When my plane touched down at 8:55 a.m. Nov. 13 in my hometown of Kansas City, I was finally able to take a deep breath and look back on a busy end to 2018. As GCSAA continues to grow grassroots advocacy, it's become part of my job to visit chapters and talk with them about the legislative, regulatory and public relations issues golf course management is facing. Thanks to support for the Ambassador program from Bayer, these regional visits have led to constructive conversations with ambassadors about how to become more involved and effective in their work with lawmakers.

Recent travels have taken me to the Oregon GCSA Fall meeting in Portland, the Midwest Association of GCS annual meeting in Chicago and the Texas Turfgrass Association Winter Conference and Show in San Antonio. Each trip was slightly different and unique in its own way, but there was one important quality each of these groups had in common with the others: professionalism.

I've consistently been impressed by the depth of knowledge, desire to continue learning, and drive for continual improvement that all GCSAA members demonstrate. Superintendents have a curiosity about how things can be done better, what the person down the road is doing to achieve positive results and what new approaches may be available to solve new and old problems alike.

From an advocacy standpoint, this is exciting, and this attitude and work ethic will help grow the ranks of the Grassroots Ambassador program and raise the profile of golf course management, all the way from city hall to the halls of Congress.

I'd love to participate in your chapter's annual meeting or turfgrass conference in 2019 in order to do more Grassroots Ambassador recruitment, outreach and training. It's a great thing when ambassadors from the same state, chapter or region can come together to learn best advocacy practices from each other and I’m honored to be a part of it.

If you are looking for further assistance or instruction as a Grassroots Ambassador, would like to become an ambassador, or if you know of someone who would excel in this role, please contact me at 800-472-7878, ext. 3612 or mlee@gcsaa.org.

Michael Lee
GCSAA manager, government affairs