Education/Annual Meeting a Success

We had a great turnout at our recent education/annual meeting day. We have 49 out of 54 who RSVP’d show up. Of course the day was a lot nicer weather wise then what was forecasted when we sent our last call notice out. Probably led to a couple of cancellations. It was the largest turnout I remember in my 16 years here.

We had some great speakers and great topics. The day started with John Daniels, our regional USGA agronomist, who spoke on the topic of Creating a Master Plan for the Golf Course.

Our second speaker was Dr. Erin Wehrman from Missouri State University, discussing Generational Differences in our workplaces.

Our third speaker was Dr. Mike Richardson of the University of Arkansas, where he discussed How Much Shade is too Much Shade.

Eddie Roach Jr. golf course superintendent at Hickory Hills Country Club informed the membership on the current status of the state of Missouri BMP Task Force who is working on producing Best Management Practices for golf courses in the state. GCSAA has given the group a $10,000 grant, and each of the Missouri chapters, (Heart, Mississippi Valley, and Ozark) are funding the rest of the efforts. The goal is to have it completed by the end of 2020.

We did get some great feedback from members about all of our speakers and topics.

The annual meeting was held after a buffet lunch provided by host Highland Springs Country Club. We covered current bank accounts and held elections. Mike Irvine from Bill and Payne Stewart Golf Course was elected President, Maron Towse from Schifferdecker Golf Course was elected Vice-President, Melvin Waldron III, CGCS from Horton Smith Golf Course was retained as Secretary/Treasurer, Jared Brewster from Highland Springs Country Club and Eddie Roach Jr. from Hickory Hills Country Club were both elected to the Board of Directors, replacing Maron Towse spot, and replacing the retiring Jim Pyle. Charlie Boldreghini continues to serve on the board with one year left in his term. Sam Richard moves to the Past President position after serving the maximum three years as President. We thank him for his dedication and service.

A big thank you goes out to Paul Carlson and Syngenta for being our educational partner. Their support is what allows us to bring in our speakers. Also thanks to our Gold and Silver Partners who provide support that allows us to keep our meeting costs low. Many thanks also to our vendors who attended this meeting. We had a great turnout of vendors as well.

The new board will be meeting later this week to discuss 2020 dues, prepaid meeting plans, and Vendor Partner plans. Check back here or in your email inboxes periodically for updates.

Thanks for attending and reading!

Mel