Presidents Message

Well the Dog Days of Summer are upon us. I trust that everyone has enjoyed how mild the weather has been except those that might be hoping to germinate some new seed or have had a slow transition out of spring. Don’t fret because I am sure that the heat will come soon enough. It seems that Mother Nature is playing with us and everything is behind by a month in accordance to the norm.

The Board of Directors has put together some great events in the upcoming months which I think many of you will not want to miss. Brendon Reaksecker, our esteemed Past President, has organized the 2Nd Annual Past Presidents Cup to be held at Bonita Golf Club on Friday, August 27th at 7:00 pm. I would like to invite anyone and everyone to come out to this social event for some live music and gathering to reminisce. On a second note, Brendon has been working with Brad Monroe at Cuyamaca College to enhance their Turf Management Class, and has developed a Mentorship Program for the upcoming year. For more information on this program we have outlined it in the Quarterly Update and will post it on the Website. continue

And away we go! I hope everyone is enjoying this mild summer so far and I hope it continues. We have scheduled a Social outing for all members of the Association to take place on July 28th at the Del Mar Race Track. I hope everyone can take a moment to appreciate all they have and come out for an enjoyable day at the races. We all tend to get caught up in that grind of everyday work and this is a chance to put all that aside and just get away with your friends and peers. I would also encourage everyone to bring your family, coworkers, friends and anyone else you deem worthy.

Many thanks go out to Brian Darrock and the folks at Fairbanks Ranch Country Club. The Annual Invitational there on June 14th was fantastic and a great day was had by all. I personally enjoyed seeing those of you that I don’t get a chance to visit with regularly and take a moment to catch up, mainly because my golf game gives me no personal satisfaction. The course was great, the food was exceptional, and the weather made me wonder why I ever left the area. continue

Presidents Message
by Vince Zellefrow

I would like to start by thanking all members of the Association for entrusting me and feeling that I am worthy to be your President for the upcoming year. As many of you may or may not know, this past year brought many changes to the operation of this Association. The Board of Directors headed by our current Past President, Brendon Reaksecker, encountered several challenges throughout the year and made every effort to consider all options in making the best decisions for the Members of this Association. A BIG THANK YOU and a pat on the back, as well as, a round of drinks for a job well done should be given to Brendon the next time you encounter him. If you only knew how much time and effort Brendon put into his service it would boggle your mind.

The past year the Board worked to get a better understanding of how the Association can serve its Members as well as the operation of the Association. In this day and age new challenges have presented themselves for many to justify their involvement in the Association to their superiors. For those of you that need assistance in such matters please make the Board aware so we can assist you. We are looking into a program provided by GCSAA which has been set up for all chapters to utilize in order to provide information as to the benefits received from being a member of the Association. continue

Fellow Members,

One year ago the 2008/2009 SDGCSA Board of Directors had a meeting to determine who was interested in moving through the chairs to serve as your Executive Board. I had slight trepidation about taking on the added responsibility. However, my family was supportive of the extra time commitment, my boys were at an age where youth sports wasn’t holding our dinner schedule hostage and my employer was proud to have their Superintendent dedicate himself to the profession. I decided that I would run for the position of President and if elected would serve to the best of my abilities.

This has been a year of major change for the SDGCSA. With change there will always be questions to answer and extra work to be done. I want to thank the members and fellow board members for going the extra mile to get things done. I am proud about the effort and commitment demonstrated by this Board. The friendships built on working together and sacrificing personal time to be together to make decisions on your behalf will last a lifetime. continue

The Golf Industry Show has come and gone, El Nino rains keep shattering weekend revenue opportunities, the Assistant-in-training educational program is around the corner and the 2009/2010 Board of Directors hiring process for our next Chapter Manager is in full swing. This months President’s message will touch on each of these topics in brevity.

It was with great privilege, as voting delegate for the San Diego Chapter, that I cast our allotted votes for two Board of Directors positions and for the next Secretary Treasurer of GCSAA. It was a close race with Bill Maynard CGCS, edging out Bob Farren CGCS, our very own Patrick Finlan CGCS, securing a nomination and confirmation from the floor and lastly, Sandy Queen sliding into the Sec./Treasure spot. We are in great hands with all of these highly skilled and dedicated individuals. Congratulations. When you get a chance, pat Troy Mullane on the back for ram-rodding the California Room. It was a great success!
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By Brendon Reaksecker, Bonita GC
What happened to January? I don’t know about for you, but it was a blur for me. I’d like to recap what the SDGCSA has been up to for those of you that missed out on the events over the past month and prepare you for what is coming up in the near future.

