Vice President’s Letter

If you are reading this letter, it means that you survived the brutal summer of 2022. Congratulations!! I hope you survived it with your golf course still alive, your clientele intact, and your wits still somewhat about you. The heat wave and drought we experienced started early and lasted too long, and it was certainly the hottest summer in the last decade. That heat and lack of rain has been rough on many of our turfgrasses, plants, people, pocketbooks, and probably our mental health. I, for one, am looking forward to fall, the cooler temperatures, and a chance to catch our breath a bit.

Our family loves the outdoors, and fall provides such an awesome opportunity to experience the great state we live in. If you look for me on a Saturday, you’d probably find me on a smallmouth stream, hiking, enjoying fall baseball or cross country, and all things outdoors. Although it may be tough to grow grass in Arkansas, that seasonality sure does create a lot of beauty. I’ve yet to meet a turfgrass professional that doesn’t know how to work hard. Make sure you take time this fall to enjoy whatever it is you enjoy. You deserve it. You need it. Take advantage of the resources our beautiful state has to offer.

We hope that you are marking your calendars for the 2023 Arkansas Turfgrass Association annual conference on January 26th and 27th in Hot Springs. The ATA exists to “Bring opportunity and resources to the turfgrass industry of Arkansas.” We hope to provide much more than just recertification credits. We hope to provide opportunities to engage with your fellow professionals, to get support in areas we all need it, to network, to provide educational opportunities that are exciting and new, to help our industry grow as professionals. Our best avenue of providing those opportunities is the annual conference. We need your support to grow this conference so that we can provide opportunities every year.

I’m writing this letter in August, so we don’t currently have an educational program set up. However, I know that Daniel O’Brien is working hard to deliver educational opportunities in some of the areas that our membership has expressed interest. In addition, we have two new faculty members that are excited to be part of the Arkansas Turfgrass Industry. They will be speaking, and you won’t want to miss the chance to get to know them. This issue contains articles to highlight both Wendell Hutchens and Hannah Wright. We are so excited to have them ready to help the state turf industry!!

The ATA exists to serve its members. Please attend the conference and be open about how we can serve you better. The leadership of this organization truly desires to provide great opportunities for the members. Our board of directors all serve as volunteers, and it is with the heart to help our members be successful in all they do. Please help us know how we can best serve you!

Sincerely,

Vice President

Arkansas Turfgrass Association