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Executive Director’s Report

CAREY MITCHELSON

Welcome to the 4th edition of the newly revised MTF Newsnotes.

This edition marks the one-year anniversary of the return of the magazine that the MTF offered in various versions for more than 4 decades. Discussions of whether returning to a physical mailing would be beneficial with so many other electronic options available was certainly a topic at several board meetings. Among the most convincing arguments for its reappearance is the importance of the MTF Conference and our desire to message it as much as possible. The conference is one of our most important dates and including the information about it in a document that could be referred to away from the computer seemed to be a logical decision. It was also determined that a semi-annual magazine would allow us to have a spring issue that would review the conference and update our membership with a look into the season ahead. The Board of Directors believe the decision to have a semi-annual mailing was correct and has been well received. With Covid behind us, we would like to offer a summary of MTF and MSU Turf Program activities in this issue. Further updates are listed elsewhere in this issue of NewsNotes. After 2 years of Pandemic related issues, students have returned to classes in a normal manner at MSU and the Turf Program has had a significant number of students registered and is operating in normal mode.

PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE

Spring Highlights The Turf Team provided a great Field Day at the Hancock Turfgrass Research Center and attendees It is with great pleasure that the Michigan Turfgrass Foundation once again is able to present our Annual Turfgrass Conference. The decision four years ago to return to East Lansing and make the emphasis on education has proven were treated to some very interesting research projects. Some of those included: Dr. Rogers’s efforts to be the correct choice. Our speaker line-up is once again wellwith the establishment of Bluegrasses on plastic, Dr. Nikolai’s innovative work with Hydroponic Greens, rounded and the topics for your consideration have been planned

Dr. Frank and Dr. Merewitz-Holm studies of the effects of cold temperatures on turf which is part of a multi-university study being conducted with grants from the Department of Agriculture. Along for months. A great deal of debate regarding what our attendees with those and many other subjects the afternoon session also provided a chance to review the MSU may be interested in always takes place and the goal is to anticipate

Athletics Department turf fields hosted by MSU Athletic Fields Manager, Andy Flynn. Many thanks the priorities of the attendees. Your input on topics during the to Chair Dan Mausolf for once again coordinating this event. He has vested much time and effort in Conference and throughout the year is always welcome and we making it run as smoothly as possible.look forward to any thoughts you may have. We hope you find the Conference suited to your expectations and trust you will let us know your opinions on where we may improve and if we have effectively planned your time as well. Many people are involved with the planning process of the Conference and it starts the day after the last session ends. The catalyst of the event is our current Vice-President Amy Fouty. She has set the tone the last three years and always strives to enhance and improve each day of the sessions. Fellow Board members Mark Wildeman and Curt Boak have been under her wing this past Payton Perkinson – Field Day year and they will be chairing the Conference for the upcoming years. Many thanks to all of them as they continue to provide a VOL 2 | ISSUE 2 www.michiganturfgrass.org conference that we all enjoy and learn from. Finally, for all those attending, if possible, please acknowledge

Lafontaine Outing

The LaFontaine Golf Outing once again benefited the MSU Turf team and MSU Graduate students. Many of the Grad Students were in attendance and like Field Day they are the lifeline to the Turf Team and research conducted at MSU. This event annually provides $7,000 - $10,000 to the MTF Graduate Student Fund and partners with MSU to provide graduate students to the MSU Turf Team. Again, Dan Mausolf was the coordinator of this event and he put together a great gathering and camaraderie.

GAM Annual Meeting – MSU Turf Team Recognition

Also related to the MSU Turf Team was recognition by the Golf Association of Michigan and their Annual Meeting in Lansing at Eagle Eye Golf Course. The GAM presented awards to recently retired Dr. Smitley and soon to be retiring, Dr. Vargas. Dr. Crum now also recently retired was not able to attend but was also acknowledged by the GAM for all his years of service to the Golf industry.

Board of Directors - Election update

The Board of Directors welcomed new Board Member Mitch Hooten from the West Michigan White Caps and are pleased to offer 4 incumbents for reelection during the MTF Conference in Mt. Pleasant. Matt Gaver, Brad Lazroff, Dan Mausolf and Adam Palmatier have all agreed to again run for positions on the board of directors and we appreciate their time served. Nominations for board positions can still be made by members of the MTF with a deadline of November 25th for nominations. Nomination must be made by a MTF Member in good standing as of November 15th. Election will be held December 5th and will once again be held electronically and will be sent to members in good standing as of November 15th.

Membership

Related to membership, many of you receiving this magazine have renewed your membership and we appreciate your support. Those who have not renewed this fall are still receiving NewsNotes as a courtesy and we look forward to your renewal soon. Renewal can be done at any time and will receive a full year of membership at the time of renewal. The MTF has switched to an “Anniversary Date” vs. the previous “Annual Date” which was previously October 1 of each year. The Anniversary Date system allows members to set the date they would prefer for payment of membership and that can be made anytime – even if you missed your renewal date. If you have any questions, you can reach us at: miturfgrass@gmail.com

D&B Landscaping Tee Sign Championship trophies LaFontaine Golf Outing - Dan Bywlec group

93rd MTF Turf Conference

The 93rd MTF Conference will once again offer many options and is also a time for recognizing those in our industry from both past and future generations. Congratulations to Mr. Jim Bogart who has been selected as this year’s Meritorious Service awardee. Jim served the MTF for many years including serving as President in 1992 and 1993 and provided historical perspectives and leadership to the Foundation and is well deserving of the award. The award will be presented at the Founders Society Reception. Future leaders will also be in attendance as the Conference serves as a time to present honors to all the students selected for various scholarships and awards. For those who have not attended this gathering I suggest you attend. The industry can be proud of the young members coming up the ladder and sharing some time with them can be rewarding.

This year’s Conference is being held a bit later in January which allows a bit more time to relax after the holidays. Our President and Conference Chair, Curt Boak has been constantly improving this event and considering the impact of the Pandemic he has kept the Conference updated without missing a step. A tremendous amount of time and energy is put into something like this and we are fortunate for his governance and devotion to this annual event. Joe Vargas

Tom Nikolia

MTF Scholarship winners MiGCSA Scholarship winners

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