The Midwest Association of Golf Course Superintendents held their first ever equipment manager education this month. The event was hosted by JW Turf at their facilitates in Elgin, IL and  featured education on Tier 4 diesel engine regeneration. Speakers on hand included representatives from JW Turf and John Deere. Over 90 turf equipment mangers and turf professionals were in attendance for event, which offered valuable networking and education for the equipment managers in the Chicagoland area.

Attendees were able to get a first-hand look at Tier 4 equipment and demo equipment in person; providing valuable education with hands-on experience. Speaking with many equipment managers following the presentations, the overwhelming majority stated the event included takeaways which they could implement at their facility immediately, and provided information to use in the future in the ever-evolving turf equipment industry.

The event also allowed attendees to get a first-hand glimpse into association involvement. 23-year GCSAA member and MAGCS Executive Director Luke Cella, CGCS acted as emcee as he gave a background of the event, and introduced upcoming speakers. 21-year GCSAA member and MAGCS equipment manager committee chair Todd Schmitz also spoke to the group and encouraged attendees to become involved in the evolution of the equipment manager classification.

A huge thank you goes out to all of those who worked diligently to make this event a huge success. I look forward to upcoming equipment manager events, not only in the MAGCS chapter, but additional chapters across the region.