GCSAA Class A member becomes first superintendent to earn award
The Colorado Golf Hall of Fame named Steve Sarro, Golf Course Superintendents Association of America (GCSAA) Class A superintendent at Vail (Colo.) Golf Club as the 2007 Colorado Golf Person of the Year.
Sarro organized and led a group of 28 Colorado and Wyoming superintendents, assistants, turf students, irrigation technicians and vendors to New Orleans in March 2006, aiding four hurricane-stricken golf courses in their efforts to return to operation. In addition to giving one week of their time and labor, the group of volunteers raised nearly $30,000 for the struggling Gulf Coast courses.
"I am proud and honored to have been given this award," said Sarro, who becomes the first golf course superintendent to receive the honor. "But I hesitate to put our efforts in the past-tense, as the guys down in New Orleans are still there and still giving it their all, after losing almost everything."
The group drove to New Orleans, divided into four groups, each staying five days working dawn to dark at public facilities Brechtel Park Golf Course and Audubon Golf Course, as well as private facilities English Turn Golf and Country Club and TPC Louisiana. Each course had been devastated by the hurricane. Sarro’s crew cut trees, removed stumps and debris, repaired bunkers, greens and drainage, aerified and did general maintenance.
"You’ll never appreciate how good it made us all feel to have the actual golfers come up to us and thank us for our efforts," said Sarro, who was also named the 2006 Superintendent of the Year by the Rocky Mountain Golf Course Superintendents Association and the 2006 Turf Professional of the Year by the Rocky Mountain Regional Turfgrass Association. "For us it was a wonderful opportunity to help them forget the horrible events of Katrina."
The Rocky Mountain GCSA is one of 104 affiliated chapters of the Golf Course Superintendents Association of America (GCSAA). GCSAA is a leading golf organization and has as its focus golf course management. Since 1926, GCSAA has been the top professional association for the men and women who manage golf courses in the United States and worldwide. From its headquarters in Lawrence, Kan., the association provides education, information and representation to more than 21,000 members in more than 72 countries. GCSAA’s mission is to serve its members, advance their profession and enhance the enjoyment, growth and vitality of the game of golf. The association’s philanthropic organization, The Environmental Institute for Golf, works to strengthen the compatibility of golf with the natural environment through research grants, support for education programs and outreach efforts. Visit GCSAA at www.gcsaa.org.
Contact:
Jeff Bollig, GCSAA director of communications
800-472-7878, ext. 4430 or jbollig@gcsaa.org
