EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR’S TURF Short-term 2018 Membership Year Rooted in Long-term Vision Casey Reynolds, PhD

Te amendments to TPI’s bylaws that were passed by TPI members in Tucson result in the 2018 membership year being condensed into a 6-month term from July 1 to December 31, 2018. Beginning January 1 of 2019, the TPI Membership Year will coincide with the calendar year, fiscal year, Turf News editorial calendar, and TPI employee policies. As we head into the shortened 2018 Membership Year, I can’t help but think of the long-term goals it is rooted in.

Tis short year will see new initiatives promoting natural turfgrass, NEW member-only benefits, and planning for two TPI 2019 conferences: one in Charlotte, North Carolina, and one in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

Te first initiative includes the selection and retaining of a professional public relations firm to implement the TPI Board of Trustees’ vision of taking an industry-leading stance in promoting natural turfgrass. TPI will deliver this message globally, while at the same time providing TPI members access to marketing materials that they can use to promote their products and businesses locally. An award-winning, nationally-recognized PR company was selected at the TPI Spring Board Meeting in April, and work has already begun in market and consumer research to develop and position our message that natural turfgrass is the leader in safe, cost-effective athletic fields and lawns.

During this short year, TPI also will be taking a leadership position in the Olmsted Initiative with the goal of creating tools for measuring and articulating the value of managed landscapes. Tere is often much discussion of the inputs to managed landscapes with little to no way of measuring the value of the outputs. If we can begin to assess intrinsic value, then we can further demonstrate the importance of these areas in our daily lives for many years to come. TPI has partnered with Te Toro Company, John Deere, the North Carolina Arboretum Society, and the Outdoor Power Equipment Institute (OPEI) on this initiative, and we are excited about helping to move it forward.

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Also new to TPI, is the addition of a password-protected, TPI Member-Only Toolkit to our website. Tis new section contains brochures, pamphlets, guides, etc. that can be downloaded and customized by TPI members to promote natural turfgrass and their businesses locally. Te first additions to this section are US and International versions of a tri-fold brochure titled Turfgrass Watering & Care for New Sod. Tis brochure can be customized for members by adding their own company logo. Tey can use the brochure as a handout at the point of sale or send it along with their delivery trucks for their customers as a tool instructing them on how to care for their new sod. Tis is the first of many brochures to come with additional ones later this year on Fertilization, Sod Installation, Pest Control, and more. Check out this issue of Turf News for more information on this new addition to TPI member-benefits!

As we make this transition to a new membership and fiscal year, we appreciate your support and will do our best to make it as seamless as possible. It is always our goal to make even short years, long on results!

Cheers,

As we head into the shortened 2018 Membership Year, I can't help but think of the long-term goals it is rooted in.

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TPI Turf News May/June 2018