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GOVERNMENT watch |
Recipients selected for 2005 EGR Awards
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EGR Award winners (left to right) Kenneth Lallier, CGCS; Craig Hoffman; Stephen Kealy, CGCS; and Sean Kjemhus. |
Four GCSAA members demonstrating exceptional commitment to government relations work in the areas of advocacy and compliance were honored last month at the GCSAA Education Conference and Golf Industry Show in Orlando.
The 2005 Excellence in Government Relations (EGR) Awards recipients are Craig Hoffman, superintendent at The Rock Golf Course and Resort on Drummond Island, Mich.; Stephen Kealy, CGCS at Glendale Country Club in Bellevue, Wash.; Kenneth Lallier, CGCS at The Quechee Club in Hartford, Vt.; and Sean Kjemhus, superintendent at Stewart Creek Golf Club in Canmore, Alberta, Canada.
Nicknamed “The Senator” by his peers, Hoffman received an advocacy award for forming working relationships with government officials and increasing lawmaker awareness and understanding of golf-related issues. Hoffman was invited in 2003 to serve on the governor’s Groundwater Conservation Advisory Council, a precedent-setting appointment for the golf industry in the state. Hoffman also serves as a Michigan Turfgrass Environmental Stewardship Program (MTESP) steering committee member. MTESP is a collaborative effort of the turfgrass industry, state agencies, Michigan State University and environmental groups to advance environmental stewardship. One of the first superintendents to volunteer for this committee, Hoffman helped create a program that helps superintendents comply with local, state and federal environmental laws and regulations.
Kealy received an advocacy award for increasing public and lawmaker understanding of the golf industry and enhancing the industry’s image. During the 2004 Washington state legislative session, he worked for the successful passage of legislation exempting golf courses from paying sales tax on the value of donated green fees to nonprofit groups. Kealy also initiated the annual Western Washington GCSA’s legislative reception for superintendents to meet with their state lawmakers to discuss issues affecting the golf industry. In 2002, Washington banned the use of clopyralid on all turfgrass applications, and Kealy was asked to serve on the state’s clopyralid technical advisory committee. He educated public officials and activist groups about how superintendents use the chemical, which led to an exemption.
Lallier received an advocacy award for responding in 2004 to proposed state and local legislation restricting phosphorus and pesticides that would have negatively impacted the Vermont golf industry. Lallier worked with his state senator, who happened to be a member of his golf club, to educate state lawmakers about golf course management practices. Lallier’s senator also helped provide testimony explaining the harmful impact the bills would have on golf courses. Neither bill passed during the session, and Lallier’s efforts helped to get both bills amended. For 13 years, Lallier has also attended monthly meetings of and provided testimony to the Vermont Pesticide Advisory Council, which advises the executive branch of state government about pest control measures.
A compliance award was presented to Kjemhus for his efforts to implement a variety of environmental measures and programs (both legal and self-initiated) at his facility that comply with local, state and federal environmental laws and regulations. Kjemhus has developed strong partnerships with local, state and federal wildlife government agencies, including the Natural Resource Conservation Board and the Pesticide Branch of Alberta Environment. He also educates activists, the public and golfers about his compliance efforts. Stewart Creek was constructed within a legally designated wildlife movement corridor, and Kjemhus has worked tirelessly to preserve habitat integrity and maintain species diversity at the facility. He has funded several biological research projects to help determine the efficacy of his actions and to give credibility to the legal land designations surrounding the course.
Individual case studies for all nominees are available in the awards section of GCSAA Online.
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