1966 - 2009
The founding meeting of the Canadian Golf Superintendents
Association took place at the Lachute Golf Club, Lachute, Quebec,
on October 7, 1966.
The
“seeds” for such an organization were planted
in 1924, when the Royal Canadian
Golf Association (RCGA) formed a ‘Green Section’ and
the Ontario Golf Superintendents Association was formed.
Key
Canadians of the time were also instrumental in forming the National
Association of Greenkeepers of America, now known as the Golf Course
Superintendents Association of America (GCSAA).
In
1966, meetings were held by interested superintendents
in Kansas City, during a Toro Luncheon, at the National Association of
Greenkeepers of America (now known as the GCSAA) conference and at the
17th Annual Canadian Turfgrass Conference in March 1966, in
Toronto.
At that
time, superintendents from Manitoba, Quebec and Ontario met officially
to discuss the formation of a new association and to establish goals and
objectives. As a result of this meeting, an organizing committee
was formed: from Quebec, Harold Gard, Tom Johnston and Marcel Notz; from
Ontario, Keith Nisbet, David Gourlay, Maurice Ducharme and Gordon
Witteveen; and from Manitoba, William Woolley, John B. Steel and George
Kendall.
The three
provincial associations provided considerable support to this committee,
and together with great input from Gordon Witteveen, the idea of a
national association of superintendents became a
reality.
The first
meeting at Lachute attracted 49 people, each of whom paid a membership
fee of $5.00. There was a business meeting, and the election of
the first Board of Directors. Elected as President was John B.
Steel (Manitoba); first Vice-President, Herb Creed (Ontario); second
Vice-President, Bob Paris (Quebec); Secretary/Treasurer, Gordon
Witteveen (Ontario); Manitoba Director, George Kendall; Quebec Director,
Tom Johnston; Ontario Director, Joe Reid.
In
November of that same year (1966), the new board met at the Board of
Trade in Woodbridge, Ontario, for a full day followed by an evening
meeting with RCGA officials.
The first
Annual Meeting was held at the Skyline Hotel (now International Plaza
Hotel), Toronto, on March 15, 1967, and the CGSA
Charter was signed and approved on April 15 the same year. By July 1967,
membership numbered 350.
In 1975, the CGSA took control of it’s
own destiny by assuming sponsorship of the Canadian International
Turfgrass Conference and Trade Show from the Royal Canadian Golf
Association (RCGA). The educational program and the trade
show have continued to expand since then. Between 1975 and 1981,
the conference was managed by David Gourlay, R.T. (Bob) Heron and Jim
Wyllie. In 1989 two (2) conferences were held as CGSA changed
months from March to December for its annual event. (No conference
was held in 1993.) In 1994, in Calgary, the Association returned
the Canadian Turfgrass Conference and Trade Show to its original March
time slot.
The
official publication of CGSA, GreenMaster (named by David Moote),
originated with the Ontario Golf Superintendents Association, under
editor Gordon Witteveen, in 1964; he remained the editor when it was
transferred to the CGSA for a sum of $1.00, in January 1967, until
1970. Jim Boyce then edited the magazine until Lois Lane took over
in 1972. From 1973 through 1981, David Gourlay was editor with Bob
Heron as co-editor from 1976 to 1980. After 1981, the CGSA office
staff edited the magazine. In 1991, Kenilworth Publishing began
publishing GreenMaster (under contract) for CGSA. GreenMaster
remains 100% owned by CGSA.
CGSA, in
co-operation with RCGA, sponsored the formation of the Canadian
Turfgrass Research Foundation, in 1967. CTRF was officially
registered as a charitable organization by the Federal Government in
1977. It was administrated by CGSA until that responsibility was
transferred to RCGA on April 1, 1992.
The CGSA
office between 1970 and 1972 was located in Ottawa followed by a series
of office locations in Downsview, then Weston (Toronto), Ontario, along
its main artery, Weston Road during the 1980's. In February of
1991, CGSA moved to more modern offices in Mississauga, immediately
south of the Toronto International (Pearson) Airport.
1991 marked the 25th anniversary of
CGSA. The John B. Steel Award for Distinguished Service
was established and John Steel (CGSA's first president) was the first
recipient. Also, the Gordon Witteveen Superintendent - Authored Article
of the Year for GreenMaster was created in 1991.
The CGSA
Fall Field Day has been a significant event since the early days of the
association. The late Tom Johnston was the generous host
superintendent for many years at Carling Lake Golf Club in Brownsburg,
Quebec. The event returned to its original venue for the
association’s 25th anniversary in 1991. The Fall Field Day
remains a highlight on the CGSA calendar, and is now held at various
clubs across Canada alternating east and west with the
conference.
In 1995, the National Foursomes golf
tournament, which was initiated during the 25th anniversary year, was
merged with the regular awards at the Annual Fall Field Day. The
foursome with the best score each year is eligible for the Ransomes
trophy, which was originally donated in 1991.
1992 was the year the CGSA Scholars Fund
Program was created for deserving CGSA Student members. A new program,
the CGSA/Toro Future Superintendent Award, was added in
1998. The new CGSA/Toro Environmental Excellence Award was
introduced in 1999.
