VOLUME XVI. PART 1. JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2000
NEWSLETTER OF THE FLORIDA GOLF COURSE SUPERINTENDENTS ASSOCIATION

UPCOMING EVENTS
Jan. 7

Lake City Comm. College Fundraiser, Gulf Harbor GC

Jan. 10 Central Florida Research Tournament, Interlachen GC.
Dr. Pat Cobb, speaker
Jan. 11 Ridge GCSA chapter meeting, Grenelefe Resort
Jan. 12 North Florida chapter meeting, Duval County
Extension Office. Dr. Pat Cobb, speaker.
Jan. 12 Palm Beach chapter A & B only night meeting,
Emerald Dunes GC. Dale Kuehner, PDI speaker.
Jan. 12 Seven Rivers chapter meeting, Links at Spruce Creek
FTGA Pesticide Seminars: Jan. 11- Lake Worth;
Jan. 12 - Ft Myers, Jan. 19 - Tampa; Jan. 21- Sanford;
Feb. 2 - North Florida; Feb. 3 - Milton.
Jan. 13 Everglades IFAS seminar, Wyndemere G&CC, Naples
Jan. 24 Calusa chapter meeting, Coral Oaks GC. Dr. Pat Cobb.
Jan. 24 Suncoast chapter meeting, Bradenton CC
Jan. 25 West Coast chapter meeting, Eastlake Woodlands CC
Jan. 26 Treasure Coast chapter meeting, Willoughby CC, Stuart.
Speaker: Dr. Pat Cobb
Feb. 15 Asst. Supt. seminar, Indian River College, Port St. Lucie
Feb. 14-20 GCSAA 71st Convention, New Orleans
Feb. 18 FGCSA Reception, Hilton Hotel, New Orleans
Feb. 22 CFGCSA Supt/Vendor Tournament, Deltona Hills
Feb. 29 West Coast chapter meeting, Largo CC
Mar. 13 Ridge Invitational Tournament, Grasslands
Mar. 16 SFGCSA Expo, University of Florida, Ft. Lauderdale
Mar. 23 Overseed Field Day, University of Florida, Gainesville

Gary Grigg, CGCS, MG, will be awarded the 2000 GCSAA
Distinguished Service Award during the Opening Session
of the GCSAA Conference in New Orleans on Wednesday,
February 16th.
Gary is a Past President of the GCSAA and continues to
serve on several committees for the association. Gary moved
to Florida in 1993 to become superintendent at Naples
National GC. In 1995 he began his current position as
superintendent at Royal Poinciana GC in Naples. He currently serves on the FGCSA Board of Directors as External
Vice President for the Everglades chapter.

President's Message

President's Message
by Darren Davis
For most Florida golf courses the busy winter golfing season is in full swing. Every
tee time is booked for weeks in advance,
the golf car traffic is so abundant that tracks
are being made in your fairways, and our
staif cannot seem to get anything done between the multiple shotgun starts. If that
was not enough, it seems all of the hard
work that was accomplished this summer,
the 60-70 hour workweeks chock-full of
special projects, renovations, and cultural
practices, seems to be going unnoticed and
unappreciated. Unfortunately, what is not
going unnoticed by some golfers are the
single missing tee towel on hole #3 and the
broken rake in the bunker at #12 green!
Then there is the pro shop staff! Well, we

won't go there. It is enough to drive a Golf
Course Superintendent crazy isn't it?
So what do we do? Drink? Quit? Cry? Or
maybe, we escape into seclusion in our
office where we can attempt to hide from
our sorrows. Well, drinking is not the answer since it is obviously not good for our
health. Maybe quitting is the answer. Well,
that won't work either, there are the kids
and that mortgage we are still paying on.
We could always cry. Hummmm! Well, I
guess grown men don't cry. So, the easy
route seems to be becoming a hermit in
our office. That solution almost seems too
easy but as you know, this is NOT the answer to the problem either.
Many of our golf courses are somewhat
seasonal and although it is sometimes pain-

Darren Davis

GREEN SHEET
Green Sheet Editor:
Joel Jackson, CGCS
(407) 248-1971 (fax/phone)
e-mail: FLGrn@aol.com
News Coordinator:
Mrs. Marie Roberts
1760 NW Pine Lake Drive
Stuart, FL 34994
(561) 692-9349. Fax: 692-9654.
(800) 732-6053 (Florida Wats)
e-mail: fgcsa@tcol.net
The Green Sheet is published bimonthly.
All material submitted for printing will be
edited at the discretion of the editor.
Material must be typed or clearly printed.
Photos are encouraged. Items must be for
the good of the association.
Financial Support:
The Green Sheet is sponsored by:
Golf Ventures
2101 E Edgewood Dr.
Lakeland, FL 33803
800-330-8874
800-481-8911
Deadline next issue: February 15.

