Monday, October 16, 2017

Board outreach visit to Mid-Atlantic region

Each year, the GCSAA Board of Directors work with field staff to schedule outreach visits among regions in which that particular board member does not reside. The goals of these visits are to reach superintendents, learn about local initiatives and challenges, engage students, engage chapters, and hear from members.

On October 2-5, GCSAA Director Kevin Sunderman, superintendent at Isla Del Sol Yacht and Country Club in St. Petersburg, Florida, visited the Mid-Atlantic region for four days of a packed agenda. In total, we visited four members at their facilities, met and spoke with students at two turf clubs, and attended two chapter meetings and a chapter board meeting.

Our four site visits peppered the stretch between D.C. and State College as we made it a priority to reach students at two universities – UMD and Penn State. From members, we continue to hear that labor is a major challenge around our region,, as well as across the country. GCSAA continues to engage on several fronts to address this issue, including H2B advocacy in government affairs, engaging youth through First Green, and engaging teenagers through Future Farmers of America.

Our time with the students was fantastic. These young people are excited about their upcoming internships or full-time entrance into the workforce and their energy is contagious. We learned from students about their future goals and Kevin talked a little about how GCSAA can help them achieve those goals. After learning from these students, I can tell you the future is in good hands.

At two chapter meetings in Central PA and West Virginia, we interacted with members as Kevin was able to speak to the groups about current GCSAA initiatives and how to get engaged. At the event in Central PA (in partnership with Wee One Foundation), over 100 participants came together to support a member who had recently lost their 13-year-old son to cancer. These are heartfelt moments that make you appreciate the camaraderie in the industry, and I know that it was an emotional day for many. What a way to support our own.

In West Virginia, we had an opportunity to meet with the chapter's board of directors to talk about the BMP project. As we continue to build BMPs across the country, buy-in from superintendents and our state regulatory agencies is absolutely critical. I'm excited to work with the group in West Virginia to begin the process of building our BMP model for the wild and wonderful mountainous state.

On our trip, we also had the opportunity to engage GCSAA members and others through GCSAA's new social media platform, Snapchat (the username is "GCSAAofficial"). It was a fun opportunity to highlight the week, engage some of the younger generation, and really have some fun with communication.

Thanks to everyone who was involved in our trip across the region!

UMD Turf Students getting geared up for the Turf Bowl. 

GCSAA Director Kevin Sunderman (L) and UMD Golf Course Superintendent Brendan Rapp (R). 
Kevin Sunderman speaks to the folks of WVGCSA.

Kevin Sunderman (L) and Renditions Golf Course Superintendent Joe Haskins (R).

Kevin Sunderman addresses the Penn State Turf Club.

No comments:

Post a Comment