From the TTA President

What a Show!

Thank you to everyone who participated as the 56th Annual Tennessee Turfgrass Conference and Show was a tremendous success. The TTA has for sure come out on top following one of the most tumultuous periods in our lives as we continue to navigate the ever changing ‘new normal’ associated with the ongoing COVID-19 Pandemic. I want to take this opportunity to pay a debt of gratitude to our outgoing President, Mr. Doug Ward, who served as our leader during this historic time. He was for sure the right person to lead our association through these difficult times.

The virtual platform worked well in 2021, but we knew it was time to get folks back in person in 2022. We had some concerns as we all heard about the Omicron variant but remained optimistic that our members had a strong desire to get back in person and would show up. We ultimately had near record attendance and participation in all aspects of the conference.

The conference education was as strong of a program as we have ever produced. Kudos to the entire Education Committee, which is headed by Dr. Jim Brosnan, for a diverse and outstanding lineup of presenters. We had science, business, professional development, golf, sports turf, sod, and multiple hands-on workshops. We had something for everybody, and I would put our show content up against any in the green industry. We had as many as five Concurrent Tracts on Wednesday that were all packed. This is a tremendous value to our members to continue their professional development in a customizable fashion.

The trade show was a huge success as well and the new setup worked beautifully. Providing lunch is a no brainer and created a very comfortable platform to conduct business or just talk shop. The new setup for the Awards and Business Luncheon created a packed house for our awards presentation, which only adds to that portion of the event. The Tennessee Turfgrass Golf Championship at Top Golf was a hit as well with close to 150 participants. Everything felt normal and everyone seemed to have a great time learning, networking and most importantly sharing in some good old-fashioned fellowship.

One of the biggest highlights each year for me personally are the awards, most notably the Dr. Tom Samples Professional of the year award. There is no more deserving recipient than Mr. Bob McCurdy who is our 2021 TTA Professional of the Year. Bob and his entire family for that matter have played a huge role with TTA through the years and it is our honor to properly recognize his contributions. If you haven’t watched the video tribute it is located on the front page of our website at ttaonline.org. Thank you to the Awards Committee, headed by Mr. Ryan Blair, for another outstanding production. This year was even more special as we were able to celebrate the careers of two Turfgrass Legends in Tennessee, Dr. Tom Samples and Dr. Alan Windham. They have meant so much to us all and we wish them nothing but the best in their retirement. I look forward to seeing them around for years to come as I am sure they will both remain involved.

Thank you again for a great event and we are already looking forward to next year!

Christopher C. Sykes

TTA President