2

FGCSA Board of Directors:
Darren Davis
President:
941-353-4441
Cary Lewis, CGCS
Vice President:
727-894-5500.
Geoff Coggan, CGCS
Sec/Treasurer:
407-269-5004
Michael Perham, CGCS
Past President:
561-642-2724
Mike Mongoven,CGC S
Calusa GCSA:
941-278-7281
Brett Harris
Central Florida:
407-826-5362
Doug Abbuhl
Coastal Plains:
850-576-7975
Gary Grigg, CGCS
Everglades:
941-261-4987
Ed Neuman
North Florida:
352-473-0089
David Court, CGCS
Palm Beach:
561-482-5017
Roy Wilshire, CGCS
Ridge:
941-688-3863
Buddy Keene
Seven Rivers:
352-376-8174
Jim Goins
South Florida:
954-433-1725
John VanVranken
Suncoast:
941-776-2364
Craig Weyandt
Treasure Coast:
561-283-0199
Eric Joy
West Coast:
727-938-6435

ful, this is the time of year when the cliche
"stand up and be heard (and seen)" truly is
noble advice for Golf Course Superintendents. Even if you are at a public golf
course or resort course and your play is
more constant year round, public relations
is part of the job description for the professional Golf Course Superintendent. So,
when the pro-shop adds two additional tee
times before the original 7 am starting time,
or when Mrs. Jones spends a half an hour
searching for you to tell you about the
scalped plug on #5 green, it is important to
try and stay positive and, equally important, stay visible.
I know that nothing I am writing is earth
shattering or new for anyone who has been
in the business for awhile but sometimes
we all need a little reminder. Several of my
peers have already approached me this
winter and said their members seem especially grumpy this season. They added, "It
is tough sometimes to keep a positive attitude." Yes, it is tough but why not try and
seek out that one member that will give you
a pat on the back and say "job well done".
It may take you driving all 18 holes of the
golf course but sometimes knowing you
made even just one person happy makes it
all worthwhile.
I hope that everyone had a great holiday
and I wish you the best in 2000.

The Green Sheet

Director of Communications Report

What's Up D.O.C.
by Joel Jackson
1. Government Relations
Congratulations to Gary Grigg, CGCS, MG
for being named the recipient of GCSAA's
Distinguished Service Award for Y2K.
Gary was nominated by the Everglades
GCSA this past August 1999. Gary will
receive his award at the GCSAA Conference in New Orleans in February.
Congratulations are also in order to the
following FGCSA members who were announced as winners of GCSAA's Environmental Steward Awards for 2000. They are:
Chapter Winners:
Geri Buccheit, Killearn Country Club, Tallahassee. Florida GCSA. Private clubs.
Merit Winners:
* Barry Greenwalt, Ironwood Municipal
Golf Course, Gainesville. Florida GCSA.
Public courses.
* Charles "Buddy" Keene II, Gainesville
Country Club, Gainesville. Florida GCSA.
Private clubs.
* Donald Johnson, Garra De Leon Golf
Course, Santa Cruz, Costa Rica. Florida.
Resort clubs. (Donald is an At Large Member of the FGCSA).
2. Education
Continuing education, the life blood of successful superintendents, will be in abundance in 2000 as the Florida Turfgrass Association hosts six regional seminars in
West Palm Beach, Ft. Myers, Tampa,
Sanford, Jacksonville and Milton, FL. The
71st GCSAA Conference and Show will
offer another full slate of over 100 seminars in New Orleans, February 14 -20, and
the FGCSA teams up with the FTGA again
in August for the FTGA Conference and
Show in Gainesville, August 14-17. There
will also be GCSAA Regional Seminars
scheduled during 2000 and of course grass
roots education is available at your local
chapter monthly meetings.
3. Government Relations
A.The U. S. Environmental Protection
Agency's mandated review of all organophosphates continued with the recent review of Dursban. The fate of Dursban afJanuary/February 2000

