GIS RECEPTION
TOCA members attended this year’s Golf Industry Show in Orlando at the Rosen Centre Hotel. Members enjoyed a delicious continental breakfast, and received the latest on TOCA topics, and some otherwise scintillating conversation. We thank BASF and GCSAA for their support.

Cindy Code and Doug Oberman at the GIS breakfast in Orlando.

Alan Krob, Matt Armbruster and McGavock Edwards.

Steve Larson of BASF at the GIS breakfast.

TOCA SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAM
TOCA will again conduct a program for international entrants in the 2008 TOCA Communications Contest. E-mails were sent in early January to international corporate folks and international turf publications to encourage participation. Interested parties will be directed to the TOCA Web site for more information. Entries must be in English and will compete only with other international entries, not in the general U.S. TOCA contest.

Last year’s first place winners included:

Photography
First Place
“Northern Golf Club 17th”
Brett Robinson, Australian Turfgrass Management Magazine

Design
First Place
“The Monster Bites”
Brett Robinson, Australian Turfgrass Management Magazine

Writing
First
“A Dip in the Pond”
Lee Ann Knudsen, Landscape Trades

Entry fees will once again be waived for the 2008 contest, which is sponsored by Syngenta International Professional Products.

CALENDAR OF EVENTS
2008:
March 1
Environmental Communicator of the Year application deadline

March 1
TOCA Scholarship application deadline

March 1
TOCA Communications Contest entries deadline

May 6 - 8
TOCA 19th Annual Meeting
Radisson Plaza Hotel Minneapolis
Minneapolis, MN

October 23 - 25
Green Industry & Equipment EXPO (GIE+EXPO)  
Kentucky Exposition Center
Louisville, KY

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 2008 winner are now being accepted.  Presented each year at TOCA’s annual meeting, the award may be given to anyone in the Green Industry. The tenth annual award will be presented in May 2008 in Minneapolis and is sponsored by Project EverGreen.

Last year’s winner was Helen Stone, publisher of Southwest Trees & Turf and president of Stone Peak Services. Nominees for the ’08 award must be current TOCA members or be nominated by a current member. The winner receives a $500 cash stipend. All applications must be postmarked by March 1, 2008.

If you’re interested in obtaining an application or receiving further information on the award, contact Den Gardner or Barb Ulschmid at TOCA. You can call the office at 952-758-6340 or e-mail TOCA at tocaassociation@aol.com. You can also find application forms on the TOCA Web site: www.toca.org/environcomm.html.  

MEMBER NEWS
TOCA welcomes the following new members:
Matthew Armbrister, John Deere; Andrea Goodall, Padilla Speer Beardsley; Charles Hale, Becker Underwood, Inc.; Chris Hale, Golf Biz Monthly; Thomas Hill, BASF; Jon Kiger, TurfNet; Amy Kostesich; Tierney Communications; Courtney Magnuson, Winnercomm;  Elizabeth Neiderhiser, Gardner & Gardner Communications; Bill Newton, GCSAA;  Renee Robinson, Nicholson Kovac; Frank Rossi, TurfNet; Christina Slape, GCSAA; Barb Ulschmid, Gardner & Gardner Communications

Welcome everyone!

In other personnel news, Moose River Publishing, a business-to-business media company serving the lawn care and landscape, light construction, forestry and agricultural markets, has changed its name to Moose River Media. The modification was made to better reflect the company’s growing industry coverage through multimedia. Additionally, Korry Stagnito has been appointed as Moose River Media’s new president. Stagnito was previously a founder and president of Deerfield, Ill.-based Stagnito Communications, a media company that covered the food, beverage and packaging industries.

In conjunction with Stagnito’s appointment, 12-year Moose River Media veteran David G. Cassidy has been promoted to the position of group publisher and will oversee the publishing activities of each of the company’s brands. “I’m excited to join a group of extremely talented and committed professionals who have built an impressive stable of products and services focusing on vital market sectors,” stated Stagnito. “I look forward to working with David and our entire staff to help our readers, suppliers and associations grow and communicate through a variety of integrated media offerings.”

Moose River Media produces the following magazines and affiliated electronic properties: Turf, Superintendent, Tree Services, SportsField Management, Landscape Construction, Farming, Growing, Forest Products Equipment, The Moose River Media SourceBook and the following green industry community Web sites: LawnSite.com, LandscapeConstructionSite.com, PlowSite.com, SuperintendentSite.com and EverythingGreen.com.