Turf Times 'tr ( hap1' Offers The newsletter from the Northern Michigan Turf Managers Association Bi-Monthly Update October/November Volume 35, No. 3 President’s Message Ouch! Two inches of snow last night. Where did the summer go? It’s hard to believe that summer was here and gone. Fall is upon us and time for us to start preparing our courses for the long winter. Between aerification, spraying and routine maintenance I believe that this is our busiest time of the year. Many of us have greatly reduced staff compared to mid summer and I find it a challenge, almost fun trying to knock out the punch list of the projects we have to complete before the snow flies. Being creative and finding more efficient ways of doing things is important not only this time of year but also when we have full staffs. The company 1 work for is always looking at the bottom line and in today’s competitive market, reducing labor and expenses but still producing a quality product will help the course survive. We are all competing for the same dollar and in today’s economy it’s hard to stay afloat. The annual meeting and Tuck Tate Championship were hosted by Crystal Mountain Resort, Adam Ikamas GCS. Their hospitably was great and the golf course played great with sneaky fast greens considering the amount of rain they received the night before. The meeting was poorly attended. I understand everyone's busy and there are conflicts, however this meeting is very important for NMTMA because it gives you the opportunity to question the board of directors about issues of the past year plus provide direction for the board for the next year. We keep seeing the same faces at events throughout the summer. Currently there are 278 members in the directory. Approximately thirty attended the annual meeting. That’s less than ten percent of our members. We the board can’t serve the members if we don’t know what your needs and concerns are. So in the future please make an effort and plan to attend more meetings next summer and get involved Elected to the board for a three year term were: Tom Alonzi GCS Ross/Moor at Boyne Highlands, Matt Wooten GCS Hawks Eye Golf Resort and Mike Rosen GCS Shanty Creek Resort. Congratulations and wel­ come to the board. Going off the board are Jim Bluck CGCS Forest Dunes Golf Club after serving two terms, Paul Ending GCS Arcadia Bluff Golf Club, and Steve Shane GCS Lochenheath Golf Club. Thank you for your time and service on the board. On the golf championship side of things, Jim Bluck beat Breighner by two to win low gross and Chad Corp won low net. Congratulations guys. I hope everyone had a good summer and took to heart about what I said concerning spending time with our families and better managing our time at work. I’m sure we all had our success’s and failures this summer so sit back and reflect on the year and what you can do to make next year better and what you can do to im­ prove yourself as well. Good Luck/Think Snow!!! Joe Breighner President NMTMA GCSAA Delegates Report 2006 \ By Adam Ikamas ’I never thought 21 hours of meeting would be something I would classify as enjoyable, productive, or as an asset to anyone involved. I can guarantee you that 21 hours of meetings when it involves the GCSAA and delegates from all over the country that every minute of those 21 hours were enjoyable, productive, and a great asset to everyone involved and even more importantly a great asset to every delegates respective chap­ ters. My only problem is that all of the 22,000 GCSAA members are not able to see first hand all of the work that goes on in Lawrence. And the way every member of the GCSAA staff works towards one goal, to best serve us as members. What a great organization we have from the top down. Every member of the staff I had contact with had an incredible attitude of wanting to help us and make sure the direction they have is the direc­ tion we want and that they are affecting all of us in a positive way at the ground level. That, and the turbulence we just went through, reminds me of a statement re-iterated throughout many of our meetings. The GCSAA wants to make sure that they are not “taking a look at this from 30,000 feet” but that they are affecting us in a positive way on the ground. One of the ways they are doing that is the continuation of the branding and mar­ keting of the GCSAA Superintendent. And to make sure that the GCSAA is considered one of the most (if not the most) important organizations in golf. Also the marketing of the Class A Superintendent that has met the requirements of the PDI education and the value that can bring to an employers facility. We all know that the Superintendent is the first and most important building block for a successful operation. The goal of the GCSAA is to make sure three key groups also know that. As Steve Mona (CEO of GCSAA) put it, think of a bulls-eye on a dart board. The middle ring is the owners and operators that hire Superintendents, the second ring are the avid and influential golfers at your clubs and courses. These are the green committee members and golfers at your club that play more than 20 rounds a year. I am sure that you all just had the name of your influential golfer come to mind. And the third ring is us, as in the Superintendents that are not currently mem­ bers or making the value of a class A known to our Superintendent Members. Well, if you are interested, I am now in Minneapolis and enjoying my 2 hour layover on getting to Traverse City. I figured that deserved a new paragraph. Also it leads to a new topic we discussed