chips %puns OFFICIAL PUBLICATION OF THE Founded in POCONO TURFGRASS ASSOCIATION TURFGRASS A SSO CIA TIO N 1936 VOL. 6, NO. 6 AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2000 PROFESSIONAL IS AS PROFESSIONAL DOES the previously described characteristics. “I get no respect,” whines Rodney Dangerfield. As medical laboratory personnel, Professionalism may or may not denote some we often harbor this same feeling. W e are degree of higher formal education: Some chastised by physicians when an analyzer has form ally educated individuals do not behave been down all morning and the results of their professionally; conversely, some individuals with laboratory requests are not complete when they little or no formal education are professional in ----------------------------ineed them, harassed by As many definitions nurses when “the lab lost many respects. Professionalism, therefore, is not defined by the degrees we possess or what of professionalism the blood specimen,” and we know, but by what we do and how we act. reprimanded by patients exist as there are when we awaken them at Broadcasting our professionalism has little people to define 4:00 AM to obtain a timed meaning to those we may be trying to impress if blood glucose level. It... they do not see us behaving professionally. W e have to look within ourselves for change. Only Laboratory personnel are then can we try to change their perception of us. prime candidates for such encounters. Because To accomplish this, we must focus our efforts on we are often isolated in the facility’s basement where other health care staff members cannot getting rid of the ‘ old baggage” related to ourselves and our profession. see the work we do, it may be easy to imagine that we are idle, instead of rapidly processing s p e c im e n s and m aking m e a n in g fu l Increasing Our Public Visibility. W e must contributions to the work of the health care refrain from pitying ourselves and viewing our team. work as the “unseen profession.” For better or worse, this common perception is changing with How can medical laboratory personnel loosen the current shortage of technologists and the bonds of isolation and lack of technicians. Increased public visibility w ill be not understanding by our fellow health care only necessary to improve our image, but w ill be workers? How can we be treated like the a deciding factor for the next generation of professionals we are? How do we gain respect? laboratory personnel. Although the m ajority of laboratory personnel may prefer little or no As many definitions of professionalism exist as patient contact—one of the reasons some of us there are people to define it, but many of the (Continued on page 3) same defining characteristics surface tim e after time. For example, a specific demeanor, a certain knowledge level, and pride in one’s work may be characteristic of professionalism. Efficiency, proficiency, and creativity are also important attributes of a professional. Recall Patterson Scholarship Info your most recent encounter with someone Meeting Results whom you b e l ie v e d e m o n s t r a te d professionalism. Regardless of whether it was Fall Cleaning at the grocery store, dry cleaners, or work, that person probably demonstrated one or more of President’s M esag.. OFFICERS As many of you know, this past July Mr. Bill Lansdowne, C.G.C.S., passed away quite unexpectedly. Hopefully, you read the tribute in the last Chips & and Putts issue. This letter was sent to all Country Club of Scranton DIRECTORS members soon after his departure. The letter was given to me by Andy Davidson, a form er employee of ours. Andy was fortunate enough to spend TURFGRASS the past few years working for Bill at C.C. of S. He had expressed to me ASSOCIATION 2000 many tim es over the past few years the amount of respect his staff and the members at Scranton had fo r Bill. Bill was a major influence in developing this Association and the Chips and Putts newsletter. We as a Board of Directors extend our condolences to his fam ily and friends. PRESIDENT W e have not had a President’s message in a few issues, and with that I Ron Garrison, CGCS would like to thank our past months hosts for being generous enough to allow Fox Hill Country Club us to come onto their property and play their courses: July Meeting - Stonehedge G olf Course. Thanks, Dan Kenia. W e must also VICE PRESIDENT thank Scott Andre for picking up over 50% of the tab. The Kenia’s set the Gene Huelster course up great for us and were great hosts as always. W e hope to come Pocono Farms Country Club back again next year. August Meeting/Clambake - Pocono Farms. Thanks, Gene Huelster. I was SECRETARY/TREASURER