Out on the Road: Wisconsin, Illinois and Ohio

Conference and education season has officially been in full swing for a few weeks now. In early December, I attended the Wisconsin GCSA Turf Symposium, the Central Illinois GCSA Annual Meeting and the Ohio Turfgrass Conference. I was a first-time attendee at all three events and each one was well-planned and organized.

• The WGCSA Turf Symposium is held in Kohler, Wisconsin, each December and is one of the marquee events on the WGCSA calendar. This year, the two-day event featured presentations from industry professionals and university professors on a variety of topics including pesticides, social media, weather damage, technology and sustainability, to name a few. The event is well-attended by members throughout Wisconsin as well as neighboring states, and this is what makes the event such a hit. Attendees know they will have access to some of the best education in the area, but more importantly, they are able to network and have face-to-face conversations with peers and friends. The WGCSA symposium committee did an excellent job planning the event and I thank them for their time and effort.

• The Central Illinois GCSA chapter held their annual meeting in Bloomington, Illinois, this year. I was honored to be invited to speak at the meeting about some of the work GCSAA has completed in 2015 and share some of the GCSAA initiatives set to go in 2016. The meeting was also very well attended and featured more qualified speakers than myself in the likes of Dr. Nangle of the Chicago District Golf Association and Dr. Lee Miller from the University of Missouri. One of the best take aways from the meeting was the round table discussion the members had. The discussion featured research funding as well as ways to improve the chapter and increase member participation. The round table was an informal atmosphere to share ideas and was a great success. The chapter was able to gather meaningful insight from members and board members, and is another example of the value these meetings bring to chapter participants. 

 

•  Although I was only able to attend one of the three days of the Ohio Turfgrass Conference, I was able to meet and network with many of my fellow industry professionals. The education on the day was fantastic, featuring speakers from the USGA, various universities and GCSAA's own Chava McKeel, who gave the members an update on WOTUS and government affairs priorities. 

These events are all great examples of the wonderful education and networking opportunities that are available to all GCSAA members. One of the highlights of the week came while I was talking to a first time attendee at the OTF Conference, he told me how he gained more information just by having conversations with other superintendents during the day than he would have from any other source. It's yet another example of how attending these events can benefit you, your career and your profession.