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President's Column
Looking Back, But Focusing
on the Future
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Environmental Communicator
of the Year
TOCA Scholarship Program

As we head toward Election Day 2008, I’ve lost count of how many times I’ve heard some candidate’s ethics called into question. Maybe this is warranted, maybe not, but I have found myself thinking that perhaps we should build covered walkways that lead from the county courthouse, the statehouse and Congress directly to a building run by the state or federal penal system. It just seems like it would save so much time.

All cynicism – justified or not – aside, when elected or appointed officials make poor ethical choices it’s up to the people – represented by our governmental and legal institutions – to sit in judgment and determine if the infraction was an understandable mistake or something more sinister.

Puerto Rico:
Looking Back, But Focusing
on the Future
By Den Gardner, Executive Director

Twenty Years? OK, so creating TOCA in 1989 may not be as important as the destruction of the Berlin Wall. Or demonstrations in China by students at Tiananmen Square. Or the war in Kuwait. Or Ronald Reagan leaving office with a budget deficit of ONLY $155 billion. Or the Dow dropping 190 points one day on Black October (that’s a normal day in the global world we live in now). Or the Supreme Court ruling that burning the American flag in protest is protected by the First Amendment. Or A. Bartlett Giamatti banning Pete Rose for life from baseball (and the Hall of Fame). Or the Earthquake in San Francisco. Or Game Boy being created.

I, on the other hand, would rather think of 1989 as the year TOCA was created and a steering committee of Pat Jones, Cindy Code, Elliott Maras and yours truly spent a couple days in Minneapolis putting the organization’s foundation together.

So as we near 2009, the TOCA board of directors chose San Juan, Puerto Rico, as the site of our 20th annual meeting. And the meeting will be focused not on where we’ve been, but where we’re going.

Although the agenda is not fully approved, you can be sure the meeting will focus on new technologies for communicating to our various audiences, new ways to work in an environment where people aren’t full-time employees anymore, or they work from home, juggling career and family in different ways than decades ago.

Calendar of Events
Check out upcoming events in the turf and ornamental industry.


Member News
Read about our exciting member news and new members.

Environmental Communicator
Of the Year
As always at this time of year,
TOCA begins its search for the next Environmental Communicator of the Year. Nominations for the 2009 winner are now being accepted.


TOCA Scholarship Program
The TOCA Board of Directors decided to award one $2,500, fall semester scholarship (2009-2010 academic year) to an undergraduate college student pursuing a career in green industry communications.
Perhaps you know of some deserving student currently pursuing a career in green industry communications. How about nominating him or her for a TOCA scholarship?