to miss, Tim said, “I’m going to miss the people. Over time you develop relationships and friendships with fellow workers and customers. I’ll miss that more than anything.” On the question of what he won’t miss, Tim was quick to answer, ”The paperwork. All the mountains of paperwork that goes with each order. You spend more time on the computer than you do face to face with the customers.” Next I asked Tim how the industry has changed over the years since he started. Again, without hesitation Tim said “Technology. As computers have become more powerful and smaller they began to play a bigger and bigger role in irrigation.
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F R O M PA G E
Weather stations, moisture sensors and the internet have allowed turf managers more control. That’s been the biggest change so far.” Finally I asked Tim what advice he would have for a young salesman just starting out in the business. He thought for a moment and then said, ”Know the product and have the answers that the customer asks of you. If you don’t have the answer tell them you’ll get it. Then make sure you get back to them. Always follow up and make sure the customer is satisfied. Help the customer solve problems and you’ll have a customer for life.” Looking back on my relationship with Tim made me realize that that is exactly what he did with me. He helped me solve problems. He knew the product and had the answers to my questions. If he didn’t have the answer he would always get it eventually. Tim has had a long and fulfilling career in the turf industry and it was a pleasure to have been one of his many customers over the years. Thanks Tim for your service and contributions to our industry.
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S I E R R A N E VA DA C H A P T E R A N N UA L A W A R D S C O N T I N U E D F R O M PA G E 5 eas including water resources board, government relations in Sacramento, and California GCSA board, as well as serving on the board of directors for our association. Turfgrass Manager of the Year. This award is presented to a superintendent member who maintains his/her facility to a standard that reBrad Wunderlich, Edgewood Tahoe, SNGCSA Turfgrass Manager of the Year
flects consistent, high quality playing conditions, while displaying exceptional agronomic and management skills. The resourcefulness of this individual is an important consideration in the selection criteria and may include factors such as budget, site restrictions, rounds of golf, staff size, etc. This year’s award went to Brad Wunderlich of the beautiful Edgewood Tahoe. Brad’s exemplary turf management has led to the success of many famous tournaments held at this facility. Most recently the annual Celebrity Golf Championship in July. President’s GrassRoots Award. This year’s award was given to Sam Samuelson, CGCS. This award is always given to a su-
perintendent who has continued to demonstrate outstanding efforts and contributions to the association and the indusSam Samuelson, CGCS try Sam certainly meets this criteria. The GrassRoots Tournament and this award itself was the brainchild of Sam in 2004. Now 14 years later Sam himself is finally honored for this tradition. Thank you to all who attended this event and helped sponsor so that we can keep the price at the GrassRoots Level. Special Thanks to BelKorp, TurfStar, and Simplot Partners for their support.
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M EETING H IGHLIGHTS Tournament Winners from the 2018 Scholarship & Research Tournament—Granite Bay G.C. 1st Place Team—Jose Diaz, Tito Diaz, Jim Ferrin, & Derek Zachman (55) Pictured at left 2nd Place Team—Rick Morgan, Pat Smyth, Josh Crisnell, & Tom Ramback (57) in Card Playoff 3rd Place Team—Tim Yussen, Mike Stieler, Tim Texeira, & Shea Rollins, (57) in Card Playoff (Pictured below) 4th Place—Rob Metzler, Sean Ortega, Marcus Patterson, & Kurtis Wolford (57) in Card Playoff Accurate Drive #8 Mike Bazani Long Drive #12—Kurtis Wolford Closest to Pin #7—Kyle Jones 1’ 11” Closest to Pin # 14—John Duhig 7’10”
Thank you to Tracy and his crew for having the course in great shape
2018 GrassRoots Tournament Winners Tracy Shannahan Low Gross Individual (Pictured at left) Team Winners Grizzly Ranch—(Pictured below)
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