fortunate enough to be on the winning team. I have to thank my teammates, Tony Grieco, CGCS Tony Grieco, John Chassard and Kelly Kressler. Thanks for putting up with Silver Creek Country Club me for the day. Gene, you did a great jo b .. .a real homerun of a day! September Meeting - Mountain Valley. Thanks Bob Kaufman. DIRECTORS Unfortunately, Mother Nature did not cooperate with us and only a few daring Jason J. Barndt souls attempted to brave the conditions. Many thanks must be extended to Berwick G olf Club the entire staff that worked things out for all those attending. Thanks to Mr. Terry Laurent for his fine talk and slide presentation. Darrin M. Batisky See you at the next meeting! Glen Oak Country Club Jim MacLaren Turf Partners, Inc. From the Editor’s Desk,...... Mark Eisele Country Club at Woodloch Springs As the editor of Chips & Putts, I have been given this honor with not a lot of thought put into it on my part. But a seriousness about this job bestowed John Downer upon me is existent. And I apologize for not getting Chips & Putts out to the Elkview Country Club membership in a tim ely fashion. No excuses, but by day I have a paying job and by night I am a father, husband and friend. It’s a tough situation that Gary Phillips most of us struggle with, trying to juggle job, fam ily, association, and Racqueteers Sports Complex personal matters. But it is one that with some more effort I know can get done. W ell, I guess what I’m getting to is that improvement on my part is and w ill happen. I got involved with the PTGA because I fe lt that I would not CHIPS & PUTTS STAFF complain unless I was willing to do something about it. So basically I’m here EDITOR to see this through and improvement is at hand. W hat I ‘m asking from you, Darrin Batisky as a member, is help. Help by letting me know what your thoughts, ideas and observations are about Chips & Putts and how you can help me to Managing Editor, improve it. As with any thing related to this Association, it is here for the Melinda Wisnosky members. So please take some tim e out of your day to contact me with your R.R. 1, Box 219 thoughts. Harding, PA 19643 As always, we try to give you, the reader, tim ely information and “food for 570-388-2889 thought” so that you may reflect upon your daily management efforts on the Fax: 570-388-2167 golf course. The lead article does the aforementioned in a number of different ways. Please read and enjoy! Darrin Batisky EDITORIAL COMMITTEE Jim MacLaren Tony Grieco, CGCS (Continued from p a g e I) remain in the profession as long as we do—this kind of isolation can prove detrimental. When decision makers don’t know us or what we really do, it is easy for them to decide our fates, a prime example being the current federal agency regulations, such as the Clinical > NOVARTIS Laboratory Improvement Amendments of 1988. Although their John D. Fowler Novartis Crop Protection, Inc. intent—to improve the quality of health care— is commendable, the T u rf a n d O r n a m e n t a l 3 2 5 M ill P o n d L a n e current regulation are so extensive that they may prove stressful (for Sr. M a r k e tin g S p e c ia lis t O x fo rd , PA 1 9 3 6 3 w w w .c p .n o v a rtis .c o m personnel) and financially impractical for some laboratories to Tel 610 998 2896 implement. Fax 8 0 0 3 3 4 9 4 8 1 E x t 5 8 9 9 Fax 6 1 0 9 9 8 2 8 9 7 jo h n .fo w le r@ c p .n o v a rtis .c o m Increasing Pride in Our Work. W e must undergo a metamorphosis—that is, change our attitudes from, “I don’t know. I just work in the laboratory,” to, “I don’t have that information, but I’ll be happy to find the answer and get back to you.” Medical laboratory personnel are highly trained and knowledgeable people. At times, however, we choose to conceal this knowledge and consequently lose it as tim e passes. Medical laboratory personnel are trained to think and act analytically and logically. W e are investigative by nature. Discrepant laboratory results are always reviewed in the context of other diagnostic information. W e perform many quality assurance steps that are taken for granted. We should take pride that our knowledge is always useful. Maintaining a Professional Image. The perpetuation of the “unprofessional” myth may be difficult to overcome for some, yet easy for others. If we work below established performance standards or below our customer’s expectations, or don’t take pride in our tasks each day, then we are less than professional. It might be helpful to remember that it is often small things, such as poor phone etiquette, that produce major negative consequences and prevent us form appearing to be the professional that we believe we are. Improving Our Skills