VOLUME XXVII, PART VI, J U L Y / A U G U S T 2 0 1 1 NEWSLETTER OF THE FLORIDA GOLF COURSE SUPERINTENDENTS ASSOCIATION Jitiures luPONT* GftiGCf IN • STAh Golf Ventures and the Champion Sponsors once again helped make the Envirotron Classic a big success with their annual $25,000 donation. On hand for the presentation were (l-r): Glenn Oberlander, Tournament Chairman, Dan Adams, Seven Rivers President, Walt McMahon and Debbie Nipper, Golf Ventures and Buddy Reid, Divsision Manager for Helena Chemical. This photo is also in tribute to Dan Adams, who despite fighting terminal cancer for several years stayed active and involved. He passed away shortly after the event on April 29, 2011. CALENDAR OF EVENTS JULY 5TH JULY 13TH CALUSA G C S A MONTHLY MEETING FLORIDA WEST COAST G C S A ROUNDTABLE NORTH FLORIDA G C S A ANNUAL MEETING FIDDLESTICKS DISCUSSION CIMARRONE GOLF CLUB JULY 2 0 T H CYPRESS RUN SEVEN RIVERS G C S A MONTHLY MEETING JULY 14TH RAINBOW SPRINGS PALM BEACH G C S A ANNUAL MEETING JULY 1 2 T H EASTPOINTE COUNTRY CLUB CENTRAL FLORIDA G C S A ANNUAL MEETING JULY 2 0 T H FLORIDA WEST COAST G C S A PRO/SUPER THE MAGNOLIA COURSE, WALT DISNEY WORLD SEVEN RIVERS G C S A MONTHLY MEETING TOURNAMENT AT CYPRESS RUN JULY 13TH RAINBOW SPRINGS JULY 2 5 T H JULY 2 8 T H SOUTH FLORIDA G C S A CHAPTER MEETING DORAL RESORT BLUE COURSE AUGUST 1ST AUGUST 4 T H EVERGLADES G C S A ANNUAL MEETING SUNCOAST G C S A BASEBALL TRIP WYNDEMERE C C TAMPA BAY RAYS PRESIDENT'S BY GARY / REPORT MYERS, \ C G C S As I write my last President's Message as President of the Florida Golf Course Superintendents Association, I think back on the past year. I began by stating that it was an honor to hold this position and how proud I was of our profession. Those facts have been bolstered over the past year. It was my goal to attend an event at all 11 Chapters around the state by the time I wrote this message. My prostate cancer and surgery affected my traveling ability and was only able to attend events at 3 Associations. I went bowling with the Ridge Chapter Members in November and had a great time. While their membership is small, they are a close knit and a terrific group. I played golf on a very chilly December day at Hyde Park Golf Course with the North Florida Gary Myers, CGCS Chapter. The Happy Hour prior to golf and the barbecue following were a lot of fun. I am a regular attendee at the Central Florida Events. I do have scheduled trips to the remaining Chapters over the next few the National Resort Category, weeks and still plan on attending an event at each Chapter. FGCSA Team #2 of Bob Harper, Jason Regan, Jim I would be remiss if I did not congratulate all award winners over the Torba and Deron Zendt, past year. Shane Bass, Distinguished Service Award recipient, Dr. John winners of the Team Gross Cisar, Marie Roberts Award recipient, Thomas Vlach, CGCS at TPC Championship at the GCSAA Sawgrass and Chris Flynn, CGCS at Marriott's Grande Vista Resort for Golf Tournament. I would being honored with Environmental Leaders in Golf Awards for 2010 in also like to congratulate 2 President's Award for Lifetime Service recipients. I will not mention their names here as I am not sure if they have been notified at the time this Green Sheet is sent out. Our own Robert Randquist, CGCS is now President of the Golf Course Editor: Financial Support: Superintendents Association This issue of the Green Sheet Joel Jackson, CGCS of America and we offer is being sponsored by: (407) 248-1971 (fax/phone) E-mail: FLGrn@aol.com whatever assistance is Golf Ventures needed by Bob. The FGCSA 5101 Gateway Blvd., Suite 18 News Coordinator: proudly nominated Darren Lakeland, FL 33811-2704 Jennifer Bryan 800-330-8874 PO Box 65 Davis for the office of Director 800-481-8911 Jensen Beach, FL 34958 of GCSAA. We wish him 888-222-7072 (772) 334-7515 good luck and also offer any (772) 334-6015 All material submitted for printing will E-mail :fgcsa@comcast.net assistance he may need. I be edited at the discretion of the editor. believe that it is very Material must be typed or clearly important for Florida to printed. Photos are