Blumke awarded Superintendent of the Year; Santiago elected affiliate liaison

The Cactus & Pine GCSA hosted their Annual Business Meeting on February 13 at Phoenix Country Club.  Nearly 60 members, guests and allied golf association representatives were in attendance. 

President Ernie Pock of Grayhawk Golf Club oversaw the meeting that featured updates from Secretary Matt Rusch, board member Curtis Tyrrell, advisor Mark Woodward and advisor Jeff Jensen. 

Frank Santiago of BASF was elected as affiliate liaison to the board of directors. Santiago replaces the outgoing Nick Lubich of Fertizona who completed his second two-year term. A big thank you to Nick for his time and service to the association. 

The dinner portion of the event featured numerous awards: 

• The Jay Woodward Superintendent of the Year Award went to Talking Stick Superintendent Paul Blumke. Blumke is a 25-year member of GCSAA and recently served as a host of the GCSAA Golf Championships. Talking Stick General Manager Roy Smith presented Blumke with the award. 
• The Art Snyder Career Award was presented to Paradise Valley Country Club Superintendent Rob Collins.  A 33-year member of GCSAA, Collins has been instrumental in representing the golf industry on water issues in the state of Arizona. He also hosted the water conservation field trip during GCSAA Conference and Show this past February. 
• The Outstanding Affiliate Contribution Award went to Syngenta’s Kimberly Gard. Gard, who serves as a territory manager for Syngenta, is highly respected among golf course superintendents for her product knowledge and has also been the driving force behind the Women in Turfgrass program. 
• The award for Host Club of the Year went to Papago Golf Club General Manager Daryl Crawford. Crawford has hosted numerous Cactus & Pine GCSA events over the years and oversees one of the nation’s finest municipal golf facilities that serves as the home of the Arizona State men’s and women’s golf programs. 
• The award for Outstanding Contribution to the Arizona Golf Industry went to Arizona Golf Alliance Executive Director Katie Prendergast. Prendergast’s efforts have included assembling an economic impact study for the Arizona golf industry as well as serving as the lead on water efforts throughout the state. 

A special thanks goes to Phoenix Country Club Superintendent Craig Werline and General Manager Dan Budzius for once again hosting the annual meeting. 

The Cactus & Pine GCSA is dedicated to enhancing the professional recognition of its members through education, leadership, collaboration, government relations and environmental stewardship.  More information on the association is available at the Cactus and Pine website.