A message to all WCTA members regarding member services
Most WCTA members know that our long time administrative assistant, Viola Freer, made a family move to Prince George and as of July 2012 is no longer working with our association.
To fill the ever important role of Administrative Assistant, we have since brought on Leslie Carnell who graduated from the Kwantlen University turf program, works at the Rupert Park Pitch and Putt in Vancouver and who you may have met at the registration desk at our 2010 and/or 2012 conferences.
Now that Leslie has had a chance to become a little more familiar with things, we thought it a good time to provide a refresher on WCTA member services and who to contact for each.
But first a couple housekeeping items:
• Due to the cost and time of regular mail, we rely heavily on emailing information to our members. If you are not receiving our e-newsletter, job postings and other electronic communications it’s because we need a proper email address for you. You can submit new contact information anytime by clicking on Change your contact information
• 2013 member dues invoices will be sent out near the end of October by regular mail. If you have had a change of address, go to Change your contact information
General Inquiries:
A lot of information can be found quickly and easily on our new website at www.wcta-online.com. Below is a list of direct links to further information on specific subjects. If you can’t find what you’re looking for, feel free to contact the Executive Director, Jerry Rousseau at exec.director@wctaturf.com or Leslie Carnell, our Administrative Assistant at admin@wctaturf.com
Office hours:
9:00am – 5:00pm Monday to Friday except holidays
Office staff:
Jerry Rousseau, Executive Director (604) 869-9282 Exec.director@wctaturf.com
Leslie Carnell, Administrative Assistant (604) 780-9130 admin@wctaturf.com
Crystal Fishbrook, Bookkeeper (604) 869-9282 accounting@wctaturf.com
Full WCTA contact information:
WCTA Box 698
Hope, BC V0X 1L0
Tel: (604) 869-9282 (WCTA)
Fax: 1-866-366-5097
A-Z:
Apply for Turf Research funding
Apply for a Student Award (December only)
Board of Directors contact information
Bookkeeping ie. accounts receivable & payable, invoicing, sales receipts – email Crystal Fishbrook
CEC Program questions (BC Pesticide Applicator Certificate) – email Leslie Carnell
• Accredit a seminar (seminar organizers)
• CEC frequently asked questions
• Opportunities to collect CEC points
Change your contact information
Conference information - email Jerry Rousseau
• Delegate information / registration (coming in November)
• Exhibitor information / registration (coming in November)
Employment Notification Service – post a job - email Leslie Carnell
Travelling Annual Road Show or email Jerry Rousseau
Turf Line News, WCTA website and WCTA e-news editorial or email Jerry Rousseau
Turf Line, WCTA website and WCTA e-news marketing
Sponsorship - email Jerry Rousseau
Keep reading to learn more about the WCTA through our member value proposition…
WCTA Membership Value Proposition
The Western Canada Turfgrass Association is dedicated to turf research, education and discussion and serves over 700 members in the golf and sportsturf industry. We’ve been around since 1958 and that basic mandate has evolved into a variety of services, any one of which might assist you in your career. Like most industry organizations, we provide valuable programs to our members such as the following:
• host an annual educational conference and trade show
• publish a quarterly magazine
• circulate industry job postings
• track pesticide recertification credits (BC only)
• print and distribute an annual member and supplier directory
The WCTA is also very active with related organizations like the Allied Golf Association, the Sports Turf Association, the BCRPA, BCLNA and others.
The WCTA is unique however, in that we raise and distribute funds directly to turf research projects that help our members solve problems at their jobs. Many of our educational offerings focus on professional development as well and more recently, we’re keeping turf managers abreast of news articles and stories that affect them.
The WCTA is also the leading voice for the professional sports turf industry in British Columbia. We correspond and liaise with several government branches, the media and special interest groups in order to support and advocate for the golf and sportsturf profession on your behalf.
Our most profound involvement as of late has been tied to the issue of pesticide use. Our turf management members support the responsible use of IPM and in fact, added a statement of such to our Constitution on February 2nd, 2010.
In British Columbia, we have made considerable efforts over the last two years advocating for IPM, knowing that a blanket ban on pesticides would have serious negative consequences for many of our members. Having said that, we realize many are already working under restrictive legislation but support the elimination of the confusing patchwork of municipal regulation in favour of a provincial approach.
The WCTA is not about resisting change, rather, it stands for continual betterment of the entire industry through research, education and discussion. Understandably, busy days in the field (pardon the pun) don’t leave much time to think about or keep up to changes happening all around us but the outside influences and pressures that affect you, like it or not, are greater than ever before.
We’re here to help. Of utmost importance for all those with a vested interest in the turf industry is to stand together and we respectfully solicit you to become a member of the WCTA to help make that possible. Membership is extremely reasonably priced at $195 per year.
It is becoming more difficult to continue our advocacy work while providing a valuable range of member services and events. Government is looking toward industry groups like the WCTA to self-regulate and is downloading more onto non-government-organizations (NGO’S) all the time. Whether you’re a member or not, these actions eventually have a wide-reaching affect and it seems to make more sense to stand on the inside looking out rather than the outside looking in.
Thank you very much and if you have any questions, please do not hesitate contacting me at exec.director@wctaturf.com. We hope to see you as a WCTA member in the near future.