and Knowledge. To be considered professional, we must challenge ourselves to review seriously our behavior as medical laboratory personnel. We should accept personal responsibility for maintaining our immense knowledge base. In these tim es of change, we should be flexible, not waiting for change to occur and overwhelm us, but facilitating its occurrence. We must envision our goals as medical laboratory personnel and propose a model of how to achieve them. Changes in external recognition and respect must begin with internal recognition and respect. This is determined not so much by what we say as by what we do. Although it won’t happen overnight, we can obtain the recognition we so strongly desire and deserve by looking within ourselves. It just might be tim e for us to get busy! PHILADELPHIA TURF COMPANY Article taken from December, 1992 issue o f LABORATORY 4049 LAN DISVILLE ROAD, BOX 865 MEDICINE and is written by Freda S. Brown, M. T. (ASCP). DOYLESTOWN, PA 18901-0865 OFFICE 215-345-7200 FAX 215-345-8132 MATTHEW W. BROWN GEORGE J. SKAWSKI, JR. Commercial Products Irrigation Products Voice Mail Voice Mail 215-340-5401 215-340-5450 TO R O , MAKE THE MOST OF E-MAIL I Century Rain A id I Communicating via e-mail is so easy that it can lead to sloppy habits. Manage Featuring email efficiently with these techniques: Keep it simple. Lim it e-m ails to plain text unless others request graphic data that requires advanced form atting. Sending slow-to-download files can also Rotors • Valves • Central Control Systems 8 0 0 -3 4 7 -4 2 7 2 irritate recipients. File e-mails. A fter you read incoming e-mails, archive them in designated mailboxes on your PC. Label them for ready reference later. Warning: Don’t assume you need a hard copy of every e-mail; printing each message wastes tim e and paper. N a t u r a l O rg a n ic P r o d u c t s Check messages regularly. Establish a daily routine to scan incoming e- Joel Simmons mail, and tell colleagues and clients when they can expect your reply. Exam­ ple: Promise to check e-mail before 9 a.m., at lunch and before heading P.O. Box 278K 6574 S. Delaware Drive www.soilfirst.com Fax: 6 1 0 -2 5 0 -7 8 4 0 home. Martins Creek, PA 18063 Phone: 6 1 0 -2 5 0 -9 5 6 0 8 0 0 -7 3 2 -T U R F Maintain a professional tone. E-m ail’s inform ality can be a curse if you share inappropriate jokes or write im pulsive comments. Rule of thumb: Before sending your message, imagine it w ill appear on the front page of your organi­ zation’s internal newsletter. GOLF CARS INC. LEASING * SALES • SERVICE PAUL SZYM ANSKI SALES Source: Communication Briefings, as adapted from Leadership for the Front 4 1 8 0 S K YR O N DRIVE B U C K IN G H A M , PA 18 912-024 7 Lines, Bureau o f Business Practice, (800) 243-0876. 215-340-0880 OFFICE «215-340-1634 FAX TURF 1 REFRESH YOUR TEAM Sometimes, you’ll find that simply removing team members from their usual routines will unleash their energy and creativity. For example: One morning, many Hewlett-Packard team members awoke to find “subpoenas” under their ElECTOC ttSOUf doors. They were summoned to “jury duty” that day instead of to their usual TURF 272 duties. The company had planned an elaborate “trial” to determine the fate of its new business plan. One team of employees argued against the plan, while another group de­ flASOUPK fended it. A third group sat in the “jury box.” After each side made its argu­ ment in a two-day trial, the jury reached a decision, and every employee pres­ ent returned to work excited and talking about the company’s new direction. Carryall Turf 1001 Ways To Energize Employees, Bob Nelson. Workman Publishing, 708 Broadway, NY 10003. p l a y to wln~ f> ^S IT’S TIME FOR FALL CLEANING! Are your filing cabinets stuffed so full that it’s difficult .0 Are there any tax or legal implications? to retrieve and file papers? If you’re like 80 percent of W Here’s where “just in case” works. Unfortunately, the people in the audiences to whom I speak, your an­ we’re frequently required to resurrect paper that swer is “Yes.” Are there things in your filing cabinet we’d much rather forget. Sometimes, having out- you could probably throw out? Once again, most an- dated information in your files can create unneces- swer, “Yes.” So what’s the problem? ^ sary problems. A client of mine was sued. When Certainly, a major stumbling block is time. Some the company’s files were subpoenaed, the prose­ may say cleaning out the filing cabinet won’t make you cuting attorney found my client’s unsigned contract pro­ money. My response is, “Really?” Research shows the aver­ posal and used it to prove wrongful intent. My client lost age person spends 150 hours each year