Get ready for a double dose of #GCITweetUp22.
A year after going virtual, Golf Course Industry (@GCIMagazine) and Aquatrols (@Aquatrols) will hold the 11th annual Tweetup and Super Social Media Awards ceremony online later this month … and at the GCSAA Conference and Trade Show next month.
We will honor 2022 award winners with short videos, shared daily on our Twitter and Facebook accounts in advance of the show, then bring together ’21 and ’22 winners for an hourlong event on the show floor in San Diego. The videos provide an opportunity to recognize the social media work of some of the industry’s brightest voices, while the #GCITweetUp22 itself is a music-filled party in America’s Finest City. (Did you know that’s one of San Diego’s nicknames? We didn’t, either. Among some of the others: City in Motion and Birthplace of California.)
Nominations are open now through Tuesday, January 18.
Introduced a decade ago(?!), the Super Social Media Awards honor industry professionals who use social media to demonstrate leadership, inspire co-workers and colleagues, share operational enhancement ideas, provide updates on course conditions, creatively communicate messages to intended audiences and positively tell the golf industry’s story.
Winners will be honored in the following categories: John Kaminski Award for Social Media Leadership, Best Overall Use of Social Media, Best Twitter Feed, Best Use of Video, Best Idea Shared on Social Media and Conservation Award. Want to nominate somebody for some other category? Go right ahead! We’re never locked in to just six awards. Industry professionals who benefit from using social media for work purposes will determine the direction of some awards.
Multiple nominations in the same or different categories are acceptable. The Golf Course Industry editorial staff and a panel of industry experts and educators will make the final selections. Please include the category and appropriate links to editor-in-chief Guy Cipriano at gcipriano@gie.net or @GCIMagazineGuy, or managing editor Matt LaWell at mlawell@gie.net or @MattLaWell. Email, tweet or call Cipriano at 216-393-0230 with questions.
Past winners
2021
Kaminski Award: Drew Miller and the Brentsville District High School Turfgrass Management Program, Nokesville, Virginia
Best Overall Use of Social Media: James Bledge, Royal Cinque Ports Golf Club, Deal, Kent, England; Ryan Cummings, Elcona Country Club, Bristol, Indiana
Best Twitter Feed: Dan Grogan, The Sagamore Club, Noblesville, Indiana; Jeff Sexton, Evansville Country Club, Evansville, Indiana; Thad Thompson, Terry Hills Golf Course, Batavia, New York
Best New Program: Morgan Creighton, Women in Turfgrass Management, Alberta, Canada
Best Idea Shared: Trey Kemp, Kimley-Horn and Associates, Dallas-Fort Worth, Texas, #GolfCourseAerialoftheDay
Rookie of the Year: Matt Shaffer, happily retired
Conservation Award: W. Craig Weyandt, The Moorings at Hawks Nest Golf Course, Vero Beach, Florida
2020
Kaminski Award: Tyler Bloom, Sparrows Point Country Club, Baltimore, Maryland
Best Overall Use of Social Media: Carolinas GCSA Assistants, Liberty, South Carolina; Bill Bergin, Bergin Golf Designs, Atlanta Georgia
Best Twitter Feed: Maggie Reiter, University of California Cooperative Extension, Fresno, California; Michael Vessley, Culver Academies Golf Course, Culver, Indiana
Best Video: Rush Creek Turf, Maple Grove, Minnesota, “Maintenance Monday”
Best Idea Shared on Social Media: Trent Manning, Ansley Golf Club, Ansley, Georgia, “Dew Roller”
Conservation Award: Lesley Thomas, Scarboro Golf & Country Club, Toronto, Ontario
2019
Kaminski Award: Jason Haines, Pender Harbour Golf Club, Pender Harbour, British Columbia
Best Overall Use of Social Media: Craig Boath, Carnoustie Golf Links, Carnoustie, Scotland; Jessica Lenihan, Hayden Lake Country Club, Coeur d’Alene, Idaho
Best Twitter Feed: Paul Van Buren, Kanawha Club, Manakin-Sabot, Virginia; Scott Ramsay, The Course at Yale, New Haven, Connecticut
Best Blog: Tyler Bloom, Sparrows Point Country Club, Baltimore, Maryland; Kevin Komer, Stowe Mountain Resort, Stowe, Vermont
Best Use of Video: Ontario GCSA, “Today in Ontario”
Conservation Award: Matthew Gourlay, Colbert Hills, Manhattan, Kansas
2018
Kaminski Award: Matthew Wharton, Carolina Golf Club, Charlotte, North Carolina
Best Overall Use of Social Media: Ian Andrew, Ian Andrew Golf Design, Brantford, Ontario; St Andrews Turf Team, St Andrews, Scotland
Best Twitter Feed: Steve Hammon, Traverse City Golf & Country Club, Traverse City, Michigan; Steve Wright, Pine Tree Golf Club, Boynton Beach, Florida