encouraged. Items The Green Sheet is a bimonthly FGCSA Newsletter printed as follows: Jan/Feb, March/April, May/June, July/August, Sept./October, November/December. must be for the good of the association. Deadline next issue August 15. Continued on page 3... ...Continued from page 2 Calendar of Events continued from page 1 AUGUST 5 T H always have a presence on the GCSAA Board. F G C S A ANNUAL BOARD MEETING DISNEY'S OSPREY RIDGE We recently held a FGCSA Long Range Planning Committee Meeting to address the current health and future direction of our Association. For the second consecutive year, we are forecasting to lose money, around $36,000 this fiscal year. We have $150,000 in reserves to cover the loss but, obviously we must address the issue. There is no doubt that the economic downturn has affected our membership numbers as well as our advertising revenue. We are looking at options moving forward to address those issues. Joel Jackson, FGCSA Executive Director and Jennifer Bryan, FGCSA Manager are working diligently looking for revenue increases as well as expense savings and I would offer that they are doing a terrific job. If any of you have ideas or suggestions, please contact me, Jennifer or Joel. We are very close to finalizing a Golf Course BMP Certification Program. We have been putting together the test questions and are now ready to beta test the test. The plan is to roll a portion of it out at the Crowfoot Seminar on August 5 at Grand Cypress Resort. In closing, I would like to say it has been a privilege serving as President of the Florida Golf Course Superintendents Association. I wish the new President and new Board Members a hearty congratulations and Good Luck. • Marie Roberts congratulates Dr. John Cisar at the 2011 FGCSA Past Presidents dinner in Naples for being given her namesake award for Lifetime achievement for contributions to the FGCSA by person other than a superintendent. Cisar's decades of teaching and research have had an impact on all who manage turfgrass in Florida. AUGUST 5 T H - 6™ CENTRAL FLORIDA G C S A CROWFOOT OPEN; EDUCATION AND TOURNAMENT GRAND CYPRESS AUGUST 1 0 T H SEVEN RIVERS G C S A DAN ADAMS MEMORIAL BOWLING OUTING, OCALA AUGUST 1 8 T H CALUSA G C S A AND EVERGLADES G C S A JOINT MEETING COPPER LEAF SEPTEMBER 1 4 ™ - 1 6 ™ F T G A CONFERENCE AND SHOW P G A NATIONAL, PALM BEACH GARDENS SEPTEMBER 2 1 S T SEVEN RIVERS G C S A MONTHLY MEETING TBA SEPTEMBER 2 2 N D PALM BEACH G C S A AND SOUTH FLORIDA G C S A JOINT MEETING WYCLIFF GOLF & C C EXECUTIVE BY JOEL DIRECTOR'S JACKSON, REPORT C G C S On June 9th I attended an Ag Institute "Lunch and Learn" Session at the Strawberry Growers Association office in Plant City. It is part of a series of educational programs designed to help Ag and Green Industry members better communicate with the public, media, regulators and lawmakers. Back in March we had a session with folks from the media on how best to interact with them to get our stories out to balance the often sensationalized negative reports. Yesterday's session was titled, "Getting To The Point: Powerful Public Presentations" and dealt with tips on making those 2-3 minute presentations that are allowed in city council and county commission meetings on issues. On the panel were Hillsborough Commissioner Al Higgenbotham, SWFWMD Vice Chairman Hugh Grambling and Ralph Lair, Legislative Aide to State Representative Will Wetherford. I can summarize their tips and pointers in a few simple words and phrases. When it comes to actual getting up and speaking in a public meeting: (1) Be thoroughly prepared with your facts. (2) Don't attack the other side. (3) Practice and time your comments to boil them down to the key points to fit a 2-3 minute time limit. Mr. Higgenbotham reminded us that Lincoln's Gettysburg address was 250 words and took about two minutes to deliver, so it can be done. (4) Be passionate, but not emotional. The commissioners know the regulars who come and oppose everything all the time. They call them STP's - the Same Ten People. Numbers do count. Sometimes on real contentious issues they will "Govern to the room!" So