countdown to tpi’s 5oth

anniversary in 2017 1990-1999

Members view the Silent Auction items for the ITPF fundraiser for research during TPI’s 1999 Summer Field Day.

University (MSU) Symposium and tour of the MSU research test plots, a tour of historic Frankenmuth and a tour of Green Acre Turf Farm. Te Field Day Host was McCleod Sod Farm. Members elected the first non- North American President, Bryan Wood of Tip Top Turf, Ltd., Milton Keynes, England. Dr. Paul Rieke, MSU professor of Turfgrass Management, was named an Honorary Member of TPI. A special exhibitor’s “parade” of equipment was held at the MSU Pavilion.

TPI membership reached 1,063. A “members only” section was added to the website. TPI offered its first convention with "area-based" demonstrations. TPI's budget exceeded one million dollars for the first time in its history and an additional person was added to the staff. TPI’s Water Policy Committee met and began research for reliable scientific information to be used to develop educational materials on water use.

Te Water Policy Committee met in TPI’s Chicago office in 1999.

Happenings in the '90s Te World Wide Web launched and the Information Age arrived. Google was founded in 1998, making it much easier to find this information, and much more. To get online you had to dial-up. Te TV show “Friends” started its ten-year run in ’94 and “Seinfeld” ended after nine- years in ’98. Te first Harry Potter book was published. Everybody was doing the Macarena. One-hit wonder songs included: “Ice Ice Baby,” “I’m Too Sexy,” “Closing Time,” and “Mambo No. 5.” Te movie “Titanic” came out. Operation Desert Storm began and ended. Te Soviet Union dissolved. NAFTA and Te World Trade Organization were created. Gas prices held fairly steady at $1.34 in 1990 and $1.22 in ’99. Slap bracelets were in.

Were you ready for Y2K? 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. Also, if you have any photos that you’d like us to consider for future issues, please contact your editors.

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Sod Producers and Exhibitors exchange information and ideas during TPI’s 1999 Midwinter Conference in Tampa, FL.

20 All photos from TPI Archives. TPI Turf News September/October 2016