Best Blog: Chris Harriman, Cattail Creek Country Club, Glenwood, Maryland; Richard Johnstone, Nairn Dunbar Golf Links, Nairn, Scotland
Best Use of Video: Atlantic Golf Course Superintendents Association, “Deep Roots”
Megaphone Award for Hurricane Recovery: South Texas Superintendents
Conservation Award: Paul Carter, The Bear Trace at Harrison Bay, Tennessee
2017
Kaminski Award: Chris Tritabaugh, Hazeltine National Golf Club, Chaska, Minnesota
Best Overall Use of Social Media: Kyle Callahan, Victoria National, Newburgh, Indiana; Steffie Safrit, TPC Piper Glen, Charlotte, North Carolina
Best Twitter Feed: Matthew Marsh, Santa Ana Country Club, Santa Ana, California; Sean McCue, The Country Club at Castle Pines, Castle Rock, Colorado; Mike Richardson, University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, Arkansas; Jesse Shaver, Gull Lake Country Club, Richland, Michigan
Best Blog: Brian Stiehler, Highlands Country Club, Highlands, North Carolina; East Lake Golf Club Agronomy Team, East Lake Golf Club, Atlanta, Georgia
Best Video: Phil Scully, Granite Golf Club, Stouffville, Ontario, “It’s Your Course!”; Georgia GCSA, “Golf is Greenspace”
2016
Kaminski Award: Paul Carter, The Bear Trace at Harrison Bay, Harrison, Tennessee
Best Overall Use of Social Media: Rick Tegtmeier, Des Moines Golf and Country Club, West Des Moines, Iowa; Joe Wachter, Glen Echo Country Club, St. Louis, Missouri
Best Twitter Feed: Eric Bauer, Bluejack National, Montgomery, Texas; Paul Koch, University of Wisconsin, Madison, Wisconsin; Patrick Reinhardt, Georgia Southern University Golf Course, Statesboro, Georgia
Best Blog: Joel Kachmarek, Tacoma Country & Golf Club, Lakewood, Washington.; Brad Novotny, Hillendale Country Club, Phoenix, Maryland
Best Video: Graeme Roberts, Camberley Heath Golf Club, Surrey, United Kingdom
Megaphone Award for Outstanding Advocacy: Mike Huck, Irrigation and Turfgrass Services, Orange County, California
2015
Kaminski Award: Steve Cook, Oakland Hills Country Club, Bloomfield Hills, Michigan
Best Overall Use of Social Media: Matthew Wharton, Carolina Golf Club, Charlotte, North Carolina; Pat O’Brien, Hyde Park Golf and Country Club, Cincinnati, Ohio
Best Twitter Feed: Scot Dey, Mission Viejo Country Club, Mission Viejo, California; Kevin Hicks, Coeur d’Alene Resort Golf Club, Coeur D’Alene, Idaho; Jason Hooper, Quilchena, Golf & Country Club, Richmond, British Columbia
Best Blog: Joey Franco, Brookstone Golf & Country Club, Acworth, Georgia; Adam Garr, Plum Hollow Country Club, Southfield, Michigan
Best Video: Georgia GCSA, “Stewards of the Land”
2014
Kaminski Award: Micah Woods, Asian Turfgrass Center
Overall Social Media Program: Nick Christians, Iowa State University; Adam Ikamas, MiGCSA
Best Use of Facebook: Gary Grigg, Idaho/Florida; Jason Chennault, Turfgrass World
Best Blog: Jason Haines, Pender Harbour Golf Club, Madeira Park, BC; Jason VanBuskirk, Stow Acres Country Club, Stow, Massachusetts; Tom Vlach, TPC Sawgrass, Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida
Best Use of Twitter: Randy Samoff, Champions Golf Club, Houston Texas; Ellie Parry, TurfJobs, Loughborough, U.K.; Justin VanLanduit, Briarwood Country Club, Deerfield, Illinois; Cale Bigelow, Purdue University
Best Multimedia: Adam Garr, Plum Hollow Country Club, Southfield, Michigan; Rick Brandenburg, North Carolina State
2013
Kaminski Award: Bill Brown, Hartefeld National Golf Club, Avondale, Pennsylvania
Outstanding Blogger: Andrew Hardy, Pheasant Run Golf Course, Sharon, Ontario; Dan Meersman, Philadelphia Cricket Club; Brian Boyer, Cinnabar Hills Golf Club, San Jose, California
Outstanding Use of Twitter: Chris Tritabaugh, Hazeltine National Golf Club, Chaska, Minnesota; Matthew Gourlay, Colbert Hills, Manhattan, Kansas
Special Achievement in Video/Other: PACE Turf LLC, San Diego, California, PACE Turf YouTube Videos; Steve Biehl, Naperville Country Club, Naperville, Illinois; GCM Blogging World
2012
Kaminski Award: Darren Davis, Olde Florida Golf Club, Naples, Florida
Best of Blogs: Chris Tritabaugh, Northland Country Club, Duluth, Minnesota; Steve Cook, Oakland Hills Country Club, Bloomfield Hills, Michigan; Bill Brown, Hartefeld National Golf Club, Avondale, Pennsylvania
Innovative Use of Twitter: Greg Shaffer, Elcona Country Club, Bristol, Indiana; David Phipps, Stone Creek Country Club, Oregon City, Oregon
Excellence in Video: Justin Ruiz, Indian Summer Golf & Country Club, Olympia, Washington