if there's an overwhelming number in favor or against an issue, it might sway their vote to "go along to get along!" Not good government, but a reality nonetheless. All three of the presenters stressed these points. (1) Establish a relationship with the staff people. The council/commission members trust and rely on their expertise on issues. They also know which staff has "personal agendas", but they also know who the knowledgeable and hard workers are. So staff contacts are a must, and staff can help guide your travels through the government maze. (2) Establish a relationship with the commissioners. How many times has Mike Goldie counseled us to invite politicians to our meetings or events when they are out of session? I stopped counting. You don't have to strike up a "friendship" but having met and heard you in a less daunting setting than an official meeting, you are likely to be more at ease speaking to them in a presentation for the record when they already know you are a sincere and honest spokesman for your group. Phone calls, faxes, emails and letters do count according to these folks who know. While personal messages carry a little more weight than form letters, all are counted when assessing how the public feels on the issues. So always participate in those action alerts from the FGCSA and GCSAA on the issues and make sure your local chapter makes an effort to speak out. It does matter and can be the difference on the outcome of an issue. When I get the official write up and handout on all the tips from the meeting I will make copies for all the chapters. Legislative Update: No resolutions to the EPA NNC program yet. Ralph Dain and Chava McKeel of GCSAA are looking into where we stand and I will also be getting an update next month's Fla. Fertilizer and Agrichemical Association's Annual Meeting in Naples. Ordinances: Collier, Manatee and Martin Counties are pursuing their versions of more stringent fertilizer ordinances and Charlotte County wants to add a ban to their ordinance already passed following the model ordinance. The City of Tampa wants to do an ordinance with a ban also, while Hillsborough County passed the more reasonable Model Ordinance version a few months ago. On one bright note this week, the City of Marco Island voted not to have a ban on fertilizer use, while Collier County is pursuing one. In all these cases golf is exempted to following the Golf BMP Manual, which is why the FGCSA is pursuing a BMP certification program as Gary mentioned in his message. • MINUTES OF SPRING 2011 FGCSA BOARD MEETING The Spring 2011 Board Meeting of the FGCSA Board of Directors was called to order by President Gary Myers at 10:00 am, March 12, 2011 at Naples Golf and Beach Hotel. F.G.C.S.A. INDUSTRY PARTNERS Platinum Plus Golf Ventures The Torn Company Platinum Bayer Environmental Science John Deere Golf Harrell's LLC Howard Fertilizer & Chemical Co. Inc. Syngenta Tampa Bay Turf Management, Inc. Gold Agrium Advanced Technologies BRANDT Celebration® Bermudagrass Pasteuria Bioscience, Inc. Silver Winfield Solutions Professional Products Group Bronze Ragan Technical Solutions, Inc Southeastern Turfgrass Supply Thank you very much for your Support! Partnership Opportunities are available all year. Contact the FGCSA office: 800-732-6053 or fgcsa(d).comcast.net for details on the program All officers, with the exception of Immediate Past President Bill Kistler, were present. All Chapters were represented. The Chapter Representatives were: Calusa - Jim Foster, CGCS; Everglades - Bill Davidson; Central Florida - Gary Myers, CGCS; South Florida Ricky Reeves; Ridge - Mike Giddens; Seven Rivers - Mark Kann; West Coast - Kevin Sunderman; Treasure Coast -Bobby Wallace; Palm Beach - Steve Pearson, CGCS; Suncoast - Mark Todd; North Florida -Bob Coffey Others attending the meeting were: Jennifer Bryan, Association Manager; Joel Jackson CGCS - FGCSA Executive Director; Ralph Dain - GCSAA, Robert Randquist, CGCS - GCSAA President, Darren Davis Secretary, Everglades GCSA; Dale Keuhner, CGCS GCSAA Voting Delegate and Alberto Quevedo, CGCS - President, Everglades GCSA. Minutes