N ove m b e r/ De c e m b e r 2 0 1 1
FORE YOUR INFORMATION M E S S AG E F R O M T H E P R E S I D E N T
INSIDE THIS ISSUE:
BY JEFF COUWENHOVEN
President’s Message
2
Meeting Schedule
3
Chapter Delegate Report
4
Outgoing President’s Article
5
Government Relations Update
7
Wilber’s News
8
Thank You 2011 Sponsors
10
GCSAA Las Vegas
11
Meeting Highlights
14
Meeting Highlights
15
Dates to Remember
February 29, 2011 California Room Las Vegas C.C. During the GIS in Las Vegas Sierra Nevada GCSA An Affiliate Chapter of the Golf Course Superintendents Association of America
Every year, the new president has the honor and opportunity to write his first “Presidents Message” for the newsletter and for me, the time is now. I thought of a million things I could write about and jotted them all down on a legal size pad. Yet I struggled to figure out what exactly I was going to write about. I had writers cramp….too much to say, no direction. But one thing kept popping back into my head, “Remember the past to propel the future.” It has always
been my belief that the past is something we use as a tool, something we reflect on to harness and tweak new ideas for our future. It is something that we can use to trigger emotion and to drive us motivationally. The trick, however, is to not dwell in the past so that it prevents you from moving forward. The last few years we have had different successes and challenges. Last year we were able to celebrate more successes. Many of these successes were
started by previous leaders and the cycle is usually repeated, my challenge is keeping the momentum moving in the right direction. I thank Jim Alwine for his great leadership over the past year. Without his commitment and service to our membership, we would not have the association we do. I congratulate Jim for a job well done. At our last board meeting I asked Jim to start a new committee. It (Continued on page 2)
CALIFORNIA TURF & LANDSCAPE FOUNDAT I O N U P DAT E B Y B R U C E W I L L I A M S , C G C S The California Turfgrass and Landscape Foundation has had a busy year. Starting in May, the foundation developed a new set of bylaws and incorporated as a 501 (c) 3. The mission of the foundation is to support research in areas of turfgrass and landscape
throughout the state of California. This research will include but not be limited to turfgrass weed and disease control, insect management, turf breeding and development of water efficient grasses. Concentration on water saving will be key for the future of our state and golf
courses as well. Currently there are research plots in 5 of the 6 regions of the state for work being done by Dr. James Baird and his 5 graduate assistants at U of California Riverside. As stated, the focus for research is not just in one (Continued on page 2)