Golf Day in North Carolina

May 25 was North Carolina Golf Day and the golf industry was well represented on our visit to Raleigh. Members of the Carolinas Golf Course Superintendents Association (CGCSA), Carolinas Golf Association, Carolinas CMAA, NGCOA, Carolinas PGA, ASGCA and John Deere Equipment were in attendance. Collectively, we had several important meetings with many state leaders during our two-day duration in the capital city.

Our first meeting was on the afternoon of May 24 when we met with Lieutenant Governor Dan Forest at his office in the historic Hawkins-Hartness House. We were greeted with a cooler of RC Cola and a basket of MoonPies waiting just outside the front door — true southern hospitality! Before our meeting, we were given a history of the house and a brief tour of the landmark home which serves as the office building for the Lieutenant Governor. After introductions, Mr. Forest started by discussing HB2, which has put the state all over the headlines. The coalition then started to ask questions concerning our industry. He was asked about H2-B visas and temporary labor issues, water quality and quantity issues and property tax formulas for golf properties. We also gave him the economic impact numbers for the golf industry in the state of North Carolina. After about an hour of discussing the golf industry in the state, we thanked Lt. Governor Forest for his time and interest in our industry and headed off to our next stop for the day.

The group rounded up day one at a reception for the North Carolina Travel and Tourism Industry at the North Carolina Museum of Natural Science. We got a chance to check out some of the exhibits at the state's number one tourist attraction before the reception started. It's easy to see why the museum is so popular. Once the event began, the first floor area filled with local business people and many members of the North Carolina General Assembly. Chris Valauri introduced many of the members of our group to State Senator Rick Gunn who we would be meeting with the next morning at the Governor's Mansion. It was a great, informal way to get to meet him and share some of our thoughts on the industry.

Day two took us to the Governor's Mansions, located just down the block from the Hawkins-Hartness House. A staff member delivered a brief history of the house, which has been the residence of the sitting governor since 1891. After introductions in the conference room, Secretary Skvarla gave an update on the economic condition of the state. It was refreshing to hear that North Carolina ranks in the top 10 nationally in most economic categories and the future looks bright, even with all the buzz about HB2 and what looks like a contentious election right around the corner. Many of the members of our group brought up the topics of water use, turfgrass research, property categorization and the value of the game of golf to the state. Both Senator Gunn and Secretary Skvarla are golfers and seemed to fully understand the items we were discussing. Both men agreed to maintain good lines of communication with the group. Senator Gunn commented that he would recognize the group in the afternoon session at the General Assembly and declare May 25 as Golf Day in North Carolina. After a few minutes of hand shaking and thank yous, the group boarded the buses and headed for our final destination of the trip: the North Carolina State Campus.

At the Chancellor's office, we filed into the conference room and took our seats just as the Chancellor, Dr. Randy Woodson, came into the room. The group discussed the university's turf program with Dr. Woodson. There were concerns over stringent admissions standards at the school and how it was affecting the turf program. The chancellor explained the admission procedure and helped to clear up some of the concerns. The group also stressed the importance of continued turf research and its impact on the success of our industry. Dr. Woodson was committed to the program and pledged to keep up the long tradition of turf research at NCSU.

The group of industry leaders had a busy schedule for our two day stay in Raleigh and much was accomplished in terms of keeping the game of golf on the minds of the state leaders. It was apparent that the industry has done a great job in the past building relationships with the government leaders in North Carolina and this visit to Raleigh only helped to strengthen those relationships. Special thanks go out to Tim Kreger, Chris Valauri and the CGCSA Board for putting this event together.

The North Carolina Golf Coalition group with Senator Gunn and Commerce Secretary Skvarla at the Governor's Mansion in downtown Raleigh for North Carolina Golf Day May 25, 2016.