ter a 60 day public comment period, which
just ended December 27, 1999 will probably set the tone for the future of pesticide
evaluations under FQPA. The entire pesticide user community (including Florida superintendents) was urged to send their comments on Dursban to EPA. It now remains
to be seen if facts, science and reason will
be victorious over politics and activism.
B. The Southwest Florida Water Management District continues to push for very
stringent and restrictive uses of nitrates in
their jurisdiction. Local government planners, without any turf or agriculture backgrounds, are imposing "Developmental
Orders", which have the weight of law.
These orders dictate how much nitrate can
be used on crops and turf and they are not
based on good science. Erica Santella, Vice
President of the FTGA has enlisted the aid
of Dr. Laurie Trenholm of the University
of Florida to help advise the Nitrate
Remediation Group on the facts about the
fate of nitrates used on turf.
4. Allied Associations
A. FTGA: Don Benham, FTGA Director
of Public Affairs and Dr. Terril Nell, Chairman of the Department of Ornamental Horticulture made a presentation of their fund
raising program to the FTGA Board of Directors on December 3rd after already making a "test presentation to the Board of Directors of the Gainesville C.C.. The response in Gainesville was positive and the
FTGA board offered further adjustments
to the presentation. The first real public
presentation is being set up to take place in
Palm Beach County after the first of the
year. The basic plan is to ask members of
boards from private golf clubs to initiate a
once per year,$5.00 dues check off for turf
research entry on club members' billing
statements. The program worked in Michigan, and we're hoping it will catch on here
to generate a steady flow of substantial
dollars for turf research.
Planning for the FTGA Conference is progressing rapidly and the Conference Committee has drafted 13 workshops and 14
concurrent sessions to meet the educational
needs. All classes will be held either in the
O'Connell center where the Trade Show is
located or across the street at the Florida
Gymnasium building.

IFAS is seriously considering relocating the
G. C. Horn Turf Research Center to a new
Agronomic Sciences Center that is being
planned for development on 160 acres being developed on property between Ocala
and Gainesville that was donated to the
University of Florida. The new center
would consolidate a lot of scattered agronomic and ornamental operations and research facilities into a centralized area for
economy of operation. The new location
will also provide more room for additional
turf research plots. Due to traffic congestion in Gainesville, travel time from the
main campus will be less even though the
distance is greater.
B. Florida Golf Course Owners Association: Mike Jamison, Exec.Director of the
FGCOA, has invited Don Benham, FTGA,
and Golf Course Architect Ron Garl
(FTGA Committee Chairman) and myself
to sit on the Advisory Board of the
FGCOA. The first meeting will take place
at the National GolfCourse Owner's Association Conference in Ft. Lauderdale on
January 24, 2000. The advisory board
made of a cross section of all golf related
associations and businesses in Florida will
provide input and guidance to the FGCOA.
5. Media/Public Relations
The "Golf and the Environment" feature
that I write for Florida Golf Central magazine will begin reaching a wider public
audience as the publication is spreading its
distribution to the Tampa - St. Petersburg
area. The publisher reports good feedback
from Central Florida readers.
I am also continuing my columns in the
quarterly newsletter, "Golf Is Our Game",
which is circulated to golf courses for golfers. In these columns I discuss, in layman's
terms, turf maintenance challenges so golfers can understand why playing conditions
are not always perfect or why they are done
to keep the turf healthy.
Golfdom Magazine has asked me to continue to write my monthly column, "Shades
of Green" for them in 2000. If you don't
get Golfdom just send your name, address,
club name and title to Golfdom, Advanstar
Communications, Inc., P. O. Box 5129,
Pittsfield, MA,01203-9392. Subscription
is free to golf course superintendents.
3

