News Archive
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July 2, 2008 2 July 2008 Greetings, I hope everyone is well. The summer is flying by here, almost 4th of July already. I have been making visits to Long Island and Florida, with upcoming trips to Chicago (July 15-19), Southern California July 29-31), and Baltimore (July 23-25). On August 8, it is off to Beijing to move in field and see Olympics. Very busy. On both the Long Island and Florida (Naples) visits, we arranged some versions of mini-MSU reunions. The Florida visit was a dinner, while the LI trip was a cookout at Gerry Kunkel’s house. See the MSU alumni web page (www.turfgrass.msu.edu) and click on alumni pictures to see a picture of some of the attendees. (There is also a recently sent in picture of a couple of alums from the recent US Open at Torrey Pines.) It was mentioned by the LI people to do this every year, and it would be nice to try it as much as possible whenever we are making the rounds. The Olympic project is going well, and all of you would be very proud of Alec Kowalewski, our PhD Student. He is doing a great job overseeing the field. He will be back on campus in August. You can continue to see pictures and updates by checking the alumni web page. Very little news from football right now, but to me this is good. They will be sneaky good, be in every game, and finish at least 8-4 regular season. You heard it here first. Take care, keep in touch, and keep looking for lost souls. Trey Rogers |
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May 20, 2008 May 20, 2008 Greetings from Spartan Country. I hope everything is going great in your corner of the world. Personally, I have been busy with our little project in China (more on that) and with the graduation from high school of my oldest child, Rebecca. (Now we all can feel a little bit older, instead of just me.) This past week in Beijing the Chinese company CSI moved the modular field into the Bird’s Nest stadium as part of a test in preparation for the Olympics. The turf was in good shape, and held up fairly well during the move. Alec Kowalewski, our graduate student and person in Beijing for the summer as our on the ground consultant, was watching at the beginning, but in the middle of the move was not allowed in the stadium. The security there right now is tight, to say the least. We have posted some pictures from the move so that you can stay as up to date as possible with more to come. My current plans and schedule call for a return trip there in August just in time to see the field go in after the opening ceremonies. I will start my student visits in early June with a trip to Las Vegas (June 3) and Tucson (June 5), followed by a quick trip to south Florida on June 11 (I will see my first all paspalum course – very exciting). The week of June 16 I will be in Long Island. On Thursday night of that week we are going to have a cookout at Jerry Kunkel’s house and all Alumni in the area are invited and encouraged to attend. (For those of you that this applies, contact me via my email.) The campus is its usual mess with construction and things are relatively quiet. I am predicting that the football team will be better than predicted. This guy has them going in the right direction. Keep looking for lost souls. Trey Rogers |
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April 12, 2008 April 12, 2008 Greetings from the Olympic city of Beijing, China. I flew over here on Wednesday to look at the modular field we planted last September. My graduate student, Alec Kowalewski, and his wife will be in Beijing in early May to live and watch the field until the games end in August. The field is in very good condition and overall it is quite satisfactory. A little topdressing here and weed control there and we are full scale into a maintenance mode and all that the Beijing weather can throw at us (which, by my counts, can be a tremendous amount). I have asked Dave Krauss to post some updated pictures on the Alumni web page and you can look them over when you get a chance. This field will get move into the ‘Birds Nest’ (Beijing National Stadium) for the first time in mid-May and one of my main tasks over here is to assess its capability in being up to the task. Quite frankly, we have not moved a field this immature, but it does look like it should be ok. I leave for Lansing tomorrow. Now for an update on the new turf position – nothing new, except maybe that we are still in the cue and are told things are still positive. I am still optimistic we will have some definitive news by July. Too bad about Spartan hoops and hockey, but they still had great years when you think about the alternative that we might not even talk about them at all. The campus will be a mess again this summer with the Farm Lane Bridge project and others. The Farm lane will go all through 2008 and 2009, I am told and is really a challenge. But, when it is done it will really link the campus. We had 40 students (16 2-year golf, 18, BS, and 6 2-year Sports)go our on internship this year, with 30 in golf and 10 in sports fields (4 BS students doing a sports turf internship.) We will be busy with internships this summer and I will try to provide a schedule later in the month so there can be some potential get togethers. Keep looking for lost souls. Trey Rogers |
