ZONTEK RECEIVES DISTINGUISHED SERVICE AWARD
Stanley Zontek, director of the USGA Green Section's Mid-Atlantic Region, received the GCSAA Distinguished Service Award on February 9 at the Golf Industry Show in Atlanta, Georgia. Begun in 1932, the annual award is given in recognition of outstanding contributions to the advancement of the golf course superintendent profession.
The son of a golf course superintendent, Stan attended Penn State University, where he received a bachelor of science degree in agronomy before joining the USGA Green Section staff in 1971. He has worked as an agronomist in several sections of the country, from the Northeast to the Great Lakes Region to his current assignment in the Mid-Atlantic Region. Throughout this time, he has helped train many of the current USGA Green Section agronomists. As director of the Mid-Atlantic Region, he works with fellow agronomists Darin Bevard and Keith Happ, tending to the needs of the five-state region and Washington, D.C. In his 35 years with the USGA, he has made more than 4,500 turfgrass visits to golf courses through the Turf Advisory Service.
Stan also volunteers as a member of the Musser International Turf Foundation board of directors and many other industry committees, and he provides advice for the maintenance of the putting green at the White House in Washington, D.C. The White House putting green was originally constructed in the early 1950s for President Dwight Eisenhower with the help of USGA agronomist Al Radko.
NELSON RECOGNIZED WITH 'SENIOR AGRONOMIST' DESIGNATION
Matt Nelson, an agronomist in the USGA Green Section's Northwest Region, has been promoted to senior agronomist. This designation is awarded to Green Section agronomists who have demonstrated an outstanding commitment and dedication to their work over a minimum period of ten years on staff.
Having joined the Green Section in 1996, Matt started his career working in the Northeast Region for four years. Currently, he is based in Twin Falls, Idaho, conducting Turf Advisory Service visits on golf courses in Montana, Idaho, Wyoming, Colorado, and the Dakotas. Matt joins fellow senior agronomists Keith Happ (Mid-Atlantic), Chris Hartwiger (Southeast), Jim Skorulski (Northeast), Bob Vavrek (North-Central), and Bud White (Mid-Continent).
NEW EDUCATION MATERIALS AVAILABLE
The 2005 Turfgrass and Environmental Research Summary is now available free of charge through the USGA Order Department. The research summary provides a one-page summary of each research project currently being funded by the USGA's Turfgrass and Environmental Research Program. This publication is appropriate for researchers, university extension personnel, and golf course superintendents who are interested in learning about the latest results from the program. Request publication NS 1644.
The USGA also has recently made available a CD titled The USGA Golfer's Guide: An Animated Journey from Tee to Green. Seventeen agronomic-based animations help address some of the questions most commonly asked of golf course superintendents. Topics such as aeration, frost delays, ball mark repair, and bunker etiquette are just a few of the subjects covered. The CD also contains an additional 29 animations pertaining to the Rules of Golf, an interactive golf hole, and a comprehension quiz. The CD is available for $14.95 ($10.95 for USGA Members), plus applicable shipping and taxes. Request item number VGRULA.
Both items are available by contacting the USGA Order Department at 800-336-4446.
