Students whose parents work in superintendent positions at Spring Creek G&CC, Summit Rock Over Horseshoe Bay GC, Azalea Sands GC and Tipton GC have been awarded the Golf Course Superintendents Association of America grants.

The Golf Course Superintendents Association of America’s Chief Business Development Officer will now also serve as Chief Operating Officer, to have oversight of all business development and operating functions for the 18,000-member organization. The GCSAA also promoted Eileen Bangalan to Senior Director, Business Strategy.

Contest entrants get a chance to win a trip to the 2015 PGA Championship, August 10-16, at Whistling Straits in Kohler, Wis.

The grant to the Environmental Institute for Golf will support the Cooperative Research Program, which focuses on local turfgrass issues.

The tagline will be used in television and radio commercials, as well as print and online advertising by the Golf Course Superintendents Association of America, with Jack Nicklaus, Rory McIlroy, Michelle Wie, and more contributing.

The superintendents, selected through a random drawing, won expenses-paid trips to the 2015 show in San Antonio, February 21-26, through the Bayer Superintendent Grant Program.

Through the Environmental Institute for Golf, the Academy that was established by the retired CEO and Chairman of The Toro Companuy will make it possible for selected members of the Golf Course Superintendents Association of America to attend next February’s event in San Antonio.

After David Van Auken of Bass Lake CC earned a benefit from the Melrose Leadership Academy earlier this year, his son Kurt was one of 20 winners of grants awarded to children of the association’s membership.

The first phase of the fundraising program for turfgrass studies sold more than 600 rounds in the June online auction, a seven percent increase over a year ago.

Total attendance for the Orlando event, held February 1-6, was 14,147, an 8 percent increase over the 2013 event in San Diego. The GCSAA’s education program saw a 15 percent increase in seats sold, as well as a 14 percent increase in the number of qualified buyers on the trade show floor.

The company’s grant for the Environmental Institute for Golf will help further turfgrass research at local universities. Toro has also upgraded its GreensPro® greens roller with the all-new GreensPro 1240, and introduced the new 100-inch cutting deck as an option for the popular Groundsmaster® 360 mower models.

The Golf Industry Show will continue its three-city rotation with Orlando, San Antonio and San Diego through the end of the decade, it was announced in Orlando. Also at this year’s show, Keith Ihms, CGCS, Director of Grounds Maintenance at the Country Club of Little Rock (Ark.), was elected President of the Golf Course Superintendents Association of America (GCSAA).

The Toro Company and the Golf Course Superintendents Association of America have announced a three-year extension of the company’s sponsorship of the GCSAA Golf Championships. The partnership marks its 20th consecutive year in 2014, and will carry through the 2017 event.

To highlight the value of turfgrass, the superintendents’ organization and its philanthropic arm have become Silver Partners for the collaborative effort between the USDA and the National Turfgrass Federation.

The event, which is presented in partnership with John Deere, will conclude the conference at the 2014 Golf Industry Show in Orlando on February 6. The new GCSAA Board of Directors will be introduced and the winner of the GCSAA Collegiate Turf Bowl will be presented at the event as well.