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January 19, 2008 Greetings from Spartan Country: I hope you are having a great start to 2008; it’s shaping up like a very interesting year. The Spartan basketball team looks like it could make a run for the title. I think it has all the necessary ingredients, shooting, toughness, and athleticism. They have shown me some road toughness (I think Iowa was an anomaly), and the NCAA regional is at the Palace. This could be fun. They are definitely my pick for best MSU team this winter season. How Time Flies – This past fall went by very fast. This was my 20th one on this campus and it seems like just yesterday I was trying to remember if Shaw was north or south of Wilson. Our student numbers are steady right now at around 120 total (2-year Golf, Sports Turf, and BS programs). This number will likely stay steady for some time (it was at a high of almost 200 back in 1998-99). We had an excellent day of mock interviews in November, and I believe the students are looking forward to their next step. Turf Program Review – Last fall we conducted an outside review of our turf program. The administration asked for the review after we made a strong pitch to restore our central turfgrass research faculty position last spring (this was the Beard, Kaufmann, Branham, Baird position from 1960-2000). The dean requested a comprehensive outside review so we could assess all areas of the program and best determine our needs in a new position. It was no small task preparing for the review during a busy fall semester. However, the MSU Turf Team is committed to being the best we can and everyone pitched in to make sure we were ready. The review team arrived in early November and included representatives from Penn State, Rutgers, Texas A&M, Purdue, and the USGA. During the review we openly discussed all aspects of our turfgrass program; teaching, research, and extension. We are very appreciative of our colleagues taking time to visit East Lansing and participate in the review. They did a very thorough job and we received their written report in December. We are now plotting our course of action. I plan to keep you updated of most interesting changes and enhancements that we plan to implement. As to no great surprise, they thought we did a great job in our teaching program. But they also wondered if we could somehow become more efficient in our teaching efforts. To that end, we have begun a comprehensive curriculum review and are planning to have changes in place by fall 2009. The review team provided a favorable report for our Extension activities and was extremely impressed with the Hancock Turfgrass Research Center. Their major area of concern was our research activities, specifically basic research. This concern paralleled our issues of being without the central researcher since 2000, as the two worked hand in hand. Because this person has the largest research appointment of any turf faculty member of our team, they also have the largest research program, with the greatest number of graduate students, etc. Not having this person left a void, both in research and graduate students. The task in front of us is two-fold. First we need to fill the research position with a top-flight researcher who will come in and begin programs aimed at basic research for turfgrass. We feel the faculty already in place here will fold in around this person in both cooperating and supporting roles. While the exact area of interest is not certain at this point, one thing is very clear: this person will need support to get the program up and running. One of the areas of weakness identified is the current lack of graduate students in the turfgrass program. This is uncharacteristic of this program, as it has long prided itself on producing graduate students. There is a critical need to bolster the graduate student program, and there is a vehicle where you can help to make this happen. Graduate Students, A Legacy – If you have thought about making a donation to the Michigan Turfgrass Foundation, consider directing your donation to the Rieke Endowment. This goal of this endowment is to fund graduate assistantships for turfgrass research. As you may be aware, it is the graduate students who conduct a large portion of the research in our program, and we have had some great ones over the years, many of which are professors at your respective Universities today that provide you with turfgrass research and support (Arkansas, Connecticut, Cornell, Kansas State, Maryland, Michigan State, Nebraska, New Mexico State, Ohio State, Rutgers, Tennessee, Virginia Tech, Washington State and Wisconsin) All of these schools have a professor with a graduate degree from Michigan State University. So, in my mind, when you contribute to the Rieke endowment you are getting a double bang for the buck. You are contributing to turfgrass research to be sure, but you are also contributing to our continuation of turning out tomorrow’s professors and research leaders (a good chance in your own state, or at least