Update from Dave Phipps, NW Region Field Staff Representative
Greetings and happy New Year!
Can you believe we are now just a year away from 2020! For me it will be a milestone in many ways. It was 2000 when I started working at Stone Creek Golf Club, my son Henry was born, and I moved to Oregon City. As the year 2000 was a big year for me, 2020 will be a big year for GCSAA and its membership. As an organization, we have set some lofty goals to reach by the year 2020 and we are well on our way.
First, we set the goal of having BMPs in all 50 states by 2020. So far, the NW Region is well on the way to achieving our end of the goal. Last year the Montana and Wyoming BMP committee received a grant from the GCSAA which will help in the publishing of the document. I am happy to report that the document is nearing completion and should be uploaded by the end of this year. Special thanks to the BMP Committee Co-chairs Pete Grass, CGCS and Jason Busch for spearheading this effort!
Our next goal is reaching 20,000 members by 2020. Prior to the recession, we were well north of 20,000 members but the downturn in the economy and the loss of many golf courses across the nation took its toll. However, we have rebounded and at the end of 2018 we reached 18,135, surpassing our goal for 2018 of 18,130 by five! We have slowly been gaining back a lot of these members as the economy has rebounded but we have also added the new EM membership category that will, in the long run, benefit your facility. So far, I am thrilled to see the many new EMs that have taken advantage of this $95 membership. We have now added two EM level certificates and are now currently working on a certified EM designation. If your EM has not taken advantage of this, please do consider it. There is so much to benefit through networking and continuing education.
You may ask, why the push in numbers? Simply said, we have strength in numbers. When our government advocacy team is meeting with lawmakers in DC and they ask our membership size, 20,000 simply sounds much more robust than 18,000.
That leads me to our third goal by 2020, and that is to have 535 grassroots ambassadors in place by 2020, matching one superintendent with each senator and member of congress. Currently we are at about 340 and are closing in on our goal. Today in the NW Region, I am happy to report that we are just two shy of filling all our ambassador positions. Montana and Wyoming are both filled! I cannot stress the importance of this program. We have seen tremendous relationships develop between superintendents and members of congress which will go a long way in advocating for our industry. Please feel free to reach out to me if you are at all interested in serving in this role. We are always looking for members to step up and take their turn.
As you can see, we all have our work cut out for us, but whether we make our goals or not, we will only become stronger as a result of pressing forward. I want to wish you all a successful and prosperous new year and look forward to seeing as many of you as possible in my upcoming travels.
David Phipps
NW Region Field Staff Representative
