The Ohio Turfgrass Conference & Show ended on Dec. 7 with nearly 3,000 turfgrass professionals from around the Midwest in attendance. The 40th annual event was held at the Greater Columbus Convention Center, Columbus.
The number of turfgrass professionals attending the three-day show, not including exhibitors, was an increase of 160 over the 2005 event. More than 100 hours of educational programming and 205 companies exhibiting the latest in turfgrass products and supplies make it the nation’s largest regional event for the turfgrass industry.
Golf Course Superintendents Association of America (GCSAA) and Sports Turf Managers Association (STMA) continuing education credits were offered for each day of the conference. Pesticide license re-certification credits were available for participants from Ohio, Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, Pennsylvania, Tennessee and West Virginia. Ohio Pesticide Applicators License testing and Professional Landcare Network (PLANET) certification testing was offered the last day of the event.
The quality and value of the educational programming was a committee priority, as evidenced by the many renowned turfgrass presenters from eight leading academic institutions. Three new educational “tracks” were introduced this year, adding even more diversity to the comprehensive educational programming for golf course management, athletic fields, commercial grounds, lawn care, landscape, and sod production. New sessions, which proved to be very popular, included Landscape Irrigation; Human Resources; and Managing a Low to Moderate Budget Golf Course.
Trade show traffic was also brisk, according to Mark VanDyke, Sales Director, HD Water Services. “As a new service provider in this market, participating in the OTF show was an absolute necessity. We saw a continuous flow of industry professionals looking for a better way to address their ground water and pump service needs. These professionals were constantly coming to us, which is a dream come true for a sales director”.
As Nikki Fetingas, At Home Putting Greens put it, “The Ohio Turfgrass Show introduced me to several golf course superintendents, lawn care maintenance and landscapers, and people from parks and recreation. It was very nice actually getting in front of them with my products and information. The event, I felt, had a wonderful attendance and appearance. I always had a potential client in my booth. The pace was perfect”.
Keynote speaker, Lonnie Thompson, Ph.D., The Ohio State University, spoke to a packed house prior to the Trade Show Welcome Reception, Tuesday, December 7. Dr. Thompson, Professor, School of Earth Sciences and Director of the Byrd Polar Research Center, is one of the world’s foremost experts on global climate change. He has led more than 50 expeditions in the last 30 years, conducting ice-core drilling programs in the world’s polar regions, as well as in tropical and subtropical ice fields. His popular presentation “Abrupt Climate Change: Past, Present & Future” was sponsored by Syngenta Turf & Ornamentals.
The Ohio Turfgrass Conference and Show is sponsored by the Ohio Turfgrass Foundation, The Ohio State University, Ohio Agricultural Research and Development Center, and The Ohio State University Extension. Supporting industry organizations include the Ohio Lawn Care Association, Ohio Sports Turf Managers Association, Ohio Sod Producers Association, and the Ohio Chapters of the GCSAA. The Ohio Turfgrass Conference & Show will return to the Greater Columbus Convention Center, Dec. 4-6, 2007.
The Ohio Turfgrass Foundation is a 45-year old, non-profit organization dedicated to turfgrass research and education. For additional information, please contact the Ohio Turfgrass Foundation at 888-683-3445, fax 740-452-2552, info@OhioTurfgrass.org or visit www.OhioTurfgrass.org.