The SuperNews OFFICIAL PUBLICATION OF THE RIO GRANDE GCSA
December 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 When former President Caleb Buckley informed me I would be stepping in a little early as interim President of the Rio Grande Golf Course Superintendents Association, a very nervous feeling set in. My first thought was, “Who am I to be running this organization?” Nevertheless, duty called, and I stepped in as Interim President at the end of 2016 to host the Annual Meeting at UNM South. Hosting that meeting was a unique and humbling experience for me. Not only was it the highest profile, most attended meeting of the year, GCSAA CEO J. Rhett Evans was our speaker for the meeting. NO PRESSURE! I had filled in for Caleb earlier that year at the March meeting in Las Cruces at Red Hawk GC hosting a much smaller crowd with mostly familiar faces. I was uneasy at that meeting in March, but my nervousness really showed at the annual event as I fumbled through the business meeting, introductions, and conducted the elections all the while having no idea what I was doing. Mr. Evans was very gracious and saved me by giving a great talk on the state of the industry. Despite my apparent nervousness, the membership decided to vote me in as President for another year as relief finally came at the conclusion of the meeting, realizing we had two and a half months to prepare for the next gathering in January. I did understand that being Vice-President most likely meant that I would one day be asked to run for President, however I simply thought I had more time. Looking through the directory at the list of Past Presidents, some of whom I had the privilege of knowing in my short career, I didn’t believe there was any way I could ever be on the same level as those individuals who mentored me along the way. Early in my career, I recall sitting in on round table discussions at a RGGCSA meeting and marveling at the wealth of knowledge these turf professionals had. I would categorize myself as a quietly confident, yet adequately cautious person, however with any new adventure comes a healthy fear of the unknown. Over the course of my career as a Superintendent, I have found that confidence is gained through hard work and preparation. After all, isn’t this what we do as leaders of our facility? Over 2+ years as President, being responsible for planning and running 11 membership meetings and all the board meetings, a confidence in myself was gained that I never had before. This was reinforced by feedback from my fellow board members, and long-time RGGCSA members who let me know how I was doing along the way. They could see the nervousness slowly turn into confidence and weren’t afraid to let me know it. I may not have mastered the art of public speaking, but I feel a hell of a lot better standing in front of a group now, as opposed to 24 months ago. It just goes to show, a few kind words of affirmation or even some healthy criticism can make a huge difference in the development of an individual. Over the course of my career, I have learned that fulfillment comes from giving back and sharing the many blessings and gifts that have been given to me freely. I use this philosophy with my staff here at ACC as well as with my fellow department heads. It was only natural to take this approach as president of the Rio Grande. Continued on next page
Matt Urban RGGSAA President