President’s Message for September 2008

Thanks to Rob Moffett and the Golden Hills staff for hosting our August meeting.  For those of you that missed it, Dr. Unruh spoke about the remote crop circle sensing unit that we purchased about a year ago for the University of Florida.  It was a great look into the future of golf course maintenance.  Dr. Unruh also gave us an update on Methyl Bromide and other fumigates used for turfgrass.  We had a second guest that day, her name was Fay.  She didn't allow us to play golf, but we were able to accomplish a few other things including a New Board Member Orientation and my first BOD meeting as President.

The business portion of the meeting was an active one.  A couple of motions were made, discussed, and passed by unanimous vote.  The first one was to raise the cost of meetings to $40 starting with the September meeting.  Those staying for the meeting and lunch only will still pay $15.  It has been at least 6 years since we raised our meeting costs and as we all know, the price of everything has risen since then.  The second change was to allow additional individuals from our Corporate Member companies at a reduced rate of $250 per individual rather than the full price.  This will go into effect starting in 2009.  Since many companies have more than one representative in our area, it seemed fair to have both representatives attend all the meetings.

This month's meeting will take place on Thursday, September 25 at Gainesville Country Club.  Mike Rowe will be our host superintendent and Mr. John Foy, Director of the Florida Region of the USGA Green Section, will be our guest speaker.  John will hold a roundtable discussion on overseeding practices and trends around the state.  I look forward to another great turnout.  You never know, I might just wear ORANGE and BLUE to the meeting, after all, we will be in the motherland that day!!!

Lastly, we have confirmed a date for the Annual Fishing Trip on the Apollo fishing charter for November 13.  The price is $75 per person and will be open to the first 30 people that pay.  Remember, that food, drink, fishing gear, and bait are all included.  You can pay online, send a check to Rick, or pay at the next meeting.  Don't hesitate and miss out on a good time!!!

As always, please contact Mary Antal at 352-237-9564 or email her at mary_antal@otowfl.com if you have any questions or to register for meetings.  Don't forget that you can access anything you need at www.srgcsa.com.

Sincerely,

Jim Shaffer

President – SRGCSA