President’s Message
A Great
Virginia Turfgrass Journal is the official publication of The Virginia Turfgrass Council P.O. Box 5989 Virginia Beach, VA 23471 Office: (757) 464-1004 Fax: (757) 282-2693 vaturf@verizon.net
YEAR
for the VTC!
Rick Owens, CGCS 2016–2017 President
The
past two years have gone by quickly, and I am pleased to say that they have been good ones for the turfgrass industry and the Virginia Turfgrass Council. Two Mid-Atlantic Turfgrass Expos have been successful and profitable, with profits earmarked for the Virginia Tech and the University of Maryland’s turfgrass programs. For the first time, the VTC and the VGCSA combined their efforts and talents to create a new Virginia Tech Turf Research Golf Classic Tournament to raise even more money for turfgrass research at Virginia Tech. The new tournament replaced two separate tournaments sponsored by the two organizations and raised much more money than the two previous tournaments combined. Many thanks to Mark Petrus and Fred Biggers who worked long and hard on the tournament on behalf of the VTC. Many thanks also to the Virginia Golf Course Superintendents Association’s tournament committee and executive director, David Norman, for their considerable efforts. Also, thank you to the sponsors and participants for making this new cooperative venture with the VGCSA a success. This past year, the VTC created another mini-conference called “Come to the Valley.” Like “Come to the Bay,” the “Come to the Valley” conference wraps education around a pesticide recertification class, providing turfgrass professionals in that particular region of our state some education within easy driving distance. Our executive director, Dr. Tom Tracy, deserves most of the credit for the launch and success of these programs. Much credit also goes to Drs. Mike Goatley, Shawn Askew, Jeff Derr, Erik Ervin, David McCall and the rest of the Virginia Tech turf team for their participation and support of these programs, as well as the MidAtlantic Turfgrass Expo. Most of you have heard that Dr. Erik Ervin is leaving Virginia Tech to take a position at the University of Delaware. His contribution to the turfgrass industry in Virginia over the years has been immense. The VTC will lead a push to ensure that his position will be filled with an excellent candidate. It has been a privilege to work with the many capable VTC board members who have served along with me, especially vice president Scott Woodward and treasurer Michael Skelton, who ensured that the VTC remains financially sound. I also want to thank committee members and chairs who keep the Virginia Turfgrass Council active. Last, but not least, thanks to our magazine’s managing editor, Liz Nutter, who manages to gently prod me to write these messages, cleans up my grammar and otherwise keeps me from saying anything too foolish. It has been an honor to serve as Virginia Turfgrass Council president.
Rick Owens, CGCS 2016–2017 VTC President
6 | VIRGINIA TURFGRASS JOURNAL January/February 2018 www.vaturf.org
PUBLISHED BY Leading Edge Communications, LLC 206 Bridge Street Franklin, Tennessee 37064 (615) 790-3718 Fax: (615) 794-4524 Email: info@leadingedgecommunications.com EDITOR Mark Vaughn, CGCS VTC OFFICERS President Rick Owens, CGCS Laurel Hill Golf Club (703) 674-6934 Vice President Scott Woodward Woodward Turf Farms (540) 727-0020 Treasurer Michael Skelton Culpeper County (540) 727-3412 Past President Fredrick Biggers, CGCS Wintergreen Resort (434) 325-8252 VTC DIRECTORS Steve Glass Tony Montgomery Jesse Pritchard, CSFM David Smith T.J. Skirsky Rick Viancour, CGCS Jimmy Viars, CGM Craig Zeigler VTC ADVISORY MEMBERS OF THE BOARD Mike Goatley, Ph.D. (Chair) Shawn Askew, Ph.D. Jeffrey Derr, Ph.D. David McCall Ph.D. EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR/ DIRECTOR OF PROGRAMS Tom Tracy, Ph.D. (757) 464-1004 VIRGINIA TURFGRASS FOUNDATION Betty Parker (757) 574-9061