countdown to tpi’s 5oth

anniversary in 2017 2010-2016

Te 2015 Portland Show & Tell included an evening at Willamette Valley Vineyards. Happenings 2010—2016

Southwest Airlines acquired AirTran. United and Continental Airlines merged, as did American and US Airways. Te vuvuzela became the buzzword of the year after the 2010 World Cup in South Africa. Te electric car debuted in 2010 and had one million owners by 2015. Over three million iPads sold in their first three months. Also in 2010 Facebook signed up their 500 millionth user. Te global population reached 7 billion in 2011. Te Occupy Wall Street protests began. Te pop band R.E.M. broke up after 31 years. In 2012 we could watch the first video from Mars. Did you miss out on the Hot Wheel Wall Tracks and Video Racers? Queen Elizabeth II celebrated her Diamond Jubilee and in 2015 became the longest reigning monarch in British history. In 2013 the largest meteor since 1908 exploded over Russia. Google Glass was launched to the public. NSA documents were

leaked. In 2014 the world-wide overall average internet connection speed exceeded the broadband threshold. Te new World Trade Center opened. Smart Watches were the latest must-have gadget. In 2015 virtual reality made a comeback and Windows 10 was released. Te Panama Canal expansion project was completed in 2016. Supercomputers reached record speeds and were over three times faster than the 2013 peak speed. Agricultural robots became increasingly more common. Donald Trump became President-Elect of the United States. U.S. First Class postage went from 42 to 44 cents. Gas started at $2.73 a gallon and on December 14, 2016 it was $2.22 after a high of $3.93 in May of 2011 and a low of $1.77 in February 2016. Te average price of a movie ticket went from about $7.50 to just over $8.50. After record lows for an extended period, the benchmark interest rate was officially raised at the end of 2016 from 0.5 percent to 0.75 percent.

Editor’s Note: The History of Turfgrass Producers International is available to TPI members in digital format. Also available are PDFs of the ASPA Charter Members and all ASPA/TPI Conference and Convention dates and sites, including the Host Farm names. Past Weeds, Trees and Turf magazine articles and other historical resources are available to TPI members through the Turfgrass Information Center (TGIF). To access these materials, visit the “For Members” tab on the TPI website www.TurfGrassSod.org. If you see someone you know that is unidentified in any of the photos or have further information on any of the events, please let your editors know so that we might update the photos for future use.

All photos from TPI Archives.

Attendees watch a sod harvester in action. 28 TPI Turf News January/February 2017