It’s those long dreary winter months that seem to never end but now that the season is in full swing, July has come and gone just like that. As the Northwest region field staff representative, I have the pleasure of visiting individual courses and seeing all the great work that is being done around the region. Sometimes, I am lucky enough to be able to play a few of these courses. On July 10, I joined the RMGCSA at their annual tournament at the Country Club of Colorado in Colorado Springs. Glenn Samuelson and his staff had done a wonderful job preparing the course.
Prior to teeing off, I had the honor and privilege to meet Stan Metzger. Stan was the grow-in superintendent at The Country Club of Colorado, but more importantly, he has mentored more superintendents than I can imagine. When someone like Dennis Lyon, CGCS, regards Stan as a mentor, then you know this guy is special. Upon Stan’s retirement, the club had offered him a lifetime membership. It was so great to see him still hanging out with the guys. Speaking of Dennis Lyon, it was great to see him at the event, as well as his longtime friend, and also GCSAA Past President, Steve Cadenelli, CGCS. Steve was in town visiting Dennis and joined us all for the day’s event.
I stopped to wonder how often do you see such pillars in the industry, two of whom were GCSAA past presidents, at a chapter event? It may happen more often than I am aware, but in my circles, this seemed special. It was great to see these three individuals making their way around visiting with many of the members attending. When I look back at my career, there were certain individuals that I crossed paths with that took the time to get to know me and spend time talking with me. Dennis Lyon was one of those guys. I was a member of the Chapter Relations Committee from 2007 to 2009 and remember hanging around O’Hare airport waiting to fly home from one of our meetings. Dennis and I sat and talked about everything you could imagine until I almost missed my flight home. I remember how cool that was that someone of his stature would do that. To this day, I know that Dennis was one of those guys that had an effect on my career. It’s probable they were doing the same thing that very day.
My point: If you are one of those members that perhaps have served your chapter well over the years and have even retired, you may not see the point of attending your local chapter meetings regularly. I urge you to please reconsider. You are such a valuable resource and have the opportunity to continue to mentor young superintendents and assistants well into and beyond your career.
Prior to teeing off, I had the honor and privilege to meet Stan Metzger. Stan was the grow-in superintendent at The Country Club of Colorado, but more importantly, he has mentored more superintendents than I can imagine. When someone like Dennis Lyon, CGCS, regards Stan as a mentor, then you know this guy is special. Upon Stan’s retirement, the club had offered him a lifetime membership. It was so great to see him still hanging out with the guys. Speaking of Dennis Lyon, it was great to see him at the event, as well as his longtime friend, and also GCSAA Past President, Steve Cadenelli, CGCS. Steve was in town visiting Dennis and joined us all for the day’s event.
I stopped to wonder how often do you see such pillars in the industry, two of whom were GCSAA past presidents, at a chapter event? It may happen more often than I am aware, but in my circles, this seemed special. It was great to see these three individuals making their way around visiting with many of the members attending. When I look back at my career, there were certain individuals that I crossed paths with that took the time to get to know me and spend time talking with me. Dennis Lyon was one of those guys. I was a member of the Chapter Relations Committee from 2007 to 2009 and remember hanging around O’Hare airport waiting to fly home from one of our meetings. Dennis and I sat and talked about everything you could imagine until I almost missed my flight home. I remember how cool that was that someone of his stature would do that. To this day, I know that Dennis was one of those guys that had an effect on my career. It’s probable they were doing the same thing that very day.My point: If you are one of those members that perhaps have served your chapter well over the years and have even retired, you may not see the point of attending your local chapter meetings regularly. I urge you to please reconsider. You are such a valuable resource and have the opportunity to continue to mentor young superintendents and assistants well into and beyond your career.
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