GCSAA Chapter Resources - Community

Michael “Mickey” Stachowski, GCSA of New Jersey president

Tell us about your background. Where you were born, raised, etc.?

I was born in Elmira, N.Y. I moved to Princeton, N.J. in 1984 and started to work with my uncle in the construction industry. I did infrastructure and site work for residential developments. I started as a laborer and worked my way to site superintendent. As the site superintendent I prepared bid packages for subcontractors for new developments and also supervised and scheduled all infrastructure and site work for the new developments.

How did you get started in the golf industry?

In 1998 I changed jobs and became the construction superintendent for the Shore Oaks Golf Club in Farmingdale, NJ. The project had already been started, but I was responsible for the completion of the course, the site work and the landscaping of the new clubhouse. I was perfectly happy to be kicking around in the dirt until the grass was planted and the superintendent could take over. After the grow-in was completed, I worked with the superintendent to help tie up the loose ends and to make some altercations to drainage and other issues. Working closely with the superintendent piqued my interest in the field of turf management. This interest led me to Rutgers University’s certificate program and ultimately a position as a golf course superintendent

Why did you become a leader with your local GCSAA chapter?

There was an opening for a district director so I placed my name on the ballot. I had some free time that I could devote to our association. I thought it was important to work with the association to make it better for all those involved.

Why should someone volunteer with their local chapter? Any ideas on recruiting new leaders?

It’s a personal decision, but I think it’s important to get involved and not sit on the sidelines. I hear too often that we’re not doing the right thing for the association, but I rarely see those people getting involved to help with the decisions. I have gotten a lot of personal satisfaction with my time served for the GCSA of New Jersey and I can only hope that the association has benefited from my service. The only advice I can give for recruitment is to go out and beat the bushes and beat them good. I think there are a lot of superintendents out there that want to get involved, but need that extra push to get started.

How does the GCSA of New Jersey, which is a chapter that covers an entire state, serve its members effectively? Do you rotate meetings throughout the state? How do you encourage members to travel?

Lucky for us, New Jersey is not the biggest state in the nation! We have divided our state into four sections. Each section has two members that serve on the board of directors. With this arrangement, it allows the information to flow from the board to the districts. Most of our board meetings are held at Rutgers University, which fortunately is in the center of the state - with very good access to major highways.

The GCSANJ’s monthly meetings do move throughout the state. We usually start the season in the Southern part of the state and then move around from there. Our monthly meetings consist of education and golf. Attendance for our meetings has not been as good as it once was, but with tighter budgets and higher golfer expectations some people just can’t get away from their courses. In getting our members to travel, we just try to find the best facilities we can and try to provide good education or information. The GCSANJ has also started to have smaller dinner meetings in the districts to enjoy the local flavor. This has shown some promising results.

Share your stories by emailing them to Leann Cooper.