in our meetings. That is the proposed long-term dues strategy. It came to my attention rather quickly that this was a hot button topic among the other delegates. And my opinion had changed at least three times during my stay. For those of you not familiar with this proposal it is this. The GCSAA board has always gone to the members when there needed to be a dues increase and they only asked when we were falling behind financially. That led to a large increase of up to $50. This in turn led to a drop in membership and general discord from the members. The proposal would turn the ability over to the board to raise the dues based on the CPI index which is the percentage of inflation for the year. This would not be a mandatory increase, but rather if the Page 2 ortage they could budget for a small increase and not have to play catch up. There is cer- sentiment that we as members should control the dues in all forms. And there is a part of me that agrees with that. But think of your budgets at your courses. Now imagine you do not know until your fiscal year starts what your budget will be after you have a submitted and set budget for the year. This is why the board is asking us for this proposal. We took a straw vote and there were 53 for this and 32 against. So it looks like it will be on the ballot in February at the GIS show. The third issue I want to speak with you about is the chapter effectiveness and field staff. First off it is amazing how many common threads we had as a whole when it came to the issues we have in our respective chapters. The most common issues were getting members, retaining members and getting members involved. This is exactly where we are in the NMTMA. We need more than the “usual suspects” at our meetings and functions. We need to find why we are not having attendance and what we can do to change that. And the GCSAA wants to help us to do that also. One of the first steps is the addition of field staff. These are two GCSAA staff members that are available for us as a local chapter to recruit new member and to help to in­ crease awareness of benefits of GCSAA and chapter membership. This is another common theme that those are not separate entities but the same. It is not us and them but it is just us. The NMTMA and GCSAA are one group to help promote the Superintendent and elevate our profession. We need to hear from you on how we can make our chapter more effective. And we need to hear why you are not joining with us at our func­ tions. Without this information we can not be as successful as a chapter and will in turn not be as successful as individuals. There were many topics discussed at the three day meeting, but these are the ones I felt you would have the most interest in. If you would like to know more about the meeting or the other topics please do not hesi­ tate to ask. My e-mail is adamikamas@crystalmountain.com or feel free to call me at 231-378-2000 ext.4501 and I would happily discuss any of these things further. Well I am now only 45 minutes from the last leg of my journey home back to snowy Crystal Mountain. It was an experience I will never forget and I hope you now have at least a somewhat better understanding of what the GCSAA does and where they are heading. Be­ lieve it or not it actually is more than just a magazine every month. Adam Ikamas Crystal Mountain Resort Page 3 2006 Chapter Delegates Meeting Sum ms! Chapter Delegates Look to the Future Noting the association and its members have made significant gains on several fronts, the GCSAA Chapter Delegates meeting, October 13-14-15, took a strategic approach in discussing how GCSAA could sus­ tain that momentum in achieving its mission, vision and goals. “I commend and appreciate the Delegates for the energy they displayed during the meeting,” said Ricky Heine. CGCS meeting chairman and GCSAA vice-president. “They were focused and well-prepared in giving the board of directors and staff their perspectives on how we achieve our long-term vision. They took ownership of their association and in their responsibility as delegates. It is obvious they engaged their members in talks before the meeting." The exchange of ideas and comments focused primarily on three items: a.) the development of long­ term revenue streams to fund programs and services; b.) growing the GCSAA membership; c.) and positioning GCSAA and its membership classes in the marketplace (primarily to employers and influential golfers). The financial conversations centered on the establishment of a long-term dues pricing strategy. At the request of the Delegates, the board and staff presented a proposal that would tie the establishment of membership dues to an index (such as the Consumer Price Index). Historically, the association has enacted a dues increase in larger increments on average every five to seven years. The result has been a loss of members. There was widespread agreement at the meeting that smaller dues increases would be more easily absorbed at the facility level and less likely to result in membership declines. Directors further discussed the issue at their fall meeting. October 20-21 in New Orleans. Tied to the discussion of revenues was an examination of GCSAA membership numbers. From a high of more than 22.000 in 2001. the association's membership has declined approximately 10 percent to just over 20.000 today. There was agreement that the situation has been created in large part by a struggling golf econ­ omy and the implementation of member standards. Staff presented a seven-phased membership growth and recruitment