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Hot Topics in Orlando
When asked about pressing issues golf facilities face, an overwhelming number of superintendents say recruiting and retaining crew labor top their list.
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Illustration by Kelly Neis |
So GCSAA stepped up to the plate to address these concerns with Career Hot Topics at the GCSAA Education Conference and Golf Industry Show coming up Jan. 28-Feb. 2 in Orlando. Free and only 30 minutes long, Career Hot Topics will replace the Career Success Workshops presented in previous years.
Look for the Career Hot Topics sessions as well as the new Communications Hot Topics featuring veteran presenter Max Utsler, Ph.D., near the Career Action Center on the trade show floor.
GCSAA’s career services team has planned presentations on such in-demand topics as:
• Creative People Management (how to delegate and build teamwork)
• How to Manage GenX and Y (attracting and motivating the younger generation)
• Managing a Spanish-Speaking Crew (tips for better communication and management)
• Immigrant Workers (presented by a law firm, covering an employer’s role in I-9 documentation)
• How to Hire and How to Fire (stay legal whether hiring or dealing with problem employees)
Although a number of the sessions focus on the labor theme, other Career Hot Topics from golf marketing experts, attorneys and certified superintendents who have been there and done that will include “Networking: Essential Tool for Career Success,” to help you learn how to develop useful contacts throughout your career, and “Mentor Your Assistant for (Golf Facility) Success.” You can also pick up tips for writing an eye-catching résumé or for marketing yourself and your golf facility.
The Career Action Center is a great place to absorb information not only from experts, but also from your peers who have had the benefit of experience. Don’t miss the lessons of Chris Carson presenting “Things I Wish I’d Learned in Turf School.” Carson will be presented with GCSAA’s 2007 Leo Feser Award, given annually to the best superintendent-written article published in GCM, at the Golf Industry Show’s Opening Session. Concepts in Carson’s winning article and Hot Topics presentation come from a career development class he teaches at Rutgers University.
“It’s important that your first few work experiences are more than just jobs,” he points out. “They need to be positive apprenticeships that will expand your knowledge and résumé, challenge you and better prepare you for your next position.”
A brief question-and-answer period at the end of each Career Hot Topic will help you take advantage of the presenter’s expertise.
A complete list of the sessions can be found at www.golfindustryshow.com.
David DeWeese, a seven-year GCSAA member, has been hired as superintendent for FarmLinks Golf Course, a research and demonstration course in Sylacauga, Ala., designed as a testing site for products and services in the golf course industry. DeWeese previously worked for four years as assistant superintendent for Willow Point G&CC in Alexander City, Ala. He also interned at FarmLinks during its construction and grow-in phases. When it comes to purchasing trends of superintendents, most have the final say in purchasing decisions, and very few feel comfortable with online transactions, according to last year’s survey, Profiling the Golf Course Superintendent. Nearly three-quarters of superintendent respondents said they rarely or never purchase maintenance products over the Internet. More than half (53 percent) are the final decision makers for buying equipment; 95 percent for chemicals; 90 percent for seed; and 81 percent for accessories. |
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