Minutes of the Fall 1999 FGCSA Board Meeting

The Fall 1999 meeting of the FGCSA Board
of Directors was called to order by President
Darren Davis at 1:00 p.m. on Friday, October
22nd, 1999 at the Grenelefe Resort, Haines
City.
All officers except Vice President Cary Lewis
were present. Suncoast and Treasure Coast
chapters were not represented.
Other FGCSA members attending the meeting were Joel Jackson - Director of Communications; and Dr. John Cisar, Unviersity of
Florida Turf Coordinator.
President Darren Davis introduced Mike
Mongoven as the External Vice President for
the new Calusa GCSA. Mike previously
served as External for Everglades GCSA.
OLD BUSINESS: Darren then announced
that the FGCSA web site is in the woks with
Darren, Joel Jackson and Gary Grigg working
with Jared Grigg to get the site up and running.
SECRETARY/TREASURER REPORT Geoff Coggan presented the minutes of the
Summer Board Meeting which were approved.
He then gave a review of the first quarter 1999
financial statements. He noted that dues income was slightly lower than budgeted and
reminded all chapters to continue paying dues
as new members sign up.
This should be
done on a monthly basis. If all chapters cooperate by paying the state portion of the dues
they have already collected, the budgeted income figure will be met.
He noted that all chapter information for the
previous fiscal year has been turned over to
the accountant so that the Group Form 990 can
be filed with the IRS by the November 15th
deadline. Geoff also noted that four chapters
- North Florida, Ridge, Treasure Coast, and
West Coast - have not sent their Internal Control Evaluation questionnaire back to the accountant. All Externals were instructed to see
that this is done since the audit was something
that the board feels will help all chapters comply with good financial proceedings
D.O.C.: Joel reported on his activities for
the past quarter. He gave an update on the
FQPA and outlined the workings of RISE in
regard to organophosphates. He noted that

4

the FTGA Conference & Show will
be held August 15 -17th next year and
asked if the FGCSA would like to hold
the Annual Board Meeting during that
time. A show of hands indicated that
board members would prefer to keep
the meeting at the Crowfoot.
Joel reported that he is working with
Janet Satterlee, GCSAA, in designing
a membership brochure that could be
used by the Florida chapter or any of
the local chapters. The brochure
would then be used in a membership
drive for all those Florida superintendents who are not members of any
local chapter. He will have an update on this at the next board meeting. He also mentioned the GCSAA
"high-end" survey that should be
filled out by all recipients and returned
to the GCSAA.
PUBLICATIONS: Florida Green.
Joel mentioned that there is a possibility that our cover photographer,
Daniel Zelazek may be moving out of
state. He will keep the board informed.
Membership Directory: Marie Roberts reported that the 1999-2000
Membership Directory is at the printers and that advertiser support has
again been very good with ad revenue
expected to exceed the budgeted figure. The Directory will be mailed to
all members and to advertisers during the month of November. Included
with the directory will be the FGCSA
decal and a letter asking for volunteers
from the general membership to get
more members involved on committees for the FGCSA.
MEMBERSHIP: David Court has
written an article on "What FGCSA
offers to its members" which will be
published in the Florida Green. He
will work with Joel on getting a list of
membership chairmen from all local
chapters in preparation for an upcoming membership drive.
Mike Mongoven gave a report on the
formation of the Calusa chapter which
covers northern Lee county and south-

ern Charlotte county. The chapter has succeeded in getting previously inactive members to join the chapter which is focusing
on social events this first year.
EDUCATION: In Gary Grigg's absence,
Darren Davis reported that the Poa Committee has asked that the FGCSA consider
offering a full day seminar this year rather
than the half day seminar we have done in
past years. This change would mean that
the FGCSA board meeting would have to
be held on Thursday so that the seminar
could be held on Friday. Darren noted that
the Everglades board feels their chapter
members will support the full day seminar
to at least make the GCSAA guarantee.
After a discussion, it was decided to table
this until the Winter board meeting to give
Gary Grigg time to notify the board which
seminar he has in mind for the Poa. Most
of the board members in attendance felt that
a Thursday evening board meeting might
be acceptable if it was decided to go with
the full day seminar to be recommended by
Gary. The dates for the 2000 Poa will be
May 18th to 21st.
The GCSAA Regional Seminar held in Orlando last month met its guarantee number
and Ed Neuman reported that pre-registration for the November 4th seminar in Jacksonville was at 15. He expected that this
number would increase enough to make the
guarantee.
GOLF: The FGCSA Golf Tournament at
Southern Dunes was a great success with
10 teams participating from 8 chapters.
This was the largest turnout to date for the
tournament. The teams from Central
Florida received the trophy with Chris
Cartin winning the individual event. He
will join Mark Hopkins, Hal Richburg, and
Joe Ondo on the Florida team for the
GCSAA Tournament to be held in Mobile
in February.
CROWFOOT: Joe noted that the Crowfoot venue may be different next year with
several changes anticipated. Since the
FTGA Conference will be held the week
after the Crowfoot again this year, the
FGCSA will not sponsor a seminar. Joel
has promised another strong educational
program at the Conference for all members
to attend.
The Green Sheet

