2022 OGCSA Annual Meeting elects Brian Koffler to second term as President, honors award recipients, and introduces inaugural PACE Course and Legacy Scholarship recipients.

OGCSA President Brian Koffler kicked off the day with the members business meeting covering the Association’s year in review and the financial position of the OGCSA. 2021 was yet another challenging year with Covid-19 pandemic related issues, labor shortages, supply chain issues all while courses continued to experience record numbers of golf rounds played at their facilities. With the support of a strong membership and continued support from our industry partners, the OGCSA was able to resume most of the traditional association business and created two new scholarships offerings. Elections followed with incumbent officers: President, Brian Koffler; Vice President, Scott Moffenbeier; and Secretary/Treasurer, Stephen Purdy all reelected to a second year in their respective positions. Incumbent Directors Jason Dorn and Stan Presley were also reelected to second terms and newly elected Director Cameron Callaway was elected to a one-year term on the 2022-2023 OGCSA Board of Directors. They will join remaining Directors Corey Beelke, Josh Loy, and Ty Patton. After elections Brian Koffler recognized and thanked Tod Blankenship, CGCS for his 3 years of service as a Director on the Board.

After the business meeting the “fun” part of the day was kicked off with Scott Moffenbeier recognizing four OGCSA members that reached Class A Retired or Class AA Retired status in 2021. Jesse Goodling (Heron Lakes), Rod Nelson (Wilbur Ellis CO.), Tim O’Larey (Woodburn Estates), and Rick Sullivan (Summerfield) were honored for their longtime careers in the industry.

Next, Scholarship Committee member Ty Patton introduced the inaugural OGCSA Legacy Scholarship recipients. Both Kai Kiyokawa, student at Mt. Hood Community College and son of Gordon Kiyokawa, CGCS (Royal Oaks Country Club) and Anya Rozek, student at Oregon State University and daughter of Paul Rozek (Widgi Creek Golf Club) each were presented with a $2,000 scholarship to their respective colleges.

Also recognized were the Inaugural 2021 PACE Course Scholarship recipients Ethan Erickson, Assistant Superintendent at Broken Top Club in Bend, OR and Aaron Prellwitz, Assistant Superintendent at Oswego Lake Country Club in Lake Oswego, Oregon. Both Ethan and Aaron received full registrations to the OSU Turfgrass PACE Courses this past Fall working toward a Certificate in Turfgrass Management from Oregon State University.

Assistant Superintendent of the Year and Superintendent of the Year Awards were presented by Awards Committee Co-Chair Shane Hadwick. Scott Olheiser, Assistant Superintendent at The Oregon Golf Club and Craig Hilty, Superintendent at Rogue Valley Country Club were honored as the 2022 recipients.

A true honor of the day was presenting Dr. Clint Mattox, Oregon State University with the Michael Hindahl Environmental Stewardship Award for Excellence. Nominator Gordon Kiyokawa, CGCS stated, “Dr. Clint Mattox is the embodiment of what Dr. Hindahl stood for. As the founder of the Best Management Practices for Golf Courses publication, Dr. Hindahl’s work was far reaching and has influenced the Golf industry throughout the United States and beyond. Dr. Hindahl, and now Dr. Clint Mattox, have both advanced the bar of the entire Golf industry through their influence, knowledge and research.” 

The meeting was rounded out with industry updates including a bittersweet presentation from Dr. Mattox covering his nearly decade worth of research that he has conducted during his time at Oregon State University. This summer Dr. Mattox will be moving to a new position with the United States Department of Agriculture.

Special thanks to our host Curt Morgan, Superintendent at McMenamins Edgefield Pub Course. Working hard on and off the course to make sure everything was in order for the event.