GCSAA and Bayer announce grant program winners

To assist golf course superintendents with their professional development, Environmental Science, a division of Bayer CropScience LP, and the Golf Course Superintendents Association of America (GCSAA), today jointly announced they will send seven golf course superintendents to attend the 2014 Golf Industry Show (GIS) in Orlando, Feb. 3-6. Through the Bayer Superintendent Grant Program, each of the seven winners will receive an expenses-paid trip to participate in the annual event, which features the most comprehensive education program and trade show available in the industry.

 

This year’s Bayer Superintendent Grant Program winners include the following:

•         Joe J. Brophy, Pleasant Valley Golf Course, West Liberty, Iowa

•         Mark Goodwin, Meadowbrook Country Club, Clayton, Ohio 

•         Richard (Scott) Smart, South Portland Municipal Golf Course, South Portland, Maine 

•         Jessica Aytoun, Sutton Creek Golf Club, Ontario, Canada 

•         Edward B. Murdock, Salmon Run Golf Course, Brookings, Oregon 

•         Michael C. Benz, Village Club of Sands Point, Sands Point, New York

•         Eric O’Neill, North Shore Towers and Country Club, Floral Park, New York

 

“GCSAA and the Environmental Institute for Golf (EIFG) are grateful for our continued relationship with Bayer, a relationship that supports the development of these superintendents,” said GCSAA President Patrick R. Finlen, CGCS. “We all recognize the importance of promoting a strong future for our industry by helping golf course superintendents stay current in their ever-evolving professional roles.”

 

For more than a decade, GCSAA and Bayer have partnered to fund attendance for superintendents to participate in the GIS. This year’s winners receive airfare, hotel accommodations for five nights, conference full-pack registration, two educational seminars, as well as $200 spending money. The Bayer Superintendent Grant Program is funded by a grant from the EIFG supported by Bayer.

 

“Bayer is proud to continue working with GCSAA and the EIFG to contribute to the advancement of the golf course management profession,” said David Wells, golf business manager for Bayer’s turf and ornamentals business. “We are pleased to support these outstanding organizations in our industry as well as the superintendents who are a part of them.”

 

Of the seven total grants awarded, five were awarded via random selection to superintendents who applied for the 2014 program and did not attend GIS in the prior two years. An additional two superintendents who were offered the award through the 2013 program, which was extended to benefit superintendents affected by hurricanes, were unable to attend GIS 2013 in San Diego due to the severity of the natural disasters. These two superintendents will each receive a grant to attend GIS 2014. In addition, Bayer’s Green Solutions Team will offer technical support and disaster recovery strategies to help get their courses back up and running.