From the publisher’s pen: Next-level sharing

Imagine your career, or possibly your life, without meeting the individual whom you consider a mentor.

Imagine if you had a chance to honor that person by sharing what they’ve taught you with others.

Mentorship defines many industries, especially one as unique as golf maintenance, where early mornings, varied weather conditions, and working weekends and holidays represent norms. To honor the oversized role of mentorship in golf maintenance, operations and management, Golf Course Industry and The Aquatrols Company are introducing the inaugural Excellence in Mentorship Awards.

The program represents the evolution of the annual Super Social Media Awards, which we’re retiring after a memorable 14-year run. Seriously, how many things last 14 years these days?

Sharing defines thoughtful and tactful social media usage. Sharing also defines impactful mentorship. 

The Excellence in Mentorship Awards debut at 2:30 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 4, 2026, at The Aquatrols Company booth #2341 at the GCSAA Conference and Trade Show in Orlando. We’ll honor the first class of honorees with an engaging and educational discussion about mentorship. Bring your mentor, your industry friends or just yourself to learn best practices to help you impact the trajectory of others.

Music will begin playing at 2 p.m. and following the discussion until 5 p.m. Around 3 p.m. we’ll give a “CHEERS” to mentors everywhere. Yes, drinks will be served throughout the entire three hours. Sometimes the best lessons become apparent over cold or warm beverages. Think of the valuable late-evening chats over cold drinks or pre-sunset coffee conversations you’ve had with a mentor.   

Guiding somebody isn’t easy. It means stopping and restarting tasks to address the needs of somebody else. Or late-night phone calls and messages. Or candid, yet necessary, conversations. Or working longer hours to satisfy somebody else’s insatiable desire to improve. Or staking a personal reputation on somebody else’s ability or potential. Or taking a chance on an individual others might have shunned. 

Those who have done any or all of the above assert it’s worth the effort.

Honoring a mentor takes some extra work, but we’re making the process straightforward.

Here’s what we need by Friday, Jan. 9:

• Where and how you met your mentor
• A few sentences or a short video describing why your mentor should be honored
• Willingness to share a story with one of our writers about the lessons imparted by the person you wanted honored at Excellence in Mentorship Awards festivities in Orlando

The awards and discussion will honor all segments of the industry in addition to superintendents. Assistant superintendents, equipment managers, technicians, researchers, instructors, architects, builders, owners, association leaders and consultants are strongly encouraged to nominate their respective mentors. Email nominations to gcipriano@gie.net. 

We’re revealing the first class of Excellence in Mentorship Awards honorees in late January in the Fast & Firm newsletter and on Golf Course Industry’s website and social media feeds. Honorees will be celebrated during the live Excellence in Mentorship Awards panel discussion at the GCSAA Conference and Trade Show. Everybody in the industry is encouraged to attend. 

For those who can’t make it to Orlando, Golf Course Industry plans to share video of the discussion on our website and social media feeds. Find additional lessons from the Orlando discussion in our March print issue.

Sharing, after all, makes this industry — and life — special.

Guy Cipriano is Golf Course Industry’s publisher + editor-in-chief.