MiGCSA Strategic Planning

Steve Randall leads the board on their s.c.o.r results

This week on Tuesday and Wednesday the MiGCSA Board gathered at the Hancock Turfgrass Research Center for a two day Strategic Planning session with John Miller and Steve Randall from the GCSAA. John is the field staff for the Great Lakes and Steve is the Senior Field Staff for the GCSAA and was instrumental in the early formation of the MiGCSA.

We last had a meeting like this in 2009, but with the changes within the MiGCSA and golf in in Michigan we thought it would be a great time to re visit our direction. Many of the board members in attendance were also there for the last meeting, but for some of the newly elected members this was the first meeting.

The day started at noon with Steve Randal handing out a s.c.o.r. analysis. This is meant to identify the strengths, challenges, opportunities and risks. Everyone completed this analysis and read the results aloud and Steve wrote them down. Once everyone had the results on the whiteboard they were all ranked from 1 to 3 in level of importance.

This was followed by looking at the MiGCSA Mission statement. The original was “To provide leadership for Golf Course Superintendents and other golf industry partners on the economic, environmental and recreational vitality of golf in Michigan.” This was a great original mission but we thought we needed to start in a new direction; we made a change to “The MiGCSA is dedicated to providing value to our members through programs and services that enhance our profession.” We all felt this more accurately represented where the MiGCSA is and where we are going. We also added a new set of visions for the association. These are as follows.

Michigan Golf Course Superintendents Association members will be consistently recognized as:

• A community of professionals networking and supporting one another to enhance their position in the golf industry 
• Supporters of scholarships, education and research efforts to benefit our members
• Professionals working to enhance environmental stewardship
• Leaders on initiatives to grow the game of golf
• Crucial to the economic vitality of golf
• Actively participating in the betterment of their communities

Using these new tools the board was able to set action items for the immediate and long term future. It is an exciting time for the MiGCSA as we move from a maintenance mode into an improvement direction.

Back from the GC.. Back fro the GC.. back from the GCSAA!

I am on my return flight from GCSAA Headquarters in Lawrence after the Chapter Leaders and Executives Symposium with MiGCSA President Jay Eccleton, CGCS. As I often do once I get on a plane returning from anywhere I tend to reflect, so I thought this is a perfect 1 hour and 15 minutes to get in a blog entry.

This is my third trip to GCSAA Headquarters and I have to say it is not quite as exciting or the same as my first experience years ago as the chapter delegate of the NMTMA, but I am always impressed by the amount of care and advocacy the staff in that building bring to the table for all of the members of the GCSAA and MiGCSA. I have not met a more dedicated group in any other section of my life. The field staff has really been put in place so more members can experience this extreme dedication to individual member needs, and that is the real key is individual contact. I know it has been said before but I wish every member could experience the GCSAA headquarters, but now the field staff can try to bring this experience to the members. I was also struck by the amount of times the MiGCSA was referenced during the various topics, and I am happy to say in a positive light.

This is also the second time I was able to network with my new set of piers, and what a fantastic source of information and unique point of views. It is very similar to the Superintendent profession, a small group of dedicated professionals with a very unique set of issues that is very hard to have others understand. I do have the unique advantage as some others do as well of being a Superintendent at heart. I relish the opportunity to learn more from them on the Association Management and to be of use to them on the Superintendent point of view.

I now look away from reflection and on to upcoming events. The MiGCSA Board will be gathering in Lansing at the Hancock Turfgrass research Center next week along with John Miller and Steve Randall from the GCSAA to have a strategic planning session for the MiGCSA. This is a requirement of the GCSAA affiliation agreement but is also a great way to benchmark our progress and to make sure our direction is understood. This will be the first strategic plan we have had since I have been in my new position.

It is spring, a time of new growth and renewal; I hope this will pertain to the MiGCSA as well as we make a path for the future of the Association in Michigan.

Tiger by the tail...

Well I have been a long supporter of all that is communication and social media, and this week I really made my belief stronger. I had seen many of these memes flying around about what you think you do, what they think you do etc. so I decided to make one for the Golf Course Superintendent. So on Thursday I found myself with a few extra minutes in the morning and went to work. In about 30 minutes I was able to put together the image you see on your right.

I had no idea what was about to happen when I posted in on Facebook at 12:18. It started slow, the GCSAA shared it with their feed and many MiGCSA followers commented on it and started to share it. But then it went off like a wildfire in an open field. I started to see it on other pages within hours, and they were getting comments and shares as well, I can not track those as they took it and posted it as their own.

