In memoriam: Ken Melrose

Ken Melrose, longtime friend and supporter of GCSAA and its members, passed away on May 3, 2020, at the age of 79. Through the Kendrick B. Family Foundation, Melrose, former CEO and chairman of the Toro Co., donated three large gifts to GCSAA and the EIFG in the last decade totaling $2.5 million.

In 2012, the foundation gave $1 million to endow the Melrose Leadership Academy, which focuses on professional development for golf course superintendents through opportunities to attend the annual Golf Industry Show. In February 2019, a second $1-million gift was announced to create the Melrose Equipment Management Endowment, which provides continuing education, a certificate program and the Melrose Equipment Management Experience, a program that brings GCSAA-member equipment managers to the annual Golf Industry Show for leadership and education sessions. In July 2019, the Melrose Foundation gave an additional $500,000 endowment to support GCSAA’s First Green STEM education program.

During a taped broadcast at the 2019 GIS in San Diego, Melrose said, "I believe that GCSAA is the best organization to deliver the education and training that will not only benefit golf course management professionals, but their facilities and the game. I know you and your wonderful organization will do great things with this."

Melrose also served on the Environmental Institute for Golf’s Board of Trustees. In honor of his support for GCSAA, the auditorium at GCSAA’s headquarters was named the Kendrick B. Melrose Auditorium in 2019.

"GCSAA has lost a true friend with the passing of Ken Melrose,” GCSAA Chief Executive Officer Rhett Evans said. “His generous gifts have made a difference in the professional lives of superintendents and equipment managers and also brought STEM education opportunities to young people, which, as the son of a teacher, was very important to him. His philanthropic acts will benefit the golf industry for years to come. On a personal note, Ken was a positive influence on my life, and I am the better for having known him. "

Melrose joined The Toro Co. in 1970. He quickly ascended the ranks of the company, culminating with his appointment as CEO in 1983 and chairman of the board of directors in 1987. He retired as CEO in 2005 and from the chairman position in 2006. That same year he formed Leading by Serving, LLC, whose mission is to advance the principles of servant leadership in business organizations.

Through his work with Leading by Serving, Melrose engaged in philanthropic endeavors by giving to community programs and other organizations. Melrose was a native of Orlando and earned a double major in mathematics and electrical engineering from Princeton in 1962. He received his master's degree from the Sloan School of Management at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and later an MBA from the University of Chicago.