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. Michigan Golf Course Superintendents Association | WWW.MiGCSA.ORG
ASSOCIATION UPDATE
The MiGCSA at the Michigan Turfgrass Conference and Beyond Contrary to some popular belief the MiGCSA does not run the Turf Conference, this is 100% a product of the Michigan Turfgrass Foundation (MTF) and their Conference Committee, Chaired by Amy Fouty. I know it can sometimes be confusing as to who does what around here. That is actually a good thing because it means we are doing things well together. This year was no exception, the lineup was superb, the schedule Tuesday to Thursday was an amazing “why did we not do this before improvement” the organization and flow was flawless. Thank you to Amy, Becky Schooch, MTF Executive Secretary, Brian Schweihofer, MTF President, Dr Kevin Frank and the many, many more who serve on committees and work so hard to produce such a great show.
ADAM IKAMAS, CGCS
The MiGCSA held our Annual Meeting on Tuesday afternoon and I am happy to report the chapter is in a good financial standing, we even made a new investment into a mutual fund of $50,000 in 2015. The 2015 year also showed a profit of $37,562.32 thanks in large part to our 12 Tiered Industry Partners and 25+ Companies that participated to bring in more than $105,000. Please remember if you only do one thing for your chapter this year it is to thank your representative of our Industry Partners for partnering with the MiGCSA.
We also had a banner year for fundraising which allowed the MiGCSA to make $33,172.32 in donations to the Wee One, Student and Member Dependent Scholarships and other philanthropic endeavors related to turf. We also were able to make the largest donation we have ever had to the MTF with a donation of $20,682.32. If you decide to do more than the one thing mentioned above for your chapter this year it would be to attend one of the 2016 fundraisers. Every year we have three starting with Arcadia Bluffs on the first Monday in June and 100% of the proceeds from these events go right back to our industry. In 2016 we will have the Western Golf Day at Kent Country Club on September 19th and the Big Event at Plum Hollow on October 3rd. Mark your calendars for these events and make it a priority to have a great time and support your industry, the definition of a win-win. We also have a great lineup of regular meetings in 2016 as you see in the insert calendar in this issue. Utilize your membership to network with your peers, if you don’t know anyone sign up as a single and we will make sure you get into a good group, or possibly stuck with me! But please don’t let that dissuade you. Grow your network, grow your professional life and use your Association to do it.
Adam Ikamas, CGCS MiGCSA Executive Director