My schedule opened for the third week of April so I decided to head toward Tri-Cities and Walla Walla, Washington. Since I missed the Inland Empire Spring Meeting in Walla Walla due to the Chapter Leaders Symposium, I thought it would be a good idea to check in with a few of the members in the area.
Along the way, I stopped in the Columbia Gorge and visited with Michael Combs, CGCS at Carson Hot Springs, now Elk Meadows. It had been some time since I had been up there and was pleasantly surprised how the property has come along. With Michael's touch, this piece of property is well on its way to becoming a gem of the Columbia Gorge.
It was a long drive out to the Tri-Cities area but I had enough time to stop in and visit with Shane Hughes at Tri-City Country Club. Bo Lacy, CGCS, was the previous superintendent at Tri-City Country Club and recently took a position with Barrenbrug Seed Company in Tangent, Oregon. Bo had hired Shane just prior to his departure and the club had enough confidence in Shane that they gave him the nod to take the superintendent position. After visiting with Shane, I can see why he was selected. Shane and I discussed his path to Class A in which he anxious to achieve, and from what I could see he will only need to put in his three years and he will be done. We also discussed his CGCS. I encouraged him to send for his CGCS packet and to start working on it as soon as he feels up to it. I could tell that this young man wants to get the most out of his GCSAA membership and will be an asset to his local chapter.
The next morning, I drove out to Horn Rapids Golf Course to visit with 22-year member Nicholas Rodrigues. Nic hasn't been a very active member but it is great to see that he still values his membership. We had a very nice visit and he expressed interest in getting his Class A status back in which he had lost back in 2003. I reached out to Scott Woodhead Associate Director of Member Relations, and he promptly replied with a road map for Nic to get back on board. Nic informed me that his son Ryan was the superintendent of the course but had not expressed interest in becoming a member. After our visit, I drove out to his shop and had a visit. I caught up with Ryan as he was loading his cart to go out and work on one of his ponds. We discussed the benefits of a GCSAA membership and he said that he had been thinking of becoming a member and desires furthering his education. Ryan has been working on the golf course since he was thirteen when he started out working in the cart barn. Now that he is thirty six, he knows that he needs to step up his game and become more educated. I sent Ryan a membership application and anticipate him joining soon.
One of my main reasons for coming out to this region was to try to secure the Grassroots Ambassador position for this district. Michael Lee sent me a note and told me that Congressman Newhouse was in a key leadership position and if we had an ambassador tied to him it would be most beneficial for us. I sent a few emails out to some key superintendents in the area including Carl Thompson, CGCS. I never did hear back from Carl so I wanted to be sure to stop by and talk to him. Carl called me while I was in town and told me that he would not be available for a visit but, I did let him know why I wanted to see him. The funny thing was, he told me that he responded immediately to my email and told me that he was very interested in becoming the Grassroots Ambassador for Newhouse, but for some reason, unknown to both of us, I never received the email. I am now happy to say that Washington State is just two slots away from having all of their positions covered.
My next stop was at Columbia Park Golf Course. This property is situated right along the Columbia River, right next to where the boat races occur each year. I was looking for Lee Ann Marcotte whose membership had lapsed back in 2009. As I drove up, I just happened to catch her loading her Jacobsen topdresser with sand. I didn’t want to take too much of her time since she was in the middle of a project down at the driving range. I introduced myself and we had a great conversation about GCSAA and the local chapter. She finally expressed that she would like to join back up and would like some information on becoming a Class A once again. I then sent her info to Scott Woodhead and again, he promptly replied with a road map to her goal. I can’t thank Scott enough for the supporting role that he provides me while I am out in the field. I was able to get right back to Lee Ann and give her the information that she needed for reinstatement.
My last stop in the Tri-Cities area was at Meadow Springs Golf Club. I caught Mark Dalton, CGCS, in his shop and enjoyed a wonderful visit. I thanked Mark for his support by allowing his EM and assistant to each be members. Mark truly believes in GCSAA and is a big promoter.
Walla Walla was my next destination so I swung into Wine Valley Golf Club as I approached town. They were in the midst of a WGA Senior Championship and Tyler Daniels had already gone home for the day. I met with his equipment manager for a short time and gave him some information on membership.
The timing worked out perfectly when I swung by Walla Walla Country Club and caught Jeff Blanc, CGCS, getting ready to head out to lunch. Jeff took me up on my lunch offer so we had a great visit, catching up on friends and family. Pictured here is a photo of Jeff and his longtime friend, Gracie. She is fourteen and not doing so well. I actually had to help her into the cart for this picture. My heart was heavy when Jeff told me that he may be taking her to the vet soon. She has been with Jeff every day at work since she was a pup and will be missed terribly.
Since I was in Walla Walla, I stopped by to see Gwen Stahnke at Walla Walla Community College. Gwen was between labs which gave her time to give me a tour of her facility. Gwen told me that she currently has five on campus students and around 20 online students. She says the online students seem to take most of her time. It was great to see how Walla Walla is still a thriving educational institution for turfgrass management.