looking for mis­ the suit and had to pay $147,000. Had the files been placed information. W hat would happen to your bottom line properly cleaned, I don’t believe that would have hap­ if you added that tim e to getting new customers or selling pened. new products or services to old customers? Frequently people say to me, “It never fails. Every tim e I If you answered “No” to all the above questions, but are throw out something, I need it the next day." To which I re­ still uncomfortable throwing something away, ask one ply, “Can you give me an example?” Mostly I get silence. last question: Determine whether you want to keep each piece of paper at all by asking yourself these “Art of Wastebasketry” ques­ What is the worst possible thing that could happen tions: if I didn’t have this information? If you can live with your answer, toss it and live hap­ Does this require any action on mv part? pily ever after. For years, I have orchestrated “File Just because you receive information, even if it’s from Clean-Out Days” with companies. I used to live in fear your boss, you don’t necessarily need to keep it! If it doesn’t that someone would come back to me afterward with a require action, file it or toss it right away! If it’s just an FYI, horror story of something we threw out and they needed read it and toss. later. In 20 years, it’s never happened! Does this exist elsewhere? Recently, a woman told me that one of the big frustra­ Is it in the library? Do you know an expert on the subject tions in her advertising company was staff spending who’d be certain to have more complete information if you tim e looking for materials from previous projects. I sug­ really needed it? Is the original filed elsewhere? Is it neces­ gested a plan. Why not establish a company policy: sary to keep a hard copy if it already exists in the computer? “W e keep client materials for three years.” At the end of each year, you send a letter to the client saying, “We Is this information recent enough to be useful? have the following materials from the project we did to­ Today, information becomes outdated very quickly. W ould gether. Our policy is to keep client materials for three you want a customer to decide whether or not to choose your years. If we don’t hear from you in 60 days, the materi­ services based on a three-year-old brochure? The informa­ als w ill be destroyed.” tion in a six-month-old magazine article about computer soft­ W hat’s the worst possible thing that could happen? I ware has undoubtedly been superseded, as has a down­ can think of three possibilities: (1) You won’t waste loaded product review from an online service. In many valuable tim e looking for something that brings back cases, it is more appropriate to keep track of the source of nothing to the company; (2) Your policy makes you look the information, so you can get the latest version, rather than very professional; (3) Your letter reminds the client of keeping the information itself. your availability, and you get a new contract! Who says using your wastebasket doesn’t make money? Can I identify specific circumstances when I’d use this information? Usually, “just in case” is not good enough! Files labeled Barbara Hemphill is president o f Hemphill & Associates, “Miscellaneous” are of little value, because there’s nothing to Inc. in Raleigh, North Carolina, and author of: “Taming trigger you to look there. If you can’t identify how you’d use the Paper Tiger at Home,” “Taming the Paper Tiger at the information, at least well enough that you can file it for Work, ” and “Simplify Your Workday." future reference, it’s unlikely you’d remember you have it, let alone be able to find it later. P*p 6 PATTERSON SCHOLARSHIP I Lee A. Kozsey I Senior Territory Sales Lead W e are now accepting applications for the Pat­ terson Scholarship. This scholarship is awarded Zeneca Professional Products annually, the recipient chosen is awarded $500 and given 3710 Amherst Court Bethlehem, PA 18020-1356 honorary membership to the Pocono Turfgrass Association. Telephone (610) 861-8174 Mobile (610)730-9185 Fax (610) 882-9358 The requirements for consideration are: E-mail lee kozseyOAGNA Zeneca.com Voice Mail (888) 875-9990, X0163 ZENECA A business unit of ZENECA Inc. ♦ Applicant must be a second year student in a two-year program, or a fourth year student in an undergraduate program in a tu rf related major. ♦ Applicant must submit in writing why he/she feels that Steve Chirip Territory Manager he/she should be considered for the scholarship. ♦ Applicant must include what he or she feels his/her con­ EGYPT FARMS, INC. tribution to the turfgrass field w ill be. U F A fttfs J I 8754 Country Place Drive