PRESIDENT’S PERSPECTIVE

This year’s GCSAA Conference & Trade Show (CTS) in Orlando was a very busy and successful one for the GCBAA. We started the week early with the Board of Directors meeting, followed by a Board Dinner with guests from the Foundation Board, Board of Governors, and past GCBAA Presidents. As we continue to collaborate with the ASGCA and strengthen our bond and share ideas a few of us continued the CTS week being on an ASGCA panel discussion at their meeting during the CTS. This panel was moderated by Todd Quitno with GCBAA members Judd Duininck, Mike Garbs, Jon Truttmann and myself providing a builder/supplier perspective in coordination with the design efforts of architects. The questions asked led to a very good back and forth and some spirited discussion. These are the key elements that will help each of our associations understand the other better to further our working relationships in the future.

Board Members

Chris Caccavale Caterpillar Inc. (Secretary)

Wayne Deker The Toro Company

Judd Duininck Duininck Golf (Past President)

Sam Duininck Duininck Golf

Robert Fleetwood Fleetwood Services, LLC

Mike Garbs Advanced Drainage Systems Inc.

Chris Hill Course Crafters LLC

Matt Lohmann Wadsworth Golf Construction Company

Jon O’Donnell Heritage Links (Treasurer)

Manny Pina Ewing Irrigation & Landscape Supply

Rick Shriver HARCO Fittings

Jason Sloan Frontier Golf

Jon Truttmann Hunter Industries (Vice President)

On Tuesday we opened the week with our General Membership Meeting where Justin gave his State of the Association update. We know the throngs of people in attendance were riveted with the information that Justin gave. That meeting was followed by the GCBAA Opening Reception, which had an outstanding attendance of over 550 members and industry partners. The “roar” in the room was incredible. We had an outstanding attendance, surpassing some of our pre-pandemic registration numbers. At this reception, in lieu of the Rossi Award, we choose to honor three of our members that somehow chose to all retire in the same year. Thank you, John Lawrence, Frank Warden, and Mick Jones for your significant impact on the association and the golf industry. Congratulations! It was a surprise tribute to these three and we did such a good job with the surprise that 2 of the honorees were not even in the room at the time. I guess I need to work on my timing with things like that.

We hope you noticed as you entered the GCSAA Conference and Trade Show the awesome banner prominently displaying our GCBAA logo showing our representation as presenting partners. Your GCBAA Board of Directors and Staff continue to work closely with the amazing team at GCSAA to make sure this show is successful for each and every one of us. Once the doors opened the attendees, many of the 11,000 attendees, flooded through the grand entrance and right past the Interactive Grass Stage. The GCBAA played a vital role in bringing this project to fruition. The profound amount of thought, work, and sweat put into this stage made it an epic feature. This was such an important feature and venue that the USGA decided this was the perfect spot to announce the launch of the GS3 that uses state-of-the-art technology to calculate putting green speed, firmness, smoothness, and trueness and integrates with their USGA DEACON platform for data collection and analysis. We also saw drip/drainage boxes, as well as a USGA profile of what the land beneath the green looks like in reality. We are proud to have held an integral role in creating this stage that held education and demonstrations. We should thank our hard-working staff, Justin and Mychelle, along with several other members of our association that made this a reality.

A major initiative that we have focused on over the last year and a half, GCBAA Renovation Channel, a partnership between GCSAA.tv, EPIC Creative, and GCBAA, was announced during the show. This is an exciting opportunity for our association and we hit the ground running with ideas and projects to showcase. As if the Conference and Trade Show wasn’t busy enough, my week concluded with attending the Waste Management Open and Super Bowl LVII with my brother, Erik. Talk about a busy week. Thank you to Ewing Irrigation & Landscape supply for being incredible hosts.

Shortly after the show, we at McDonald & Sons, Inc. were able to share some exciting news that you will see later in this edition. Erik and I are beyond thankful for the opportunities dad (Chip) and mom (Betty) have led throughout the years. They have shown what a family business is and what happens when we work together, they’ve impacted our lives and have taught us the value of family, quality, effort, and integrity. Dad led out by being on the GCBAA Board of Directors and taught us the importance of being involved with the association and giving back. Our family has been an active and participating member of this amazing association since 1990. Since 2006, I’ve been involved as well and will be sad when the day comes that my time of serving this Board is done but until then I will enjoy each and every moment serving this association and its members the best I can. I’ve built relationships, teammates, and mentors but most of all a large group of friends. I encourage the next generation to get involved and play a bigger role in this association that continues to grow under this leadership. Whether serving on the board or advocating for our association, it takes members of all leadership levels to remain successful and continue to grow our brand. Making sure our brand is known among all in golf and synonymous with the highest standards in golf construction should be one of our highest priorities.

In March, I, along with my McDonald & Sons team attended ConExpo with over 130,000 other attendees, where we witnessed the incredible technology and innovations in the industry. It is a show that features everything you could want in construction. Lots of new equipment, amazing technology in safety, efficiency, robotics, electric, software, and a little bit of everything. It was a great time to see so many of our Associate members that deal in equipment that also display at ConExpo along with a few of our Builder members and GCBAA Staff, Justin and Mychelle.

The GCBAA Executive Board will be holding its Spring Meeting in Nashville in April to discuss the strategic plans and focus on the renovation channel and brand awareness, as well as the financial state of the association and its growth and leadership. As always, the GCBAA Board of Directors and Staff are available to serve the members. Let us know how we can help you!

Sincerely,

John McDonald II