by
Shane Conroy
| Aug 16, 2019
The Northern Ohio GCSA held their annual Vendor Day once again at Bob-O-Link Golf Course in Avon, Ohio. The event has been held at Bob-O-Link Golf Course the past several years; hosted by Bryan Fitch, NOGCSA past president and 12-year GCSAA Class A member.
With the course receiving over an inch of rain leading right up to the event, some were skeptical — myself included — on how the outdoor event would proceed. The course took the deluge well and the sky cleared just as the education was set to kick off. The 50+ NOGCSA members on hand were ready to roll.
Ed Nangle, Ph.D., a 19-year association member, from The Ohio State University began the morning education discussing the various research trials and plots he is currently administering at Bob-O-Link. With some great product trials and real-life golf course management applications, superintendents and industry reps had plenty to take back from Nangle's research.
Following the research trial presentations, various vendors discussed their latest products. Some of the product demonstrations included new mowers from Jacobsen, Toro and Baroness, as well as GPS sprayers from John Deere. Along with product demos, tabletop vendors got into the action providing various information on products and services. Attendees who visited with all vendors had an opportunity to win prizes in the raffle at the end of the day.
Even with the especially difficult growing season superintendents have faced, it was great to see so many NOGCSA members come out to the event. Credit to the NOGCSA education committee for putting on another quality Vendor Day. I would like to personally thank all the vendors who came out with products to display and demo, and to the superintendents for making it a priority to attend and support this event. Finally, a huge thank you to Bryan Fitch and the Fitch family for hosting the event and providing the golf course to the association.