Minutes of Fall 1999 FGCSA Board Meeting
RESEARCH: Darren Davis gave Steve
Pearson's report. He distributed a thank
you letter from the FTGA for our $25,000
donation and a history of grants funded by
the FTGA since 1981. A survey will be
included in the next Turf Digest asking
members for suggestions and comments on
future grant topics. Darren also distributed
a copy of Dr. Sartain's Summary Report
on Soil-Test Tissue Correlation Study.
Dr. Monica Elliott has forwarded a grant
request to the FGCSA to be submitted to
the GCSAA's Chapter Cooperative Research program. This program offers
matching funds to chapters supporting local research. Her proposal is entitled "Establishment of Bacillus spp Applied to
Bermudagrass Putting Greens." Purpose:
This project will determine if Bacillus spp.
applied to bermudagrass putting greens do
survive and establish on either the turf or
in the soil. The project will also determine the effect of frequent, multiple applications on the Bacillus populations. Total funds requested for this one year project
is $3,500 from GCSAA and $3,500 from
FGCSA. After a discussion on the merits
of this program and taking a look at funds
available from our research account, a
motion was made to support this request.
The motion was approved.
Michael Perham led a discussion on the
proper channels for submitting research
proposals to the FGCSA. It was suggested
that all proposals should go through Dr.
Cisar as UF Turf Coordinator whether or
not the grant requests are fimneled through
the FTGA, the GCSAA or any other source.
Dr. Cisar currently serves on the Awards
Board. He noted that no Florida projects
were approved by the USGA this year.
Dr. Cisar then gave a report on the new
positions filled and retirements expected
at UF, in particular, Dr. Dunn is retiring
and Carol Skiles has been hired. He also
discussed the ultradwarf project that has
begun at the Fort Lauderdale site with replicated plots. He noted that Gary Pederson
is doing a good job and urged the board to
thank the local vendors who are supporting the program in Fort Lauderdale. Dates
for the 2000 Expo will be Thursday, March
16th, and the Field Day in Gainesville will
be held on March 23rd.
January/February 2000

FTGA/IFAS: Darren Davis suggested
that all local chapters suspend chapters
meetings for August this year in order to
support the FTGA Conference & Show.
Major educational programs will be offered
and superintendents should make every
effort to attend. Chapters were urged to
consider the FTGA Conference as their
August meeting!
The FTGA Turf Conferences will again be
offered around the state in January and
February. A motion was made by Jim
Goins to Sponsor the Turf Conferences at
the $400 level. The motion was seconded
and approved.
GCSAA: Darren Davis gave a brief report on the Chapter Delegates meeting and
the PDI. All chapters should call the
GCSAA to schedule a visit from the
GCSAA PDI representative to one of your
local chapter meetings. GCSAA Contact
is Hannis Combast who would like to have
these visits concluded by May. The
GCSAA will present the PDI to the membership at next year's Chapter Delegates
Meeting with a by law vote to be taken at
the GCSAA meeting in 2001.
The current FGCSA and GCSAA Affiliation Forms expire in December. The
GCSAA has sent the new Forms to all
chapters to be signed and the FGCSA Affiliation Agreement was distributed to all
External V.P.'s along with a copy of the
S.O.P. manual.
Externals are urged to
take this Affiliation Form to their next local chapter board meeting to have it signed
by the chapter president.
RECEPTION: Mike Perham reported
that the New Orleans reception will be held
on Friday night, February 18th at the
Hilton. Sponsors have been solicited with
all chapters receiving a copy of the solicitation to be used in their local chapter
newsletter. An extra level of sponsorship
was added to allow every affiliate the opportunity to participate. Once again, only
sponsorship funds will be used for the reception—there will be no funds used from
the operations budget. Mike announced
that we will continue the "gate controlled"
strategy that was used in Orlando to keep
the reception as a Florida only event.

