President's Report Fall 2012

WCTA President Tab BucknerAs I look outside my office window it is just another grey day with the rain falling and high winds in the forecast……… the fall/winter blues have already hit the west coast of BC while everybody east is bracing for old man-winter or has been hit already.

As golf courses go into winter play rule or are completely shut down waiting for the 2013 spring to arrive, sportfields in the lower mainland and on Vancouver Island receive their highest amount of traffic on them during the fall/winter season….thank goodness for sand fields.

Your 2013 WCTA Conference is going to be slightly different from past years. The pre-conference seminar consists of one for golf and one for sportfields, both to be held on Sunday, March 3, 2013 in the afternoon from 1-5pm. In the past, the pre-conference seminar was an all-day event however with two coffee breaks and a lunch break it only actually netted about 5.5 hours of education time. The new format provides four hours of education at a reduced cost because the food and beverages are not required for that day. But the best benefit is that in most cases, you can travel to Penticton on Sunday morning and partake in the pre-conferences thereby reducing one night's hotel charge.

The other notable conference change is that the opening ceremonies are going to occur at the Presidents Reception on the Sunday night. So on Monday morning, each of the tracts; golf, sportfields, mechanics and horticulture will have their own key note speakers and then we are all off to the races for the reminder of the conference.

KPU Turf Club is considering putting on a social function on Saturday, March 2 and if you happen to be in town that night please keep watching for further information on this event.  The money raised in the past has been directed towards turf research. Peter Sorokovsky - a plug for turf research for you!!!!

I want to wish you and your family a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year and I am looking forward to seeing you all at the WCTA 50th Annual Conference in Penticton March 3-5, 2013.

To reach me, my office email is tbuckner@tol.ca and my office phone is 604.532.3504.

Regards, Tab Buckner, WCTA President

The 2012-13 WCTA Board Of Directors (From Left To Right): Mike Schellenberg, Trevor Smith, Keith Lyall, Jason Pick, Peter Sorokovsky, Tab Buckner, Dr. Brian Holl, Scott Mitchell, Larry Olson, Brett Finlayson, Jeff Bennett