The SuperNews OFFICIAL PUBLICATION OF THE RIO GRANDE GCSA
June 2018 President Matt Urban Vice President Jimmy Rodriguez Secretary / Treasurer Matt Hughes Board of Directors: Roy Johnson Paul Kerr Chad Parron Caleb Buckley (Past Pres.) Vendor Representative
Bryan Klock Chapter Executive Carol Cloud GCSAA Field Rep John Walker
President’s Message Networking Opportunities Although summer isn’t scheduled to hit us until the 21st of June, I think most of us have been feeling the heat here in the Rio Grande region. Hot and dry has been the order of business for most of us and we have been suffering right along with our turf. Hopefully the recent rains have afforded some of you the opportunity to take a brief break before strapping in to battle the remainder of the season. Tournament golf is my passion. There is nothing more enjoyable than preparing for and setting up an event here at Artesia Country Club. One of my long-range goals when I became a superintendent was to work a facility that was on television to host a professional golf tournament. It is safe to say ACC won’t be hosting any US Opens in the near future, but the dream is still alive as I continue to search to satisfy that craving. At our 2017 Annual Meeting at the Canyon Club, our speaker Kevin Ross suggested we as superintendents try to volunteer at a major, or semi-major event every few years as a way to broaden our horizons and create new networking opportunities. This past May I was blessed to be a volunteer at the PGA’s Byron Nelson Tournament in Dallas which moved from Las Colinas and was played for the first time at three-year-old Trinity Forest. The trip gave me the opportunity to shut my mind off for a week and let someone else worry about weather, logistics, start times, sick employees……you know all the stuff we do daily. The work at the Byron Nelson was quick and easy with so many guys, but it was the times in between shifts that were really of value. I gained the most knowledge sitting down to a meal with some of the local staff and hearing their account on how the course has taken shape over the past three years, or listening to a group of young assistant volunteers, still hungover from the night before, tell everyone at the table how they would do it if they were in charge. It was these exchanges that reinforced the fact that we all have so much to learn no matter how great we are at growing grass and managing people. We have such a short time in this business why not take the opportunities to learn and grow when we can? The course was here when I returned, a little burnt, but salvageable. If you are reading this and haven’t been to a meeting in a while, come join us in July at Cochiti Golf Course. There isn’t a one of us out there who wouldn’t benefit from attending a meeting. The Rio Grande is thankful for the Sponsors who give so generously of their time and dollars to travel to meetings to see us. We are especially thankful to our regular attendees who never seem to miss a meeting. In talking to those who come on a regular basis, it seems they mostly attend for the professional conversation and exchange of ideas. This board and every board before us has been looking to boost attendance. It just takes one phone call. The remainder of this year, I challenge all of you who attend meetings regularly to reach out and encourage just one person in our industry who never comes to meetings to attend at least one this year. Share with them why you come and what you get out of the experience. You never know where the conversation might take you. Be sure to join us at Cochiti in July!! Look for e-mails from our ED Carol Cloud. Cheers to a successful summer season!!!
Matt Urban RGGSAA President