As of today it has 300 likes, 51 comments, and 169 shares just on the MiGCSA page alone. I have no idea the total reach yet, Facebook does have metrics on these things but I won't see the results until tomorrow. I have offered to send hi resolution versions of this out via email if they contact me, and this morning I had a request fro SWEDEN! It went from Northern Michigan around the world in less than three days. It has been interesting to be on this end of something that went "viral" and I have to admit it is pretty cool.

The response has been overall extremely positive, so thank you for that. And of course if you want a hi res copy you can email me at adamikamas@migcsa.org, this is for personal use only and not for re-sale, the images are just grabs from the internet and I am sure at least the Carl Spackler image is copyrighted.

Gearing up for Vegas

As with most things it seems like everything is much farther away than they are, like the objects in mirror are closer than they appear warning. But here we are less than a week away from the 2012 GIS in Las Vegas. I have been asked to do a presentation in the Chapter Executives track on the Communication efforts of the MiGCSA. I have been involved with the communications with the chapter since the day the committee was formed. I believed then as I do now that this is the fulcrum of the MiGCSA. Just as it becomes an issue at a golf course when people do not know what is going on, without proper and easy communication to decision makers you absolutely can not succeed.

As I write this I am taking a break from my power point, I am getting to the point where I will cover this Blog. I am the first to admit it is the weakest of the MiGCSA communication. Like many people in this age I lean towards the quick concise routes of Email, Facebook and Twitter.

This will be my first time attending GIS not as a Superintendent I am not sure what to expect. Add to this presenting to a group of my new piers may be a little nerve racking. I have done presentations in the past to Superintendents on turf, which is something I have more experience with. However I feel that the MiGCSA has a great story to tell. The fact that it exists from the 4 original chapters is amazing, and the way we use so many ways to make our information available to the members is well ahead of many other chapters. So it is my hope and goal to help other chapters to move ahead into the new digital social media age, if they are not there. It can be intimidating, and can be easily dismissed as trivial. Many people have a view of Twitter and Facebook of their teenage daughter constantly on their phone wasting time. But even thought it may be a small percentage of members who are on Facebook or Twitter now it is a terrible mistake to not prepare for future members. Think back to the mid 90's, how many members used Email? Probably about as many as are using Facebook now. So using that same curve it will likely be the main form of communication in the next 10 years. In doing research for this presentation I found some startling facts,take 1:45 to see the video below.

Pretty amazing way to communicate. I am looking forward to presenting this data to other Chapter Executives and how they can use it for themselves.

Of course I hope everyone joins us at The Las Vegas Hotel and Casino on Wednesday night for the MiGCSA Gathering featuring the Bronk Brothers concert. See you in Vegas!

Conference Season

It is closing in on the time of year for conferences. And of course here in Michigan that means the GLTE in Grand Rapids. This will be the last year for the conference here as the MTF is moving it back to Lansing in 2013. I joined some MTF Board Members in mid December to tour the Kellogg Center where the conference will be held. It is really going to be a great event and much improved from the Holiday Inn conferences of the past.

This will be my first time attending any conference as the Executive Director of the MiGCSA. I am really looking forward to it. My main focus this year will not be on education to take back too the course, I will be more focused on being available for members and to get the 2012 Industry Partner Program out to all of our very supportive partners. 

Of course there is also the MiGCSA Annual Meeting where we will be nominating three new board Members. This is significant as these will be the first new Board Members since I started in my new role. A clean slate for them without all of the turbulence of the past and only a new positive direction. We will also be presenting a check to the MTF for $25,000! This is from all of the great support we had at our fundraisers this year. There is also $7,000 in scholarships and a donation to the MSU Turf Club.

As I close in on a full year in my new position I am very happy about my choice to take on this new challenge. The MiGCSA is in a positive financial standing and I believe a positive industry standing. I am excited to dig into 2012 and see what else we can do to improve this chapter.

