When members at Highlands Falls Country Club had a vacant room in their clubhouse that served no purpose, it was Fred Gehrisch, CGCS, who responded, turning the vacant room into a shrine honoring the club's history and its golf course architect.
When the village of Highlands, North Carolina needed help clearing a lot to build a municipal park, Gehrisch was there. When the village needed help planting trees to beautify its downtown district, again it turned to Gehrisch.
Gehrisch goes above and beyond the normal call of a superintendent when it comes to serving members at the club where he works and the residents of the town where he resides. It's why he was named the 2014 TurfNet Superintendent of the Year at this year's Golf Industry Show in San Antonio.
Since 2000, the TurfNet Superintendent of the Year Award, presented by Syngenta has been honoring Gehrisch and others like him for their ability to excel at the following criteria: labor management, maximizing budget limitations, educating and advancing the careers of colleagues and assistants, negotiating with government agencies, preparing for tournaments under unusual circumstances, service to golf clientele, upgrading or renovating the course and dealing with extreme or emergency conditions.
Nominations for his successor can be made by clicking here, but hurry, the nomination deadline is Dec. 11.
The winner will be chosen from a list of finalists determined by our panel of judges from across the golf industry and named during next year's Golf Industry Show in San Diego. The winner will receive a trip for two to Bandon Dunes Golf Resort, courtesy of presenting sponsor Syngenta.
Previous winners include: Chad Mark, Kirtland Country Club, Willoughby, Ohio (2013), Dan Meersman, Philadelphia Cricket Club (2012); Paul Carter, The Bear Trace at Harrison Bay, Harrison, Tennessee (2011); Thomas Bastis, The California Golf Club of San Francisco (2010); Anthony Williams, Stone Mountain (Georgia) Golf Club (2009); Sam MacKenzie, Olympia Fields (Illinois) Country Club (2008); John Zimmers, Oakmont (Pennsylvania) Country Club (2007); Scott Ramsay, Golf Course at Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut (2006); Mark Burchfield, Victoria Club, Riverside, California (2005); Stuart Leventhal, Interlachen Country Club, Winter Park, Florida (2004); Paul Voykin, Briarwood Country Club, Deerfield, Illinois (2003); Jeff Burgess, Seven Lakes Golf Course, Windsor, Ontario (2002); Kip Tyler, Salem (Massachusetts) Country Club (2001); Kent McCutcheon, Las Vegas Paiute Golf Resort (2000).
