Your Big Success Starts Here
At the 2009 GCSAA Education Conference a parade of industry experts and hot topics lead the way to the year’s best opportunity to sharpen your skills, learn the latest techniques, share best practices with your peers and meet thousands of golf course management professionals from around the world. In addition to taking your professional development to the next level, don’t miss Your Show! The Golf Industry Show unites your entire facility management team and brings you together under one roof. No other show delivers more than 900 exhibitors showcasing the latest solutions for you and your facility. You are sure to leave New Orleans recharged, with renewed energy and ready to tackle your next golf season with greater enthusiasm, new ideas and fresh perspectives.
GCSAA’s President, David S. Downing II, CGCS, encourages you to attend this annual gathering of superintendents
Use this toolkit to help ensure a successful experience
Before You Go
- Compile a list of quantifiable, attainable and realistic objectives. You will need to log onto gcsaa.org for this feature.
- Before you make your travel arrangements, be sure to plan your stay around the opportunity to win exciting cash prizes! The Road to RICHE$ is an excellent tool to assist in seeing the entire show floor and be eligible to win cash – it’s easy
- Review the Education
Conference schedule and develop a list of events that will best help
you achieve your objectives. If there are conflicts, rank their
importance to assist your decision making.
- Plan to experience the show. The 2009 Golf Industry Show is designed to benefit every member of the golf course, club and facility management team. With more than 850 exhibitors covering more than 270,000 square feet of exhibit space, this truly is a must-attend event.
- A few weeks prior to the show, start a checklist of chapter events, exhibitor receptions and people you'd like to see and incorporate
into your daily
schedule.
- The
team is an integral piece for the success of your facility.
If your entire team isn’t planning to attend, encourage
them to do so.
- Come for the conference and show – enjoy a family vacation.
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GCSAA Education Conference
- A conference program will be provided when you get to the
New Orleans Morial Convention Center. Spend a few minutes familiarizing yourself
with the layout of the convention center and where main events
will be located.
- Take another look at the education conference sessions you
chose to attend in the pre-planning stage. Has anything changed
since you established your objectives? If so, adjust your schedule
to accommodate your most important objectives.
- Review the conference highlights.
- Confirm the times and locations of the events you want to attend.
Write the room numbers on your Daily
Schedule.
- If you are staying at a hotel not within walking distance of
the convention center, take
time the night before to locate where the shuttle bus will pick
you up in the morning.
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Golf Industry Show
- A trade show directory and map will be available at the convention center when you get to New Orleans. It will be to your benefit to review these before hitting the show floor. Learn how you can be even more prepared to experience the show
- If you have set appointments with exhibitors, mark those booths
on the floor map so you’ll more easily be able to find them
and be on time for that appointment.
- If possible, have literature samples from exhibitors sent to you instead of
having to carry them with you. Don’t pick up lots of paper
– research shows that 60-85% is thrown away and not taken
home.
- Make the Silent Auction your source to savings! The excitement begins in November when the Silent Auction Web site launches with a preview of the auction items. Online bidding opens Monday, Jan. 5 and continues through the Golf Industry Show. The Silent Auction will be conveniently located on the trade show floor with computers available for bidding and staff accessible for assistance. Proceeds support environmental stewardship programs, including research and education to strengthen the compatibility of the game of golf with our natural environment, player development programs, grants and scholarships to advance the club management industry and support providing young people the opportunity to learn golf and the life values the game of golf represents.
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Networking Opportunities
- Make sure your badge is in plain sight while you are in education,
events or on the trade show floor.
- Bring plenty of business cards and hand them out.
- Don’t be afraid to introduce yourself to others –
your peers are there to help you. And you may be able to help
them too.
- Attend the first event that brings everyone together – the Welcoming Reception.
- Allow for down time each day to refresh, have a snack or get some fresh air. There are three networking parks located across the trade show floor. These are great places to relax, enjoy comfortable seating and meet with colleagues – all without leaving the exhibit hall.
- GCSAA Education Conference and Golf Industry Show is a great place to meet new people, take advantage of this opportunity and make the
most of it.
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Follow-up
- Identify if your objectives
were met. You will need to log onto gcsaa.org for this feature.
- Communicate what you learned and experienced to the appropriate
audiences. Consider completing a report for your golf course management
team, your peers and supervisor/employer. Educate them on the trends in golf course management and what
they mean for the profession and your course.
- Share your experience with golfers at your facility. Use the
opportunity to educate them on how your time at conference and
show will enhance the facility. It also presents the opportunity
to talk about any specific projects that you may be managing where
your attendance at conference and show was a benefit.
- Justify that the cost of your attending had a positive effect
for you and your facility. Evaluate if you had not attended, what
would have been the cost and time to achieve the same amount of
business.
- Calculate the amount of money you saved by capitalizing on
show-only specials.
- Complete a personalized news release form to be recognized in your local newspaper. A link will be provided on gcsaa.org in March 2009 that reflects the New Orleans event.
- You will receive 1.5 education points for participating in
the Full Conference Package. These points can be applied toward application or renewal of Class A membership or the prestigious CGCS classification.
- Plan to attend the 2010 GCSAA Education Conference and the Golf Industry Show in San Diego, Calif.
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