OTA Holds Education Day and Annual Meeting

Members of the Ozark Turf Association came together at Highland Springs Country Club on January 20, 2026, for their annual education day—an event sponsored by VanWall Equipment—where they enjoyed informative sessions, connected with vendor partners, and took advantage of valuable networking opportunities.

Registration began early, followed by coffee, pastries, and opportunities to connect with vendor partners.  

 OTA President Jonathan Prange, CGCS, welcomed attendees and introduced the initial speaker, Dr. Zac Reicher, a member of the Green Solutions Team at Envu. Dr. Reicher delivered a presentation titled “Don’t Do This!! Common Preventable Turf Mistakes,” addressing frequent errors encountered in turf management.  

Jonathan Prange, CGCS, golf course superintendent at Highland Springs Country Club, provided an overview of utilizing artificial intelligence for routine tasks. He has found AI particularly beneficial in composing newsletter articles and various forms of correspondence that require a polished, professional tone.

Following a brief intermission where attendees had the opportunity to network with vendors and refresh their beverages, Randy Robinson, our GCSAA Central Plains Representative, delivered a presentation addressing strategies for meeting labor demands by engaging student organizations such as the FFA. He also provided an update on the planned celebrations for GCSAA’s Centennial year.

The educational segment concluded with Dr. Mike Richardson providing a summary of the wetting agent research supported by the Ozark Turf Association along with other GCSAA chapters under the GCSAA Chapter Coop research program, followed by Dr. Wendell Hutchens delivering an overview of fungicide performance.  

Following the presentation, attendees were served a hot buffet lunch generously sponsored by Professional Turf Products.  

Following lunch, members were afforded additional time to interact with our vendor partners. We extend our sincere appreciation to the vendor partners who made the effort to attend and engage with our members, including VanWall Equipment, Envu, GreensPro, Redexim Turf Products, Harrell’s, Fehrmarket, Cortiva, SiteOne, Reinders, Advanced Turf Solutions, Syngenta, BASF, Viridity, and Precision Turf Products.

During the Annual Meeting, Jonathan Prange, CGCS, was reaffirmed for a second term as president; Kolby Armbruster was reaffirmed for a second term as vice president; and Melvin Waldron III, CGCS, was reaffirmed as secretary/treasurer.

As an additional note, I utilized Copilot to restructure my writing for a professional summary. This demonstrates that it is possible to acquire new skills regardless of experience.   

Yes old dogs can learn new tricks, but AI doesn’t like my folksy humor.  Mel