November 6, 2008

  • Patriot Golf Day raises more than $1.7 million
  • Make a 2009 Green Chemistry Award nomination
  • GCSAA contributes to Special Olympics success
  • 2008 John Deere Classic Raises $4.79M for Charity
  • Go green, or else; government-mandated environmental stewardship
  • Cutting edge; saline irrigation, suppressing Poa annua, herbicides on paspalum
  • Inside your shop; fresh start for old chain saws
  • Deep in the heart of ...;Scott Hollister checks in from Texas
  • Tadge runs the big table; 50-state odyssey completed
  • GCSAA Chapter Delegates preview New Orleans
  • E-Z-Go a finalist for Industry Week’s Best Plants Award
  • USDA/PVPO grants protection to new plant varieties   .
  • Research grant proposals due in two weeks
  • Bobcat adds Toolcat 5610
  • New formulation of Bayleton now available
  • Lebanon offers three new tall fescues
  • Deere introduces 120D and 135D excavators
  • Toro acquires Southern Green
  • Companion biological fungicide receives new EPA label
  • Husqvarna divisions integrate
  • Mosquito 86 offers blower-based fogger
  • GCSAA Class A superintendent V. Scott Welder is hosting the Children's Miracle Network Classic
  • GCSAA Class A superintendent Charles B. Robertson, CGCS, is hosting the Nationwide Tour Championship
  • Philadelphia superintendents honors member service
  • Superintendents in the news
  • Echo Inc. announces Obringer as president
  • Ducote and Watts join BASF
  • Johnson promoted by Bayer Environmental Science
  • Upcoming events in the world of golf course management

People News

Echo Inc. announces Obringer as president

Echo Inc., manufacturer of outdoor power equipment, has announced that Dan Obringer will become president of the company, effective Dec. 1. He succeeds Yoshi Nagao, who will return to Japan as president of Kioritz Corp., the parent company of Echo.

Serving as Echo’s vice president and senior vice president of administration for more than 13 years, Obringer will be the company's first American president.

Also effective Dec. 1, Steve Bly will be promoted from senior vice president of operations to executive vice president. Bly joined the company 12 years ago as vice president of manufacturing and currently serves on the board of OPEI.

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Ducote and Watts join BASF

BASF has appointed Wayne Ducote as sales specialist for Alabama, Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, the Florida panhandle region and Tennessee. He will help distributors, golf course superintendents, nursery and greenhouse growers, and lawn care operators select science-based, chemical solutions for growing healthy turf and plants.

In addition, Dan Watts, strategic accounts manager, for the company's professional vegetation management adds similar responsibilities for turf and ornamentals. He will now be focused on developing and managing relationships with channel partners, including distributors, for both business units nationwide.

Prior to joining the T&O team, Ducote was a sales specialist position with BASF professional vegetation management.

Watts brings nearly 20 years of experience to his new position and has been with BASF since 2001. Previously, Watts served as the private industrial company account manager.

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Johnson promoted by Bayer Environmental Science

Jimmy Johnson was recently named fungicide business manager for the Green Business group of Bayer Environmental Science. In his new position, he will also serve as the Bayer golf industry lead.

Johnson has more than 25 years experience in the turf and ornamental and crop- protection industries. For the past six years, Johnson was a golf sales representative for Bayer, covering Missouri, Iowa, Colorado, Minnesota, Kansas and Nebraska at various times. Before that, he was an insecticide product manager for Bayer CropScience.

Previously, he was turf and ornamental marketing manager for Novartis (Ciba) in Greensboro, N.C. He also was a turf sales representative for Ciba, covering Michigan, Indiana and Kentucky. Before that, he worked in crop chemical sales for Ciba, in Texas and Kansas.

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