President's Report - Holiday 2014

Determining the content of this President’s message was a bit more difficult than I envisioned.  So far this year, President’s messages have been laid out in an attempt to present more of a management-focused theme than that of technical reference. 

As with most things in life, that has changed.  I feel it is now time to update the membership on the work that has been done over the past year and which has been built on the positive advancements of previous Boards.

As Golf Superintendents, Parks and Sportsfield Managers and turf management industry employees, we have all been experiencing a considerable shift in how our businesses are being operated.  This is no different a shift than in any other business in the world at this time.  Competition is fierce and the need to provide value for money invested is more important than ever.  It is my belief that those who will be successful in adapting to this shift will have paid attention to 2 key areas:  your operational structure and the future!

For most people, change is a very difficult process.   As an association made up of many individuals, it is even more difficult because everyone has their own level of comfort.  The ability to adapt is what allows for long-term success and may be a key reason why some individuals and associations face change better than others. 

Over the past few years, the WCTA has recognized the need for change.  With one eye on the future, current and previous boards looked inwardly and asked numerous questions of ourselves.  Do we have the foundation needed to move forward?  Are we operating within the guidelines set out within our mandate?  Do we believe we have a feel for what the future will bring?  Does our mandate need to be adjusted for this?

Answers were not necessarily forthcoming.  It was with this understanding that we asked our executive director to outline the WCTA’s top 10 operational deficiencies and attempt to prioritize them with the goal of strengthening our capabilities.  Throughout this process, we remained intent on preparing for the future,  continuing to look for ways to be ahead of the curve.

I am very happy to report that we have effectively started this process and are well on our way to strengthening the operational base of the association.  An intensive constitutional review is underway and the Board will soon present proposed amendments to the membership that reflect changing times. 

The revised document, which we feel is of utmost importance to ensure our association has a solid foundation to move forward from, is being vetted by an outside source.  WCTA members will vote on this new, more usable and stronger document at our upcoming AGM.

As well, we are in the process of establishing a solidified governance model complete with Board of Director recruitment, orientation and training.  It makes sense to ‘start at the start’ by ensuring strong and capable leadership at the Board level.

A realignment of Director assignments took place earlier this year to ensure work being done by committees is accomplished in a timely and functional manner.  Committees are relied upon heavily but without structure and goals, performance can suffer.  We accomplish this through face-to-face, 1 day meetings throughout the year where the issue to be dealt with is decisively handled by the group with limited distraction.

Information management is a major task with any medium to large sized association.  We have been dealing with this over the past year, creating and updating databases while collaborating with other components we are working on such as our website and new CEC tracking software.

These are just a number of initiatives that we have accomplished over the past few years and are bringing to conclusion.  All of this ties into our next step, creating a comprehensive, formal strategic plan.

This Board and its executive director have worked tirelessly to stabilize and optimize the value of this association and I am very proud of all their work.  We have many issues ahead of us that will not always be easy to deal with but we believe that we have a stable foundation from which to work from.

There are very interesting times ahead for this industry and the WCTA wishes to be at the forefront, in its delivery of value added services and forward thinking objectives.  Please feel free to call me at any time with any issues you may have regarding the operation of the WCTA. 

Sincerely,

Trevor Smith
WCTA President