Hunting and Membership Renewal Season

I still live in Northern Michigan about 10 minutes away from Crystal Mountain and I am not a hunter. I have hunted birds once and am an avid fisherman, and I do love some venison sausage, I say all this to let you know I am in favor of hunting in all forms but it is just not my thing. Being raised in Metro Detroit (Clinton Township) and having a Father who did not hunt deer I was unaware of the November 15th holy day of hunting until I re located to Northern Michigan. For any of you who are still unaware it is opening day of rifle season for deer. Living in Northern Michigan where I do it is very rural, and I am still surprised by the amount of gunfire I hear every year on this date, I think there is an average of 3 to 4 shots every hour I can hear from my house. It also still surprises me how most businesses except those catering to hunters are shut down today.

I wish golf had the same type of opening day, where everyone knew the course would be packed. Could you imagine, setting your budget around opening day every year, knowing the parking lot would be packed. Maybe the Michigan Golf Alliance should get a pact going and ask everyone to let the spring golf itch build until a set date, charge a premium and get the year off to a great start. I am not sure that is the message we want to send, but a sure fire opening day would be nice for the registers.

The fall is also the time we try to get members to renew their memberships with the MiGCSA. Last year we were in the middle of a large transition and let the membership renewal fall off the radar a little. So this year we are going to send monthly reminders via email until the middle of the winter, then we will send paper mail, followed by a separate cover of the winter Course Conditions to members that says it will be their last issue. We are down about 60 members from last year at this time, but the board and I are working on our expired member spreadsheet and will be making some calls this winter, so if you let your membership lapse renew now before you get the call from your district Board Member.

By paying your dues to the MiGCSA you are helping to support one of the strongest chapters of the GCSAA, we advocate for our members all of the time in conjunction with the allied associations in Michigan. You get 4 issues of the best chapter magazine in the country, a Membership Directory (Yes we will be printing one in 2011, within the next month) access to the member only section of MiGCSA.org, email with news that affects you and golf in Michigan, and access to over 20 great networking and educational events. All of this for only $75, that is a steal, it is even less if you are a Student or Assistant Superintendent. If you have not renewed for 2012 yet please do, and remember when you renew your membership you are not supporting us you are supporting yourself and your industry.

Two Fundraisers and a Wedding...

This is where we had our ceremony.

Just Married

Well the hope for a two week gap at the most between posts did not apply for the last month. We had two well attended fundraisers since my last post. The Western Golf Day Harbor Shores Golf Club in Benton Harbor and The Big Event at Warwick Hills Country Club. Both events had over 100 players and we have gone well over the $30,000 mark for fundraising in 2011, this is more than the last two years combined! Western Golf day was on September 26th and The big Event was on October 3rd, I got married on October 1st at Crystal Mountain. This schedule was not ideal, but when we planned the wedding in July a year and a half ago I was not in this position and was the Superintendent at Crystal Mountain. It was a very busy week but the wedding went very well thanks to my wife Laura. We got married at the top of the Mountain at Crystal, guests rode the chairlift up for the ceremony and then rode down after. It was a bit chilly but the sun was shining and it was a beautiful fall day. We had our reception at the Resort as well and it really was a day to remember.

Whispering Pines is a hidden gem, owned and operated
by Ron Weingartz and his family.

The Equipment Techs gathered in the Golf Maintenance shop
at Crystal Mountain. Thank you to Chad Corp Golf Course
Superintendent for letting us host this event again.

The MiGCSA has had two other events since my last post as well, the Assistants Golf Outing and the Equipment Technicians Education event. The Assistants committee really does some great work and had a really good educational and networking event set up at Whispering Pines in Picnkey. This event was free to new members if they signed up for an MiGCSA membership and only $25 for current members. Representatives from John Deere spoke about their equipment and the leasing vs. buying options when it come to equipment. Then lunch and an 18 hole scramble, followed by prizes for 1st place and a long drive and closest to the pin. A great event but we only had 14 people attend. For someone who has an assistant there is no better way to get them involved and to bring value to your facility than by having them attend one of these Assistant events. I hope more Superintendents start to see the value in having their Assistants attend these events.

The Equipment Technician event was well attended by over 20 members. This event is free for all current members of the MiGCSA and the education was put together by Dave Ertl, Equipment Technician at Traverse City Golf and Country Club. I really like this event because it always leads to lively conversation between the attendees and the speakers. I wish there was this much interaction at Superintendent events.

As we head into the Fall the board and I are busy preparing for the 2012 season, we already have over 75% of the schedule done for next year. Planning is in the works for a very special gathering in Las Vegas  for MiGCSA members and their guests, stay tuned to migcsa.org and email updates fro info@migcsa.org for more details.