The first
major Membership Opinion Survey was conducted among CGSA members in
1992. Approximately 37% of those sent survey forms returned
them. The resulting information provided the impetus for the
association’s long range planning committee to tackle specific
objectives.
In
1997, there was a 58% participation rate for the new
Benefits and Compensation Survey for Golf Superintendents. In 1998,
participation rose to 63%!
In 1993, the board adopted the
association’s first mission statement: “The Canadian Golf
Superintendents Association is a society committed to excellence in golf
course management and environmental responsibility through the
continuing professional development of its
members.”
In 1994, membership passed the 1400 member
mark for the first time. In 1998, membership passed the 1600 member
mark.
Also, in
1994 the Association re-vitalized its Master Superintendent Program
(originally launched in 1988) by requiring a written exam to be taken by
applicants.
The
National Occupational Standards (N.O.S) Committee, with
“buy-in” from all regions, employers and the Federal
Government in 1997, began to travel the country selling the
N.O.S. In March 1998, at the Calgary Conference AGM, the
nationally validated National Occupational Standards were
approved. In 1999 an awareness campaign was launched to achieve
recognition of the standards by golf course owners/managers.
In 1995, CGSA revamped its seminar program,
formerly known as the National Seminar Program. It was renamed the
Canadian Seminar Series and took on a new look. Seminars were held
in various parts of the country and an active plan was begun to develop
“made in Canada” seminars. Many seminars during the
early nineties were organized in cooperation with
GCSAA.
In 1996, a committee on the environment was
established at the Vancouver conference. The association sponsored the
first “Roundtable on the Environment.” In 1997 work
began, in earnest, on the Environmental Management Resource
Manual©. Kirk Morrison and Mark Scenna, were commissioned to
author this landmark document in August 1998. Representatives from
all the golf associations in Canada, industry affiliates and
environmental assessment consultants, etc., were invited to participate
in an open discussion about where CGSA should devote its energy with
respect to environmental issues.
In 1996,
CGSA members Thom Charters, Bob Heron, Doug Meyer and Dean Morrison,
along with six representatives from the Golf Course Superintendents
Association of American (GCSAA) and two from the Argentinean Golf
Superintendents Association, represented “the Americas”
against the “Rest of the World” and won, at the very first
Hayter International Cup, in England.
In 1998, Sylvain Alarie, Mike Baden, Doug
Meyer and Dean Piller won again in Atlanta GA. This event
although, not officially a replacement for, does fill the void when the
international competition originally involving teams representing
various countries known as the Ransomes Tri-Annual International Golf
Tournament was suspended.
The first
Ransomes team from CGSA (in 1972) included David Gourlay, Jack Harris,
Keith Nisbet, Bill Shaw and Lauchlan Shaw. CGSA teams won the
Ransomes event in 1982 (with Bob Heron, Doug Meyer, Steve Miller and
Lauchlan Shaw), 1985 (with Bob Heron, Doug Meyer, Kimmo Salonen and
Lauchlan Shaw) and 1991 (with Thom Charters, Bob Heron, Doug Meyer and
Robbie Robinson).
In 1996
the Early-Timers Committee was created to re-visit CGSA’s history
and to help maintain a strong continuity in CGSA’s evolution in
service to its members.
In 1999, CGSA’s Web Site
www.golfsupers.com was launched. In the mid-2000, a specially
pass-coded member's only section was introduced to CGSA's
Website.
Also, in
1999, the Oshawa Airport Golf Club became the first Canadian team to win
the John Deere Team Championship in its 13th year. In 2000, the
Greenwood Golf Course team from Sarnia, Ontario, became the 2nd Canadian
team to win the Deere Tournament. (John Deere provides financial
support to CGSA's Scholar's Fund each year based upon the number of
Canadian teams participating in the qualifying tournaments.)
The CGSA Board of Directors adopted a new Committee structure for the
Association in 2002. Included in that change were
a Professional Development and Research, Conference and Events,
Marketing, Communications and Public Relations, Member Services,
Environment and Equipment Technician Committees. In the first
year, approximately 30 members volunteered to serve on those committees
on behalf of the Association.
At the 2004 Annual General Meeting in Halifax, Nova
Scotia, the members adopted a revised set of by-laws for the
CGSA. Also, in 2004 CGSA introduced the new SuperSearch program, a
job placement initiative that replaced the Employee
Referral Service (ERS) and is free to all CGSA members.
On January 1, 2005 the Golf
Equipment Technicians Association of Canada (GETAC) amalgamated with the
Canadian Golf Superintendents Association (CGSA). At the March 2005 CGSA
Board of Director’s meeting, the first CGSA “Golf Equipment
Technicians Advisory Committee” was
established.
In 2005, CGSA Members passed a motion to adopt a new
accreditation program. The Professional Development and Research
Committee developed the program and it was implemented in July, 2006. 150 members were
grandfathered in as “Accredited Golf Superintendents”
(AGS).
In the fall of 2006, CGSA and Michigan State
University Libraries formed an alliance allowing CGSA members access to
the Turfgrass Information File, an online database of research
information.
In 2008, new examination were adopted for both the
AGS and Master Superintendent designations.
