Ohio Turfgrass Foundation Celebrates 40th Anniversary

Ohioans solved this dilemma by establishing the Ohio Turfgrass Foundation (OTF), which celebrates its 40th anniversary tomorrow, April 24, 2001, and developing educational turfgrass programs at The Ohio State University (OSU), Columbus, Ohio. Part of the solution also resulted in the establishment and subsequent success of the annual Ohio Turfgrass Conference and Show, which will be held Dec. 3-6 this year in Columbus, Ohio.

SERVING A GROWING INDUSTRY. "There was no place to know where to get information on turfgrass," said Harry Murray, a past president and a founding father of OTF, Zanesville, Ohio. He said the turfgrass industry was just starting to take off with new homes being purchased by veterans returning from WWII and a growing interest nationwide for playing golf. Murray and others knew something would need to be done locally to make it easier for these new market opportunities to take off in Ohio.

Ohioans started to bring that education to the state in the late 50s as Dr. Dick Davis, head of the agronomy department of the Wooster Experiment Station, later known as the Ohio Agricultural Research and Development Center, held annual field days for professionals and homeowners. Picking up Davis’ lead, a group of new industry professionals started the Western Reserve Turfgrass Association in the Cleveland area and held annual field days in northeastern Ohio.

Although these events brought together industry professionals to share ideas and practices, comprehensive educational information was still only available out of state. And that just didn’t cut it for the Ohio industry, as professionals there knew the resources available at OSU could be an excellent source for educating the industry. So at the 1960 Midwest Turfgrass Conference in Room 222 of the Purdue Student Union - an infamous room, according to Murray, that was consistently occupied by Bill Lyons, who took care two golf courses for the Firestone Tire and Rubber Company, and other industry representatives from the Midwest - the standing-room only crowd asked, "How can we get Ohio State involved?"

"We were all in Bill Lyons’ room, and there was a bunch of us from Ohio," explained Murray. "People were sitting on the floor. Dr. Burt Musser from Penn State was there as a speaker, and I don’t know for what reason it happened, but the room became quiet and Bill said, ‘Hey Burt how about telling us how to organize our own group in Ohio.’ And Burt told us we should become a council."

Musser explained how the process had worked in Pennsylvania, so the Ohio group got together shortly after the conference in Wooster, Ohio, to develop a plan of action for creating a council. At that March 23, 1960, meeting Murray said a group of about 30 from Cincinnati and northeast Ohio discussed how a council seeks money from the state and outside donors to fund programs. Getting a plan moving was a no-brainer for the group, as Murray explained: "I said, ‘Hell, I’ll write the letters and get it started.’"

Following the initial meeting, the group met in April, June, September and December of 1960 and began to apply pressure to Roy Kottman, OSU dean of the College of

Agriculture and Home Economics, to allow the developing council to become part of the horticultural program at the university, which at the time was monopolized by tomato growers in Ohio.

When soliciting donors and dealing with a university, politics were definitely involved, Murray said. So they relied on the political know-how of George Hammond, the owner of a sod farm in Circleville, Ohio. "George was with the Retail Merchants Association out of Columbus, so he had all of the political contacts," said Murray. "So we had visions of getting all kinds of money. Well, that didn’t happen."

BIRTH AND GROWTH OF OTF. Although funding ended up being scarce in the early history of OTF, Murray said Dean Kottman finally cooperated with the group, and OTF was born with its inaugural meeting held April 24, 1961, at OSU with Hammond being elected the first president. However, attendance was poor. "It was tough to get people to come in then," explained Murray. "So we picked the first week in December. We figured, it’s got to be snowing … and in those days that’s what happened - when winter came, nobody did anything in the winter time.’

Interest and attendance quickly picked up with the annual December meetings, but funding and full cooperation from OSU were still barriers to OTF’s growth. Murray said Ohio tomato growers continued to get most of the support from OSU as they were contributing more money to the university. Therefore, as OTF grew, it gave more money to OSU. "But we wanted to make sure it was being used for what we want," said Murray. "And I’ll never forget the time that Bob O’Brien was the president and there was a big photo op down at [OSU] in the summer time. The check is there, and Bob is handing it to Kottman. After the photo op Kottman starts to put the check in, and Bob just took it away from him. Bob says, ‘We need to talk. You’re not getting this unless you help us out."

OTF contributions to the university increased greatly throughout the years, making OTF directly responsible for providing assistance to professors, educational programs and students in the OSU turfgrass program. OTF also funded the construction of a research building on campus. "[OTF] really was the driving force behind Ohio State even having a turf program," said Kevin Thompson, current OTF executive director.

OTF CONFERENCE AND TRADE SHOW. OTF struggled with funding early on, but that all changed when OTF board members met again in Lyon’s Purdue Student Union room. Here they came up with idea of holding a turfgrass show based on the success of the Golf Course Superintendents Association of America’s (GCSAA) golf show.

The 1967, 1968 and 1969 OTF shows were held at the Sheraton Hotel in Cleveland as hotels in Columbus were already booked for several years during the first week of December. The show then moved to Columbus where it has remained since with this year’s show being held at the Greater Columbus Convention Center.

For the inaugural show, OTF was worried about attendance. It had invested a large amount of money in setting up a trade show and had scheduled many industry suppliers to exhibit at the show. But what if no one attended? "So I went to the northeastern Ohio chapter, and they had about $5,000 in their reserve fund," explained Murray. "And I said ‘Would you guys underwrite the first year for us to get us off the ground in case we have a snowstorm.’" The board approved Murray’s request and underwrote the show, however, the show was a success and OTF didn’t need that money as security after the show’s first year. "We always had enough money in the till that if we ever had a disaster we could cover our expenses. And that’s true today," Murray said.

However, the OTF Conference and Show is not about the money. "The show part has always been there to help support and raise the money, but the education is the reason we do it," explained Murray. With more than 60 hours of educational workshops and seminars in about 80 different topics, Murray’s statement sounds accurate. In fact educational courses at the show can be used for earning credits toward industry certifications and pesticide applicator licensing.

SUCCESS OF OTF. Since 1961, OTF has contributed more than $3.3 million in research grants and more than $300,000 in scholarships. OTF’s membership has currently grown to exceed 1,200 members. With year 2000 attendance numbers exceeding 4,000 attendees, the conference and show has grown to be recognized as the largest regional show of its kind. In 2000 the show boasted more than 240 exhibiting companies, occupying more than 540 booth spaces.

The establishment of OTF led to wide growth of landscape professionals, sod growers, sports turf programs, irrigation businesses and other industry professions throughout Ohio and even beyond the state, according to Murray. "We were part of the growth of the turfgrass people. As people moved to the urban areas and had homes and lawns, the industry grew. Golf grew. And we just rode that horse all the way to the winner’s circle," he said. "It all fell together based on the fact that people wanted some grass."

For more information about the Ohio Turfgrass Foundation visit the organization’s Web site at www.ohioturfgrass.org.