of the FGCSA Winter 2011 Board Meeting were approved. Financial Statement - Nancy Miller presented the current financial statements. Jennifer will provide the Board with a yearly overview of the Morgan Stanley Account. Government Legislative/Regulatory Update 1. Legislative/Regulatory update: The House Bill 457 has passed out of the House and stalled in the Senate. However, House Ag Bill 7215 had similar fertilizer language and was passed. It gives sales authority to DACS but also grandfathers in the ordinances in effect before July 1, 2011. Capitol Visit: Bill Davidson, FGCSA Government Relations Chairman, Mark Kann, FGCSA Vice President and I along with Mike Goldie our political consultant had eight appointments with legislators or their aides in Tallahassee on March 22nd & 23rd to discuss the Florida Golf Industry's Economic and environmental impacts to the state. We left Continued on Page 7... Bob Coffey, NFGCSA President presented FGCSA President Gary Myers, CGCS with a $5,000 check for the FGCSA Research Account at the association's spring board meeting in Naples. The NFGCSA holds an annual Turf Research Tournament at the Pablo Creek Club each year to generate these proceeds. Steve Wright, CGCS from the Boca West G.C. is the 2011 Poa Annua Classic Champ. Steve shot a 74 to take top honors and be the first to qualify for the FGCSA Golf Team competing in the 2012 GCSAA Golf Championship in Palm Springs, CA. Members of the Treasure Coast Board and Blue Pearl Committee presented a $10,000 check to the Environmental Learning Center at the conclusion of the 2011 Blue Pearl Tournament held at the Red Stick Golf Club. TCGCSA members had the privilege of playing the last round of golf on the L93 bentgrass greens. Superintendent Scott Bell said the club was converting the greens to Champion ultradwarf this summer. ...Continued from page 5. each with a 26-page binder with summaries of the recent studies on those impacts and a few pages of bullet point facts about the FGCSA and Golf Facts. Two of the legislators were the folks who sponsored the Model Ordinance bills. Joel will work to compile a list of names for each local Chapter to include local politicians in which chapters should be communicating. EPA's Numeric Nutrient Criteria: Congress is battling EPA and the State of Florida's lawsuits are still pending to halt the NNC from being implemented, which is generating lots of negative media stories. Local Fertilizer Ordinances: Some counties on the verge of enacting ordinances are taking a pause until the state model ordinance debate is over in Tallahassee. Collier County continues its discussions on their ordinance with more Environmental Advisory Committee meetings being held. Bill Davidson can give us an on the spot report of the progress. NPDES: Some progress appears to be made in not including traditional terrestrial pesticide application in EPA's sweeping effort to implement a burdensome permitting program for the application of all pesticides "near" a body of water. Congress has come down in favor of having applicators follow approved FIFRA guidelines and not let this alteration of the Clean Water Act to take precedence over FIFRA regulations. 2. Water: The South Florida WMD has enacted a Phase I Modified Water Restriction for Golf Courses. All restricted water users are mandated to cut back by 15% and submit weekly pumpage reports on Mondays before noon. Courses using reclaimed water are not affected except if they supplement with ground water. Then that portion is also subject to the 15% cutback. 