LONG RANGE PLANNING: Darren
Davis submitted the Committee Volunteer
form that will be sent to all Florida members with the Membership Directory.
NEW BUSINESS: Buddy Keene presented a grant proposal from Dr. Howard
Frank to continue his mole cricket testing.
In particular he is requesting funding for a
graduate student's travel expenses in collecting the wasps used in his project. Dr.
Frank had submitted the project to the
Seven Rivers chapter. After a discussion,
it was decided that since we are already in
the middle of a three year proposal by Dr.
Frank for this same project, the FGCSA
must turn down this new request.
A discussion was held on the date for the
FGCSA Winter Board Meeting which
needs to be held prior to the GCSAA Conference. A poll of Externals indicated
about equal preference for a Friday or Saturday. Darren proposed that we hire Dr.
Tom Morgan to give a one hour presentation to the board prior to lunch at the Winter meeting. Most Externals were familiar
with Dr. Morgan from the Poa seminar or
through their local chapter meetings. After a dsicussion on the merits of this proposal, Buddy Keene made a motion to
Have Dr. Tom Morgan do a one hour presentation. The motion was seconded and
approved.
Since there was no further business, the Fall
Board Meeting was adjourned at 3:40 p.m.

FGCSA Board Meeting
Date:

Friday, January 21st

Place:

Grenelefe Resort

Time:
11:00 Dr. Tom Morgan seminar on
how to deal with the government and activists who threaten
the golf turf industry.
12:00 Lunch
1:00 Winter Board Meeting
Note: Any local chapter officer is
invited to attend this board meeting with
your External Vice President. Please
R.S.V.P. to FGCSA office.
5

Chapter Information

Highlights of GCSAA's Professional
Development Initiative (PDI)

Joint Treasure Coast/Palm
Beach Chapter Meeting
by Craig Weyandt

The mission of GCSAA'S Professional Development Initiative is to create a
"branded" professional golf course superintendent. PDI has far-reaching implications. You have a say into this new program. Please participate.
GCSAA representatives are available to come to your chapter meetings from
now until May 2000 and discuss the thinking and history behind the Professional Development Initiative and to listen to your input to help adjust the
program to fit your needs. Your chapter should schedule a presentation as
soon as possible. Call Janet Saterlee, Manager of GCSAA Chapter/Member
Relations at (800) 472-7878 to schedule a speaker for your chapter.
• PDI goals for superintendents include:
—increased salaries
—enhanced job security
—intensified recognition as key member of the g.c. management team
—improved job opportunities
—marketable credentials

Issues:
• Membership Classification Issues under PDI—
Class A entry requirements:
a) Job responsibility will take precedence over title;
b) competency assessment, experience 3 years;
c) formal education: two-year degree in Turf Management or
four-year degree (other); and
d) valid Pesticide License

The meeting at the Jupiter Island Club on December 9th was really well attended. We had over 120
Superintendents, Suppliers, Golf Pros, General
managers, and Greens committee chairmen.
First Susan Leisure, DowAgrosciences, reported on
the potential loss of Dursban and the need for all of
us to act by phone, e-mail, and even snail mail to
let representatives (and EPA) know how valuable
and important that this plant protectant is to our
industry.
Next Steve Keller presented the President's Award
for Lifetime Service to David C. Holler. Wow, what
a speech! David's work history, accomplishments,
and views on the game of golf were told to everyone at the meeting. When Steve finished everyone
gave Dave a standing ovation (it was beautiful and
he deserved it).
Then the education. John Foy talked about establishment, physical characteristics of the new grasses,
and most important I think to everyone was maintenance. For instance, top dressing needs to be done
light and frequent. I mean frequent like in once a
week.

• The certification program will be redesigned:
a) Entry-level requirements: Three years as a Class A, test at a higher
proficiency level than Class A, formal education same as
new Class A;
b) Ongoing requirements same as Class A but at a higher level.

Rob Kloska at Jupiter Island uses dry bagged sand
and applies it with a rotary hand spreader. The
TifEagle that he has is so tight that the sand sits on
top. Verticutting was also used more frequently,
but John said that there can be too much of a good
thing. John reminded everyone that Ultra dwarfs
are still bermuda and are not super grasses. They
will not grow in shade, still suffer from traffic, diseases, too much water, not enough (in other words
good sound maintenance practices must still be
used).

•Grandfathering Issues for Class A:
a) By-Laws vote: February 2001.
b) Pilot Program: March 2001 -March 2002.
c) Proposed date of implementation: July 2002.
d) Class A grandfathered from all requirements for entry into
new Class A.
e) After PDI date of implementation (July 2002), all Class A
members must participate in ongoing professional development
requirements, including the competency assessment.
f) If you fail to meet the requirements in the three-year cycle, you
will lose your Class A status in 2005. In order to regain Class A
status, you would then have to meet the new requirements for
entry into Class A.