Following my visit with Gwen, I made my way down to Pendleton where Sean Hoolehan, CGCS, was kind enough to set me up with a hotel room in the Wildhorse Casino tower. That night. Sean and I met with Pendleton Country Club’s Troy Alderson at our favorite pizza place where I bought dinner for the group. The next day, I spent the morning with Troy helping him change cups. We had a great time. It was good to get my hands in a green again. While we drove around I noticed how alive Troy's ponds were with wildlife. He actually had a beaver lodge in one of his ponds and we could actually see it inside. He also had a tremendous amount of pond turtles. They were almost as prevalent as I have seen bull frogs in other ponds.
It was a good two days, visiting with eight members and two non-members.
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| Elk Meadows at Carson Hot Springs |
It was a long drive out to the Tri-Cities area but I had enough time to stop in and visit with Shane Hughes at Tri-City Country Club. Bo Lacy, CGCS, was the previous superintendent at Tri-City Country Club and recently took a position with Barrenbrug Seed Company in Tangent, Oregon. Bo had hired Shane just prior to his departure and the club had enough confidence in Shane that they gave him the nod to take the superintendent position. After visiting with Shane, I can see why he was selected. Shane and I discussed his path to Class A in which he anxious to achieve, and from what I could see he will only need to put in his three years and he will be done. We also discussed his CGCS. I encouraged him to send for his CGCS packet and to start working on it as soon as he feels up to it. I could tell that this young man wants to get the most out of his GCSAA membership and will be an asset to his local chapter.
The next morning, I drove out to Horn Rapids Golf Course to visit with 22-year member Nicholas Rodrigues. Nic hasn't been a very active member but it is great to see that he still values his membership. We had a very nice visit and he expressed interest in getting his Class A status back in which he had lost back in 2003. I reached out to Scott Woodhead Associate Director of Member Relations, and he promptly replied with a road map for Nic to get back on board. Nic informed me that his son Ryan was the superintendent of the course but had not expressed interest in becoming a member. After our visit, I drove out to his shop and had a visit. I caught up with Ryan as he was loading his cart to go out and work on one of his ponds. We discussed the benefits of a GCSAA membership and he said that he had been thinking of becoming a member and desires furthering his education. Ryan has been working on the golf course since he was thirteen when he started out working in the cart barn. Now that he is thirty six, he knows that he needs to step up his game and become more educated. I sent Ryan a membership application and anticipate him joining soon.
One of my main reasons for coming out to this region was to try to secure the Grassroots Ambassador position for this district. Michael Lee sent me a note and told me that Congressman Newhouse was in a key leadership position and if we had an ambassador tied to him it would be most beneficial for us. I sent a few emails out to some key superintendents in the area including Carl Thompson, CGCS. I never did hear back from Carl so I wanted to be sure to stop by and talk to him. Carl called me while I was in town and told me that he would not be available for a visit but, I did let him know why I wanted to see him. The funny thing was, he told me that he responded immediately to my email and told me that he was very interested in becoming the Grassroots Ambassador for Newhouse, but for some reason, unknown to both of us, I never received the email. I am now happy to say that Washington State is just two slots away from having all of their positions covered.
My next stop was at Columbia Park Golf Course. This property is situated right along the Columbia River, right next to where the boat races occur each year. I was looking for Lee Ann Marcotte whose membership had lapsed back in 2009. As I drove up, I just happened to catch her loading her Jacobsen topdresser with sand. I didn’t want to take too much of her time since she was in the middle of a project down at the driving range. I introduced myself and we had a great conversation about GCSAA and the local chapter. She finally expressed that she would like to join back up and would like some information on becoming a Class A once again. I then sent her info to Scott Woodhead and again, he promptly replied with a road map to her goal. I can’t thank Scott enough for the supporting role that he provides me while I am out in the field. I was able to get right back to Lee Ann and give her the information that she needed for reinstatement.
My last stop in the Tri-Cities area was at Meadow Springs Golf Club. I caught Mark Dalton, CGCS, in his shop and enjoyed a wonderful visit. I thanked Mark for his support by allowing his EM and assistant to each be members. Mark truly believes in GCSAA and is a big promoter.
Walla Walla was my next destination so I swung into Wine Valley Golf Club as I approached town. They were in the midst of a WGA Senior Championship and Tyler Daniels had already gone home for the day. I met with his equipment manager for a short time and gave him some information on membership.
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| Jeff Blanc, CGCS, and his girl Gracie |
Since I was in Walla Walla, I stopped by to see Gwen Stahnke at Walla Walla Community College. Gwen was between labs which gave her time to give me a tour of her facility. Gwen told me that she currently has five on campus students and around 20 online students. She says the online students seem to take most of her time. It was great to see how Walla Walla is still a thriving educational institution for turfgrass management.
 |
| Beaver lying just under the sticks at Pendleton Country Club |
It was a good two days, visiting with eight members and two non-members.
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