Tobyhanna, Pennsylvania 18466 ♦ Applicant must submit a letter of endorsement from his/ her employer in the turfgrass field. This endorsement Phone: 410-335-3700 Mobile/Pager 443-255-6471 may come from an employer from an internship pro­ Home/Office 570-894-3133 gram. ♦ Applicant’s request for consideration and his or her em­ ployer endorsement must be submitted together on or before January 1st, 2001. S ir ftp lo t ♦ Applicants requesting consideration for the Patterson S im p io t Scholarship should send requests to: SIMPLOT TURF & HORTICULTURE The Pocono Turfgrass Association S IM P L O T P A R T N E R S JIM MacLAREN 33 Fawn Drive BUS 570/443-7154 FAX 570/443-7015 S A L E S R E P R E S E N T A T IV E Drums, PA. 18222 M O B IL E 5 7 0 /6 5 0 -4 9 8 2 PA G E R 5 7 0 /9 7 8 -5 6 4 9 jmaclaren ©simplotpartners.com Any questions Please call Jason Barndt at: (570) 759-6480. Nothing Runs Like A Deere KOON Z KOONZ Sprinkler Supply, Inc. D A LE ANDREW No on knows irrigation like Koonz „ A ESD FINCH TURF EQUIPMENT, INC. Service: (215) 661-0390 800 - 772-8486 419 Industrial Drive (800) 875-TURF North Wales, PA 19454 FAX: (215) 661-9161 Web Site: www.flnchinc.com PARTS: (800) 78-DEERE KA/N ^bn/RD WvW Waste Water Treatment onEENRELEAF. & Recycling System It’s every player’s responsibility... * Layout and Design * Typesetting * Mac/IBM desktop publishing interface * Laser color separations ■ Repair ball marks * Scitex® electronic photo retouching * Full electronic prepress services ■ Replace or fill divots 31 Hill Street, P.0. Box 507 Wilkes-Barre, PA 18703-0507 * Foil stamping, embossing ■ Rake bunkers 570-822-8181 * Complete bindery including FAX: 570-823-3579 saddlestitch and perfect binding A message from your golf course superintendent and GCSAA P * 'f WINNERS OF JULY MEETING STONEHEDGE G.C. (Better Bali of Partners) N o r t h Pnfai e r n N u r s e r ie s , i n c tonal TurfProducts f t u « émàJlâÊâiâkamÊÊm^  First Flight RT 115, Sullivan Trail Wind Gap, PA 18091 P h o n e : (610) 863-6006 1st Gene Huelster/Bob Brown Fax: (610) 863-6384 2nd Mike Tellip/Chet Zelazny DAN FICK (610) 562-6812 3rd Shawn Kavelski/Rich Godovin Sales R epr ese nt at ive Pager (610) 791-8336 Second Flight 1st Matt Brown/Tom Huttie JOHN M. BODOCK 2nd Ron Lee/John Bodock 3rd Jack Bird/Ron Tugend Lawn and Golf Supply Co., Inc. S pe c ia l ist s In e q u ip m e n t a n d S u p p l ie s F o r M a in t en a n c e O f t u r f Closest to the Pin Longest Drive PHONE: (6 1 0 ) 933-5801 (8 0 0 ) 362-5650 647 NUTT RD. P.O. BOX 447 #4 Gary Phillips #2 Rich Gdovin FAX: (6 1 0 )9 3 3 -8 8 9 0 PHOENIXVILLE. PA. 19460 #10 Mike Tellip WINNERS OF AUGUST MEETING (CLAM BAKE ) POCONO FARMS C.C. (Captain & Crew Format) First Flight 1st 59 - John Chassard/Ron Garrison/Tony Grieco/Kelly Kressler 2nd 62 - Chris Butler/Gino Schneider/John W einperl/Randy Israel Second Flight 1st 68 - Pete Beblavy/Tony Bluis/Dick Babyak/Joe Nemeth 2nd 68 - Charles LaBar/Rich Anglemyer/Ralph DePaul/Bill Englert Closest to the Pin Longest Drive #8 D.J. Chapman #13 Tom W einert #11 D.J. C hapm an Shaun M. Barry Ed Z im m e rm a n Aventis Sales Representative Market Sales Representative I E SC O CHIPCO* Professional Products L E S C O , Inc. 1121 Lehigh Street Aventis Environm ental Science Allentown, PA 1133 Rt. # 2 7 18103 Somerset, NJ 08873 800.321.5325 V.M. 6284 Tel. (732) 846-8173 610.432.2919 Office Fax (732) 846-8113 e-mail: Shaun.Barry@aventis.com PA? 8 POCONO ROUNDUP NEWS AND VIEWS FROM THE POCONO S k y - B it TURFGRASS ASSOCIATION Sky-Bit (aka Dennis W atkins) is developing modeling in­ form ation for Microdchium nivale (fusarium patch/pink snow mold). If you have confirmed cases of this disease Congratulations! problem, we would like to hear from you. Specific dates at your site within the last five (5) years in which this dis­ ...to Pete Coughlin and his wife Sharon on the birth of Ashley ease was documented would be helpful in our data devel­ Bryn (6 lbs., 13 oz.) opment. Please contact us at 1-800-454-2266 if you and... would like to participate in this effort. Your help w ill lead Ryna Rockovits and his wife Suzzane on the birth of Brynne to an additional model in our Turfsite IPM service. Thank Hayley (7 lbs, 13 oz.) you. Also... Congratulations to.. Condolences to: Charlie Kitchnefsky, Elmhurst Country Club. He took the big W e would like to express our deepest sympathies to Tom step into marriedhood! W ilchak on the loss of his father. Our thoughts are with you. POCONO TURFGRASS ASSOCIATION c/o MELINDA WISNOSKY POSTAGE R.R. 1, BOX 219 HARDING, PA 18643 TURFGRASS ASSOCIATION DOUGLAS J. BOWMAN HUNTSVILLE GOLF CLUB 147 HAYFIELD ROAD SHAVERTOWN, PA 18708 ADDRESS CORRECTION REQUESTED.