The Golf Course Superintendents Association of America (GCSAA) board of directors met July 19 in Chicago and accepted the recommendations of a member resource group that ends the current study to determine where the association's headquarters should be located.
The board approved three recommendations presented to it by the headquarters location resource group June 18. Those include:
-- Do not proceed to phase two of the headquarters location study.
-- Use GCSAA's recently-developed strategic indicators to evaluate the impact headquarters location has on the association achieving its mission, vision and goals.
-- Encourage the board of directors to explore the possibility of establishing offices in the eastern and western regions of the country to enhance the delivery and implementation of member and chapter related programs and services, and to provide additional visibility for GCSAA and its members.
"We asked the resource group to determine if headquarters location has a material impact on the ability of the association to achieve its stated mission, vision and long-term strategic goals," said GCSAA president Mark Woodward, CGCS. "The resource group told us that question could best be answered in the next three to five years by evaluating the strategic indicators relative to the impact location has on achieving those targets. After that time period, the association's leadership will have a better measure as to whether location significantly affects organizational performance."
The association's leadership discussed the concept of regional offices before. Other golf organizations, such as the USGA and the PGA TOUR, use satellite locations to conduct business. Woodward indicated an analysis of establishing GCSAA regional offices would likely begin before the end of the year.
The resource group was formed in the summer of 2003, acting independently of the GCSAA board of directors, to determine if the location of GCSAA's headquarters has a material impact on the ability of the association to achieve its stated mission, vision and long-term strategic goals. Resource group chair Pat Finlen, CGCS and co-chair Tom Mason presented a report and set of recommendations to the board of directors after surveying a variety of constituent groups such as members, industry partners, allied associations, staff, media, etc. Other members of the resource group include: Bob Alonzi, CGCS; Ray Davies, CGCS; Kevin Downing, CGCS; Mark Esoda, CGCS; James Fitzroy, CGCS; Keith Ihms, CGCS; Todd Lupkes, CGCS; Sandy Queen, CGCS; and Bob Randquist, CGCS.
“We appreciate the time and effort the resource group dedicated to this issue,” Woodward said. “The board believed it was vital that a high level of member input be utilized to address the subject and arrive at a sound decision. ”