In the end I think the we all learned that we have
learned a lot but we are still learning. Like all the
other articles I have read have said,
"These
grasses are not for everyone." Rob and other superintendents that have these grasses are paving the
way for the rest of us. My hat goes off to him. I'm
sure its not easy writing the book as you go and
having to learn the hard way from your mistakes!
Rob's course was in excellent shape. Hard to believe that we had 3 hurricanes affect the Treasure
Coast in one way or another this year (Floyd,
Harvey, Irene). You could never tell from seeing
Jupiter Island Club.

• Ongoing requirements for Class A include:
a) renewal cycle of three years.
b) self-assessment once every three years;
c) continuing education (TBD);
d) professional development (TBD).

6

The Green Sheet

GCSAA Conference and Show

Everglades GCSA Sponsors
IFAS Seminar at Wyndemere
The Everglades GCSA has joined with the
IFAS Collier County Extension Service to
present a turfgrass seminar on Thursday,
January 13th at Wyndemere CC in Naples.
Speakers will be Drs. John Cisar, Bryan
Unruh, Barry Brecke, Laurie Trenholm and
Monica Elliott from the University of
Florida. Topics include torpedo grass,
Telone injection, microbial products, seashore paspalum, St. Augustine grass and
ultradwarf bermudagrasses. The seminar
will also include a one hour panel discussion with a question and answer period to
follow.
Time will be from 8:00 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.
Cost is $60.00 advance registration by
January 4th and $70.00 on site. 5 CEU's
are available. Call Matt Taylor, Everglades
chapter, at 941-455-7535 for a registration
form.

FTGA Turfgrass 2000
Regional Turf Conference
The FTGA 2000 Regional Turf Conferences will be held in six different locations
around the state. See page one of this newsletter for the program in your area.
Speakers include Erica Santella, TruGreen
ChemLawn; Dr. John Cisar and Dr. Bryan
Unruh, University of Florida; Burt McKee,
United Horticulture Supply; and Steve
Dwinell, Bureau of Entomology & Pest
Control. Topics include: How to Tell if
your Herbicide caused the problem; Future of Pesticides; Turf Regulations; The
Science Behind Turfgrass Management;
and Inspection and How to be Prepared
for One. Each seminar location will feature its own list of speakers. Contact the
FTGA if there is a particular speaker or
topic that you want to hear.
All seminars will begin with a 7:30 a.m.
registration and adjourn at 2:00 p.m.
CEU's are available. Pre-registration is
$25.00 per person by January 4th. Please
call the FTGA office at 1-800-882-6721
for a registration form.
January/February 2000

February 14-20, 2000
Morial Convention Center
Trade Show: February 18-20, 2000

2000 FGCSA Reception to be held February 18th
The FGCSA will hold its Y2K reception on Friday night, February 18th, at the spectacular New Orleans Hilton Hotel Riverside from 7:00 - 10:00 p.m. Once again, the reception will be limited to Florida superintendents and sponsors.
Invitations and entry
tickets will be mailed to all FGCSA members in January.
We are including a list of those sponsors who have already committed to supporting the
reception. However, there is still time for any affiliate to be involved as a sponsor. This
year we have added an additional category in order to make it affordable for any affiliate
who might choose to attend the reception. Number of tickets to the reception are based
on the corresponsing sponsorship levels.
We sincerely appreciate the support of all our sponsors. Those companies who have
already committed to the reception are as follows:

Level I. Platinum Sponsors:
Aventis Environmental Science
GolfVentures/Tresca/Textron
Harrell's Fertilizer
Kilpatrick/Rainbird/Textron
Novartis
Toro and their Florida distributors

Level II. Gold Sponsors:
Bayer
Dow Agrosciences
E. R. Jahna
Florida Coast Equipment
Precision Small Engine
Quality Grassing
Turf Merchants
UHS featuring Round Up Pro Dry
Florida Superior Sand

Level III. Silver Sponsors:
Central Florida GCSA
Everglades GCSA
Golf Agronomics
Howard Fertilizer
Southern Golf Products/Lesco
South Florida Grassing
Sullivan Electric
Sunbelt Seeds
Valent, U.S.A.
Zeneca

Level IV. Bronze Sponsors:
Aerification Plus, Inc.
FMC
Hendrix & Dail
Laserturf South
The Scotts Company
West Coast GCSA
7

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Gary Grigg, CGCS, MG, to receive GCSAA Distinguished Service Award