PRESIDENT’S TURF Metamorphosis
2017-2018 TPI Board of Trustees
Jimmy Fox
How is TPI? As a board member I get this question quite frequently and, while it’s hard to summarize, your organization is going through a metamorphosis, a change for the better.
Like all associations, we’ve had to ask ourselves, “Who are we and where are we going?” Not too long ago, most members would say that TPI is an organization for Turfgrass sod producers to learn and network together. It is all that, but today, many of our affiliated organizations are looking to TPI to “carry the torch” for natural Turfgrass, making us the “natural” advocates for “natural Turfgrass.” We, as TPI, represent more than sod producers, we represent all those affiliated with any type of Turfgrass production and management.
Our industry is under attack from the plastic grass industry, environmentalists, threats of drought, and building codes that threaten to eliminate or minimize Turfgrass use. Home lots are shrinking; young couples are both working with little time for working on the yard. Carbon emission laws raise the cost of equipment and turf maintenance costs.
Who is going to provide support for the Turfgrass industry to fight these issues? Who is going to fund the research? Who is going to take the truth about turfgrass to the soccer moms and environmentalists? Who is going to coach landscape architects and building code specifiers to understand the true impact of Turfgrass?
Turfgrass Producers International has been molding our Foundation—Te Lawn Institute—for the role of leadership in the Turfgrass industry; the lightning rod for all things turf related. No, we can’t do it all, but we can be the catalyst for our industry. Tis may sound lofty, but it is who we have become, evolved to, metamorphized into … we are all advocates for natural Turfgrass.
Based on this, the TPI and TLI board has agreed to dedicate a minimum of $100,000 toward a marketing campaign to change the perception of Turfgrass for consumers and to increase awareness of TPI and TLI and our role as advocates with affiliated associations and industry partners to gain their support in these efforts.
Our fundraising at our 50th Anniversary last year gave us the ability and confidence to move forward with this initiative. Now, in 2018, our loyal vendors have stepped up to help fund another record fundraising year. We need to seize this opportunity, riding on the wave of a good economy, to raise the most money possible for the effort of Turfgrass advocacy. No, $100,000 will not fund a full-blown marketing campaign, but it will give us a jumpstart.
Join us for our Conference in Tucson. Come ready to support TLI, network, exchange business ideas, and help us be advocates for natural Turfgrass to change the perception of Turfgrass use now and for the next generation!
May God continue to bless your family and your business.
Officers President Jimmy Fox Evergreen Turf, Inc. – U.S.A. +1-480-456-1199
jimmy@evergreenturf.com
Vice President Eric Heuver Eagle Lake Professional Landscape Supply – CANADA +1-403-235-8873
eric@eaglelakelandscape.com
Secretary-Treasurer Hank Kerfoot Modern Turf – U.S.A. +1-803-713-8873
hank@modernturf.com
Past President Linda Pittillo Bradley Turf Mountain Sod, Inc. – U.S.A. +1-828-685-3642
turfmountain@bellsouth.net
Executive Director Casey Reynolds, PhD Turfgrass Producers International – U.S.A. +1-847-649-5555
creynolds@TurfGrassSod.org
Trustees John Coombs, Sr. Coombs Sod Farms, LLC – U.S.A. +1-856-358-4763
jhc@coombsfarms.com
Steve Griffen Saratoga Sod Farm, Inc. – U.S.A. +1-518-664-5038
steve@saratogasod.com
Randy Jasperson Jasperson Sod Farm – U.S.A. +1-262-835-2826
rj@jaspersonsod.com
Jim Keeven SelecTurf, Inc – U.S.A. +1-573-634-3444
jim@selecturfsod.com
Mark Tribbett JB Instant Lawn, Inc. - U.S.A. +1-503-581-7823
mark@jbinstantlawn.net
Keith Wittig Central Turf Farms, Inc. – U.S.A. +1-979-657-1122
kwittig@centralturffarms.com
Tim Wollesen Sales Midwest, Inc. – U.S.A. +1-913-254-9560
tim@salesmidwest.com
Legal Counsel Monte B. Lake CJ Lake 525 Ninth Street, NW- Suite 800 Washington, DC – U.S.A. +1-202-789-8644
Science Advisor Dr. James B Beard International Sports Turf Institute College Station, Texas – U.S.A. +1-979-693-4066
isti@neo.tamu.edu
2 TPI Turf News January/February 2018
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