To support GCSAA member superintendents with new opportunities to advance their careers and the field of plant health, Environmental Science, a division of Bayer CropScience, announced the selection of two Plant Health Scholarship recipients. Michael Scully, GCSAA Class A superintendent at Valley Crest Creekside Golf Course in Modesto, Calif., and Daniel L. Rootes, Jr., GCSAA superintendent member at Ponderosa Butte Golf Course in Colstrip, Mont., will each be awarded a $2,500 scholarship to be used toward continuing education in the area of plant health. The Plant Health Scholarship is one of multiple opportunities available to superintendents as part of the Healthy Turf, Healthy Tomorrow program Bayer developed in collaboration with the Golf Course Superintendents Association of America and the Environmental Institute for Golf.
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“The Plant Health Scholarship provides superintendents with an opportunity to pursue their passions in plant health, while also helping to advance the turfgrass industry,” said David Wells, golf business manager for Bayer’s turf and ornamentals business. “Our hope is that the scholarship will give Michael and Dan the tools to learn about the latest plant health innovations, help them solve challenges they may be facing on their own courses and equip them for the future.”
Scully has over 20 years of experience in golf course management and operation and serves as secretary/treasurer for the Sierra Nevada GCSAA. When he’s not busy running his 45 holes of golf, he also heads the Rounds 4 Research committee for the Sierra Nevada GCSAA and the Northern California GCSAA. As an environmental advocate, this year Scully gained certification recognition within Audubon's Cooperative Sanctuary Program for Golf and was engaged as a participant of the water conservation task force for Northern California. He also remains an avid hobby beekeeper. Scully will apply the scholarship to attend the 2015 Golf Industry show in San Antonio, Tex.
“It is a great honor to be selected as one of the two Healthy Turf, Healthy Tomorrow Plant Health Scholarship recipients,” Scully said. “I look forward to gaining new tools to improve the quality of plant turf at my own courses and am committed to bringing many global ideas back to my association and to my courses.”
Rootes has served as a superintendent in Colstrip, Mont., for the past eight years, following military service in the Army. He is an active member of the GCSAA Peaks & Prairies chapter, with three years of service on the chapter board of directors, and he serves as chapter secretary/treasurer representing Montana, Idaho, Wyoming and North Dakota. Through the Bayer Superintendent Grant Program, Rootes was also selected as one of eight members of the GCSAA to receive an all-expenses paid trip to the 2013 GCSAA Education Conference and Golf Industry Show in San Diego.
“Any education you can gain to help achieve your professional goals is priceless,” Rootes said. “I’m planning to use the scholarship to work toward achieving certification, and so appreciate the support I receive from organizations like Bayer and GCSAA.”