On January 13th the SDGCSA sponsored the WateReuse Associations monthly meeting held at Encinitas Ranch. 96 people attended this meeting. It was a great opportunity to rub elbows with water district representatives and visit with fellow Superintendents. Dr. Jim Baird from UC Riverside made the trip south to talk about the latest trends in turf breeding and highlight some of the research coming out of the UCTRAC program. A big thanks to Kent Graff for hosting, our members for attending and Jennifer Duffy, President of the WateReuse Association, for allowing us to sponsor their meeting. This meeting was put on at no cost to our membership.

Pechanga, Pechanga, Pechanga. John Martinez and crew had The Journey at Pechanga looking and playing awesome. It was great to have a true general meeting with the flag salute, introductions, committee reports and a guest speaker. Steve Randall from GCSAA spoke about the Top Ten topics within our National Association. The Modified Stableford format was a nice change of pace, but still made for a long day on the course. The SDGCSA covered $60.00 of the entry fee, created 3 flights, paid out 5 places in each flight and had the old archives out on display. I hope you had a chance to look through the history of our Association and enjoyed the old photos. Honorary Member, Jim Lipari, gave a brief history about when and how the SDGCSA was founded. continue

By Brendon Reaksecker, Bonita GC

The San Diego Golf Course Superintendents Association would like to thank all participants of the Ray Spardy Memorial Golf Tournament held at Steele Canyon on December 10th for your generous contributions to the 2009/2010 Scholarship and Research Fund.

It was truly a unified effort to put on a golf tournament of this magnitude. The help of volunteers behind the scenes, financial supporters through sponsorships, golf participation, donated signage, on-course photography, silent auction items, great raffle prizes and the homemade baked goods, did not go unnoticed or unappreciated by the Association or the attendees.

This year 6 students received scholarships, Michael Magnani Jr. (Ray Spardy Memorial Award), Zackery Holm (Hector Clark Award), Eric Johnson, Cameron Kreeger, Patrick Coughlin, and Matt Partridge. Two of the award winners are sons of local Superintendents. We will continue to donate funds to research, host educational meetings and support the educational endeavors of local students. This in turn will be a direct benefit to our industry and the members of the SDGCSA. continue

By Brendon Reaksecker, Bonita GC

This morning I put on my beige Prudential polyester work pants and was pleasantly surprised to find that the belt hole I used to keep them on was the same belt hole I used before the Thanksgiving weekend. Reflecting on the weekend I have much to be thankful for and I hope everyone had the opportunity to slow down and enjoy the things that mean the most in life to them.

For me, it was noticing the smiling faces of my boys, holding my loving wife’s hand as we walked across a parking lot and appreciating that I have the health to work and play with the people that are close to my heart. If your belt hole changed this Thanksgiving don’t fret. You have 4 weeks before Christmas!

It feels like 2010 is already upon us. Let’s enjoy December and finish the year with a bang! On December 10th the 12th Annual Ray Spardy Memorial SDGCSA Scholarship and Research Golf Tournament will be held at Steele Canyon Golf Club. The sponsorships and sign-ups have been rolling in over the past couple weeks. Please register if you have not already done so by visiting the www.sdgcsa.com website, Events tab. continue

By Brendon Reaksecker, Bonita GC

On October 9th I left the beautiful San Diego Airport to start my journey to the GCSAA Headquarters in Lawrence, Kansas. It was raining and very cold upon arrival, but I loved it! My skin hasn’t felt rain in months.

The Chapter Delegates meeting was well organized, informative and opened my eyes to the mission of the GCSAA. They have faced serious cutbacks that have impacted the lives of long time employees. The staff at headquarters has been reduce from 124 to 85, the Golf Industry Show in San Diego is 1/3 as large in sales of trade show floor space at 200,000 sq. ft. verses 300,000 sq. ft. in Orlando. I walked away from this meeting knowing that the industry is still strong and the services provided by the GCSAA are greater than the membership realizes. Take the time to call staff members with questions and search the website for information. It is all there for our benefit. This just announced; the GIS for 2012 will be in Las Vegas, Nevada! continue

By Brendon Reaksecker, Bonita GC

Overseeding, greens aerification and preparing the course for the winter months has been all consuming the past two weeks. Hot, then cool, back to warm and now a possibility of showers has me more confused than the turf and biology at Bonita GC.

It is nice to see that members are beginning to utilize the website for payment of events. The convenience for those running the event and confirmation of attendance cannot be understated.

The SDGCSA is hosting a day of golf at the Country Club of Rancho Bernardo, “Golf with a Hero” October 5th. We have 50 local active duty personnel and 30 Superindentent/Affiliate members confirmed for this event. A giant thank you goes out to the donors of the terrific raffle prizes, Ed Mower for getting the military sign-ups confirmed and to Gary Radersma for getting the course in phenomenal shape. He said the greens are fast, so be prepared to three putt more than once. continue