2020 Research Golf Tournament a Great Success
Make Plans for the 2021 Event (May 17 at Independence Golf Club)
Letter from Dr. David McCall of Virginia Tech
On behalf of the VT Turf Team, we cannot say “thank you” enough to everyone that supported the VT Turfgrass Research Classic in 2020. I really didn’t think it was going to happen in light of the pandemic and all uncertainty associated with it. It is remarkable to say that we pulled the event off and made a profit. It is truly amazing to see that we actually increased our net revenue from last year, as David mentioned.
There has been a lot of hard work that has gone into making this year’s event a success and none have worked harder than David N and Tyler. We cannot thank you enough for your efforts! I also want to thank the Connelly’s and Landscape Supply, Jim Wilson and Harrell’s, Gil Grattan and Virginia Green, and Kyle Miller & Aaron Wells from BASF for all continuing to lead the charge at the Hokie and Shoulders Patron levels.
These funds go a long way in reaching the VTF goals of permanently funding a VT graduate student through an Endowed Research Assistantship. The light is at the end of the tunnel! We also want to acknowledge that a small portion of these funds allow us to strive for larger matching-funds grants, such as our current collaboration with the VGCSA, GCSAA, and MAAGS. The VTF has been slowly chipping away at the ultimate goal of sustained funding for years, and the approximately $200k that we have generated from this joint VTC/VGCSA event in four years has catapulted the endowment fund very close to where it needs to be.
2020 has been a year for the record books. I am proud to see how everyone within the industry has worked hard together to make many positive moves during turbulent times, and feel very fortunate to be a part of this great group. One last time… thank you to everyone for supporting this event in 2020!
Sincerely,
David McCall
Letter from Jeff Whitmire, President VGCSA
To Brandyn Baty, Director VTF
Dear Brandyn:
On behalf of the VGCSA Board and our VTC partners, we are pleased to announce the results of the 2020 Virginia Tech Turfgrass Research Classic, held on August 31st at Independence Golf Club. For the fourth consecutive year, the tournament raised over $50,000! The final amount is $55,263.03. We are pleased to report that $10,000 is going direct to support current research, including Dr. McCall’s project and the 2nd Edition of the BMP Manual. So enclosed is a check for $45,263.03 to support turfgrass research in Virginia.
This tremendous success took a huge effort by the Tournament Committee. We owe a debt of thanks to all of them. It is truly amazing to achieve this level of success in a pandemic.
Next year’s event is planned for Monday, May 17, 2021 at Independence Golf Club. The Field Day will feature research trials on the club’s Short Course. Details are being finalized for the event.
Turfgrass research is important, so we are very pleased to provide this major level of support.