PTC Renames Distinguished Service Award
At its annual membership meeting in State College, Pa. last week, the Pennsylvania Turfgrass Council (PTC) announced that it was renaming its Distinguished Service Award to honor Dr. George Hamilton, a leading professor and researcher in turfgrass management at Penn State, who died this summer after a courageous battle with cancer.
The newly named Dr. George Hamilton Distinguished Service Award will be given out for the first time in 2005.
“The PTC Board unanimously voted to change the name of the award as a way to honor George for his unfailing support for PTC’s mission to advance the science of turfgrass management,” says PTC President Jerred Golden.
Golden notes that Dr. Hamilton was both a gifted teacher and innovative researcher. “He excelled at working with students, finding ways to motivate even the most reluctant student into setting the bar higher,” Golden says. “As a researcher, he had incredible vision for innovation. His straight ahead approach to finding solutions for our day-to-day problems gave us practical solutions in the form of market-ready inventions that have changed to way we grow turf.
“Everyone will remember George for his strength of character and his desire to make everything he did and everyone around him better,” Golden continues. “Our lives have been enriched for knowing him. As George told us at last year’s convention with his moving speech, we have to live a full life – a life that honors our families and communities, as much as our jobs. One that is inspiring to those who look up to us and depend on us and to live our lives with passion. George truly lived his life in service to us all and when the award is presented in the future, we can remember a friend that has made all of us better professionals and better people.”
| Penn State Celebrates 75 Years of Research |
The Pennsylvania Turfgrass Council (PTC) celebrated the 75th anniversary of Penn State’s Turfgrass Research & Education program in a special morning session and an evening reception during the annual Penn State Golf Turf Conference held at Penn State last week. Dr. Al Turgeon, professor of turfgrass management at Penn State, gave an overview of the program, its successes and progress over 75 years of growth. In a response from the turfgrass industry, newly elected PTC Board member Matt Shaffer from Merion Golf Club in Ardmore, Pa., thanked the College of Agricultural Sciences and those involved in the ongoing research for the outstanding contribution that has been made to the golf industry around the world. He expressed appreciation for the tremendous influence Penn State has had on the development and management of turf on athletic fields, commercial and residential lawns and a host of other areas impacted by the research in the turf industry. “My Penn State Turf certificate is the best investment I have ever made in my life – the dividends it has made are huge and this career has enriched my life,” Shaffer says. “I encourage all of you to be an ambassador to the profession of golf course management, becoming a mentor and recommending potential students. Most importantly, do whatever it takes to make sure Penn State Turf is always No. 1.” State Representatives Kerry Benninghoff and Lynn Herman presented a citation from the Pennsylvania House of Representatives recognizing the anniversary and commending Penn State’s research and education program for its “enormous impact on the golf industry throughout the world and on the development and management of turf on athletic fields, commercial and residential lawns.” “The role that the program has played in the breeding of new turf varieties, the education of industry professionals and the technology transfer from the classroom and laboratory to the greens has been critical to the turf industry for seventy-five years,” the citation continued. “The House of Representatives salutes the Turfgrass Research and Education Program as it recommits itself to the ideals and standards which have sustained it for 75 years, and offers best wishes for a continued tradition of excellent service and humanitarian endeavors in the years to come.”
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PTC promotes professionalism in all facets of the turfgrass industry by providing educational opportunities, grants and support for education and research projects, encouraging future industry leadership through scholarship and awards, and promoting interaction with government agencies, private institutions and the general public.
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