Consider this the ideal event for a virtual format.
Golf Course Industry (@GCIMagazine) and Aquatrols (@Aquatrols) have announced plans for #GCITweetUp21 and the 2021 Super Social Media Awards. Hint: It’s being conducted via social media and digital platforms!
The nomination process runs until the deadline of Thursday, Feb. 25 and the celebration concludes at 3 p.m. EST Wednesday, March 31 with #GCITweetUp21, an educational and interactive meetup event conducted on Zoom.
In between, we’re unveiling some unique twists. Super Social Media Awards winners will be announced via videos on weekdays beginning Monday, March 22 at 3 p.m. EST on Golf Course Industry’s Twitter and Facebook feeds. The crowning of winners will conclude with the John Kaminski Award for Social Media Leadership presentation at #GCITweetUp21.
Everybody is invited to attend the 10th annual #GCITweetUp21. Hosted by veteran trivia game show host and Golf Course Industry managing editor Matt LaWell, #GCITweetUp21 will feature informative and candid discussions with some of the industry’s best communicators, interactive contests and polls, and opportunities to interact with your peers. Further details will be announced in the coming weeks. Registering for the free event takes less time than producing a tweet. CLICK HERE to register.
Unveiled in 2012, 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. But don’t feel locked into submitting nominations that fit solely into those six categories. We have room for some fun and new categories based on the nominations we receive. Maybe we honor a social media rookie … or a recurring feature on somebody’s feed … or somebody who has used social media to connect colleagues in a virtual world. The industry professionals who benefit from using social media for work purposes will determine the direction of some awards.
Presented the past three years, the Conservation Award recognizes industry professionals for implementing and communicating environmental conservation strategies. Past winners include Scarboro Golf & Country Club’s Lesley Thomas, The Bear Trace at Harrison Bay’s Paul Carter and Colbert Hills’ Matt Gourlay.
Judging will be conducted by the Golf Course Industry editorial staff and a panel of industry experts and educators. Readers, followers and listeners are encouraged to nominate others or nominate themselves. Multiple nominations in the same or different categories are acceptable. 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.
Nominations are due by Thursday, Feb. 25.
Past winners
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, N.C.
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; Matt Gourlay, Colbert Hills Golf Course, Manhattan, Kansas
Special achievement in video/other – PACE Turf LLC, San Diego, Calif., 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