campaign enacted late last year. Delegates supported the efforts, realizing such an initiative will take time to yield results and must be long-term in nature. They were especially supportive of the GCSAA field staff pilot program and encouraged strong consideration for expanding it in the near future. The liveliest debate was on GCSAA’s philosophy regarding the positioning of the association and its member­ ship classes. Delegates shared a variety of opinions, but ultimately agreed that for membership standards to have value in the marketplace, then they must be promoted externally. There was unanimous support that greater resources be dedicated to marketing the association, with a focus on Class A as being the preferred membership class. It was noted, however, that promoting Class A does not mean that marketing other member ship classes should not be part of the program. Noting that chapters will be integral to the success of revenue generation, membership growth and re­ tention, and marketing efforts, discussion also included an examination of chapter effectiveness. Specifically, the delegates were charged with providing the board and staff direction as to how the association could best invest resources to enhance chapter operations. The top three items were: a.) membership recruitment and re­ tention; b.) chapter executive development and support; c.) chapter meeting effectiveness (attendance, timing, satisfaction, value, etc.). It was the consensus that many of the issues were interrelated and thus could be ad­ dressed if programs and services are developed and coordinated appropriately. Once again, support for ex­ panding the field staff pilot program was communicated, and suggested as a means to implement effectiveness programs. Delegates also expressed interest in providing support to GCSAA’s advocacy efforts. They were briefed on the process the association follows for commenting to the EPA on product re-registration. The proc­ ess includes an element for member input to GCSAA actions, plus the opportunity for chapters and members to become directly engaged as well. Page 4 NMTMA Classifieds Toro 3100 D Buckets Express reel grinder and bed- 2002 Ford XLT SuperDuty Company: Traverse City Golf & knife grinder Truck Country Club Company: Reel Grinding Tech­ Company: Admiral Aerification Description: nologies LLC Three brand new grass buckets. Description: Description: They have never been used. Reel grinding equipment for sale Powerstroke Diesel V-8, Towing Terms: Terms: package, Gooseneck set-up, AM/ Make me an offer call for details FM/CD, Power locks I windows Contact: Steve Hammon Contact: Marcus Pillsbury $23,000.00 ... DETAILS Email: steveh@tcgcc.com Email: mar- Contact: Kevin Lamb Phone: 231-947-0487 cus pillsbury@hotmail.com Email: putter81 @ hotmai 1 .com Phone: 616-332-6298 Phone: 989-506-5729 Gooseneck trailer Company: Admiral Aerification John Deere 1800 Sprayer (200 Toro Irrigation System Compo­ LLC nents gal.) Description: Company: Crystal Mountain Company: Traverse City Golf & 12,000 pounds towing capacity, Resort CC ramps, chain, new oak decking Description: Description: Terms: John Deere Sprayer with about Used hydraulic irrigation heads; cash or cashier's check 1700 hours on it. Runs well. 630, 650, 670, 730 series $25.00 Contact: Kevin Lamb Needs a lift arm motor. 780 and 800 series $50.00 Email: putterS 1 @hotmail.com Terms: Vari-time Monitor II clocks Phone: 989-506-5729 $5,000 All offers considered $100.00 Contact: Adam Ikamas with pedistal $150.00 Email: adami- kamas@crystalmountain.com Spare parts for clock repair free Phone: 231-378-2000 Ext.4501 with purchase Spare parts for head repairs free with purchase Contact: Steve Hammon Email: steveh@tcgcc.com Phone: 231-947-0487 Jim Bluck plays in the BASF 2006 'People vs. the Pros’ Tournament Jim Bluck's scores from the handicapped, three-day, 54-hole tournament held on Pinehurst No. 8 and No. 5 courses: Round 1: 75 Round 2: 75 Round 3: 80 Total: 230 Bluck placed 16th overall in the 18-49 age division. Page 5 r The NMTMA appreciates the support from the following businesses... *SOD, SOIL, & CONSTRUCTION* *FERTILIZER, CHEMICAL & SEED* *GOLF CART SALES & SERVICE Tri Turf Soils, Inc. Lebanon Fertilizers and Seed Boylan Sales, Inc. Tom Reed, Sr. Better Technology For Today’s Turf Jim Atchison (888)616-7806 “Mesa”- SR N & “EXPO” - SR N-K (269) 685-6828 / FAX (269) 685-6051 Huggett Sod Farm, Inc. Grigg Brothers Ellis Sales Inc.—E-Z-GO Bent & Bluegrass Sod, Shade & Ornamental Trees )vww, griggbros. com Bob Hope (989) 635-7482 / (989) 635-7484 FAX (888) 246-8873 (269) 569-4619 / (800) 962-4128 Tri-Turf Serving all of Michigan *TIRES & TUBES* (800)636-7039 ^EQUIPMENT, SERVICE & SUPPLIES* Tire Wholesalers Company, Inc. Lesco, Inc. Dan Cress Jason Pettus Weingartz Golf & Turf (231)775-6666 (248) 789-8315 / sls382@lesco.com John Deere One Source (877) 465-9040 / (616) 696-2913 W. F. Miller Company *EQUIPMENT/IRRIGATION* Kevin Henley *OTHER* (800) 555-8189 / (989) 942-0467 Spartan Distributors Clarke Mosquito Control Products John Read / Jeff Rogers ..Jake Britton : (800) 822-2216 / (800) 232-6288 FAX ■ ■'■'•''’(810)240-3734 ? Automatic Irrigation Supply Company fThe Automatic Advantage > I? 877-222-0240 • ■••f and we encourage you to support iKern.j Northern Michigan Turf Managers Association P.O. Box 80086 Lansing, MI 48908 2“ L Information Center GCSAA 1421 Research Park Dr. Lawrence, KS 66049 NMTMA Executive Committee Joe Breighner President Jim Bluck Vice President Paul Galligan Treasurer Paul Emling Recording Secretary