3. Association News: Joel is participating in bi-weekly telephone conference calls with members of the Ag/Green Industries to stay on top of the urban fertilizer issues with emphasis on communications and responses to media stories, local government activity. Core Message from Tallahassee helps craft letters to the editor; arrange editorial board meetings and media interviews as needed. EPA Regulator Tour: Led by Tim Hiers, a group of EGCSA members, Todd Lowe of the USGA, and Joel Jackson escorted a group of Federal, Region 4 and State regulators around the Old Collier GC on March 21 st as part of the annual Spring Regulator Tour hosted by the Florida Fruit & Vegetable Association. FFAA Letter - Joel presented to the Board a letter penned by the Florida Retail Association to the Governor in support of HB7125. The board voted to endorse the letter. Publications - Advertising revenue continues to decline. Jennifer and Joel will work closely with the long range Planning Committee to help come up with long term revenue generating ideas. The Industry Partnership Program is doing well, but it is still too early to gauge its success. Jennifer will provide a breakdown of advertisers; actual numbers, ad size, etc. to the Board and Long range Planning Committee. Education Committee - Jim Shafer presented to the Board a list of upcoming educational opportunities. Please remember to forward your chapter's events to Jim. Membership Membership renewals are just around the corner. Jennifer will work with Cybergolf over the next few weeks to get dues renewals available on-line. Credit card payments will also be accepted for those chapters that currently send dues renewals through the state. Look for these things to be up by mid June. Those chapters that would like for the state to collect dues need to get their updated membership applications to Jennifer as soon as possible. Reception - The Reception in Orlando went extremely well. All the dollars that were raised went to the Reception; a special thank you to our sponsors who make the event possible. The on-line RSVP process really helped in providing an accurate headcount. Jennifer has begun looking for a venue in Las Vegas with an expected attendance close to 500. Education - Jim Shaffer provided a listing of current education opportunities around the state. Research - Steve Pearson presented to the Board a research proposal by Dr. Kentworthy. The Board approved $20,000 to help fund the study Benevolent Fund - Mark Kann presented to the Board an applicant for assistance by the benevolent fund. The applicant's request was approved and the FGCSA Benevolent Fund will provide $2,000 in assistance. GCSAA Update - Ralph Dain was pleased to report to the board that he passed the exam to administer BMP Certification. He will continue to work with the Crowfoot as a target date to roll out the BMP Certification Exam. Since 2007, the GCSAA has seen an increase in membership this first quarter; up 1%. Rounds of golf are also improving. There has been a lot of positive feedback about the GIS; vendors and participants have been pleased with the new set up. The GCSAA has also added three new field staff positions and hope to have two more in place by the end of the year. The 2012 GCSAA Board nomination deadline is July 5th. Darren Davis New Business informed the Board of his intent and willingness to run for a seat on the GCSAA Board of Directors. The Board unanimously supported his decision to run and will provide its full support. LRP - Gary Myers will collaborate with interested participants from the Board to establish a Long Range Planning Meeting and will schedule the first initial conference call within the next couple of weeks. The meeting was adjourned at 12:45pm. The Summer 2011 Board Meeting will be held at 9:00am at Osprey Ridge golf Course on August 5th. Breakfast will be served at 8:00 am. • FGCSA Jennifer Bryan PO Box 65 Jensen Beach, Florida 34958 Prsrt Std U.S. Postage PAID West Palm Beach, FL S8 P5*************MIXED ADC 320 COOKINGHAM PETER TURFGRASS INFORMATION CENTER MSU: W-212 LIBRARY EAST LANSING MI 48824 Permit #611 Lakeland: 800-330-8874 jf Jupiter: 888-222-7072 Golf Ventures is proud to again be a Presenting Sponsor for the FTGA 59 th Annual Conference & Show being held at PGA National Resort and Spa. Palm Beach Gardens September 13th-16th, 2011 The Annual Conference and Show is the ideal venue for all Florida Turfgrass professionals, the businesses they support and other industry leaders to come together to discuss and address issues that impact the industry's future. Please join us and let's make 2011 a great year for the FTGA Conference & Show at PGA National Resort and Spa.