I hope this message finds you successfully navigating these most recent heat waves.  It’s hard to believe that August is just around the corner, and before we know it, football and frost delays will be the topic of conversation more so than syringing and scouting (for disease of course).  With that being said, I’d like to take this opportunity, to bring to your attention, a few changes that we have made in the upcoming schedule of educational events.

Traditionally, we have had a Fall meeting in September, and the Environmental meeting in November.  Those two events, combined with a number of other events in that same time frame, and it just seemed a bit “busy”, especially as we are generally weening ourselves off of that summer grind around then.  The Fall meeting, as it was, didn’t have much participation.  While the Environmental meeting, over the past 3 years, has seen a steady decline in participation.  Because of this, we have decided to combine these two events and simply have “The Fall Meeting.”  The focus of this meeting will center on professional development.  It’s a topic that is rarely touched on in many of our meetings, and it is one that can be very beneficial to us all.  This year we have Chris Carsen, Superintendent at Echo Lakes Country Club as our key note speaker.  Chris has presented numerous times at both the Green Start Academy, and the Golf Industry Show, and we are fortunate that scheduling worked out and he could attend.  The Fall Meeting will be taking place at Royal Oaks Country Club on October 24 beginning at 7:30 with tee times starting at 1:00.  Golf will be included after this event, so you can also think of it as your last chance to get one more decent round in before winter really sets in.

The other change was made was by addition, not subtraction.  The annual Pest Management Seminar, as we all know, is a day and a half in December.  Because of the fact that we are trying to get as many credits as we can, it limits the subjects that can be presented.  Topics such as wetting agents, and employee retention strategies would be great to discuss, but it would reduce the number of credits we can get.  Because of this, we have added an additional half day of education on day two.  So now, we will have the 1 ½ day pesticide seminar for credits, and an additional ½ day education session on the afternoon of day two, at no additional charge!  A lot of you travel from all different corners of our state, and we want to make sure you are getting the most out of these meetings.

While we still have a whole lot of Summer left to go, I hope these changes will encourage you to think about these upcoming events.   The Board is hard at work planning events for 2019 so that we can have a schedule ready by the Pest Management Seminar, and you can plan and budget accordingly.  As always, please don’t hesitate to contact myself, or any of our board members with your questions, comments, or concerns.  We are always looking for new and fresh ideas to enhance your OGCSA experience.  Stay hydrated out there!

Regards,

Gabe Hughes

OGCSA President