OTA Members Attend GCSAA Chapter Leadership/Executive Symposium

The GCSAA leadership symposium brought together leaders of 33 of the 94 chapters located across the country. The Ozark Turf Association was represented by Vice President Kolby Armbruster, golf course superintendent at Ledgestone Country Club, and Secretary/Treasurer, Melvin Waldron III, CGCS, golf course superintendent at Horton Smith Golf Course, who also serves as the chapter’s volunteer executive director.  

Two days of networking, leadership seminars, and breakout sessions had the room buzzing.  Items discussed varied from communication and marketing of our chapter, event and fundraising activities, Rounds 4 Research, and getting involved in local FFA chapters.  One leadership seminar discussed the Predictive Index, a workplace assessment tool that measures behavioral drives and cognitive ability, helping organizations understand people and teams, improve talent management, and make better hiring and development decisions.  Another leadership seminar discussed building successful teams and a deep dive into motivators and communication. 

During the breakout session of chapter leaders, attended by Kolby, emphasis was put on developing a board orientation program.  Most people do not get involved because of the perceived time commitment.  But the common theme was that once people do get involved, they quickly realize the time commitment typically isn’t as much as previously thought.  Other items discussed were the importance of establishing committees (education, fundraising, etc), developing succession plans for board members, and recruiting tactics for new board members.

During the breakout session for chapter executives, attended by Mel, most of the discussions were how chapters were setting up meetings, working to keep meetings affordable by creating dialog to get the best deals.  Some chapters found success in getting free golf by looking at private clubs, who were not losing tee time revenue and enticing them with spending more on food and beverages. They were seeing an increase in attendance by going to facilities that members usually would not normally be visiting.  There were also discussions on looking at different types of events, bowling was a popular one, as was attending minor league sporting events and other events geared towards families.      

Overall, the symposium was a great event.  It also provided a networking event on the second evening with our Central Plains Region representative, Randy Robinson, as six chapters from the Central Plains Region were represented.

If anyone hasn’t stopped in at Lawrence to see the headquarters, it’s worth the stop, if passing through.