region). When fully funded this endowment will provide a graduate assistantship in perpetuity…a very gratifying scenario. So if this pitch has given you the itch, go to the MTF website, www.michiganturfgrass.org, and you will find the fundraising programs link. In my opinion, and that of the faculty, the graduate student assistantship is the most critical component of our research program. If our ability to attract and retain graduate students is not in question, the ideas and programs for research will never be stymied. As stated earlier, our graduate program numbers have slipped. As the numbers decline, so does the research, but definitely our ability to turn out tomorrow’s researchers. It is our goal to focus our fundraising efforts on this endowment over the next few years, with the idea to endow four (4) graduate assistantships in our program. This will take a sustained effort, your help, and a couple of big breaks, but it is certainly my commitment, so watch this unfold. And as I have told all of you that have been one of my graduates in the past 20 years, ‘keeping this program strong only makes your degree more valuable.’ GCSAA Conference in Orlando – Obviously, this is coming up fast (and early). As on par, we will have good representation there, both in faculty speaking and students experiencing the show for the first time (I always love to see their eyes when they walk on the trade show floor for the first time.) The students will have a booth, so come by and say hello. (I will be there most of Thursday afternoon). Michigan Room – I have been told the long-standing tradition of a Michigan room will continue this year. I plan to send a separate email on the time and place and other details in the next couple of days. But, it does look like it will happen. This is the time of year when a lot of people are resting, but there are also people on the move as well. Please remember to update us on your changes when you can (email me directly or go to www.turfgrass.msu.edu) and keep looking for all lost souls. Trey Rogers |
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October 28, 2007 Oct 28, 2007 What a game in Iowa City! Growing pains indeed. This guy is the right coach, though. Take it from a guy who has been through all of them. He and the program will prevail. Big game this week with UM. The one big winner will be the field. It has never looked better. Hats off to Amy Fouty and her crew. There is no one better in the nation. Congratulations to the MSU Cutter Cup team of 2007. They beat the snot out of their PSU counterparts 4-1 in the 16th annual showdown. We held the match at Double Eagle Club in Galena, Ohio (PSU was host and made the suggestion) and things worked out well from a travel and weather standpoint. (Any suggestions for a Central Ohio site for 2008?) The G.W. Hamilton Memorial Cutter Cup has now rested at MSU since 2003. Reports from Beijing, China are favorable. Dr. Kevin Frank has been to the field this past weekend and says things are on course for this time of year and that growth is slowing way down. You can go to the Alumni website and see pictures of the field and this year’s Cutter Cup match (www.turfgrass.msu.edu) Keep the updates coming my way. Any email, address, or position changes are welcome and will be quickly updated. Keep trying to track down your classmates (in or out of the industry now). All the best until next time. Trey Rogers |
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October 3, 2007 October 3, 2007 Greetings, October is a wonderful month, just about everywhere. I hope everyone can enjoy this one. Alec Kowalewski will be returning from his duties in China on October 5. He has done a fantastic job and I am very proud of him. He and I have posted some pictures of the field on the Alumni web site for you to review. We have had a good grow-in to this point. We had some issues with Pythium due to high seedling population (believed to be caused by a mechanical breakdown of the seeder), but nothing that could not be handled. The washouts are a thing of the past, but the distribution pattern of the irrigation system will continue to be an issue, I predict, especially next season. It is never easy. It is great to be a Spartan football fan and I am glad to be back on the band wagon. There is lots of excitement around here, with guarded high hopes (that seem to become less guarded every week.) For you hoop guys, I just found out last week that Coach Izzo will hold Midnight madness on a temporary floor (on top of the ice) in Munn Arena. It seems as though the circus is in town and taking up Breslin (yeah I know, it sounds like there may be another circus choice next door to Breslin on that night.) I have no idea how this will turn out, but I did here no one has done any of this type of work in Munn. Keep your eye on this. Finally, remember to keep me and or this site updated on your changes, particularly email addresses. Also, remind your fellow graduates to update me as well. Until next time, Trey Rogers |
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September 12, 2007 Greetings, I arrived back in Michigan safe and sound. It took about 3 days, but back to normal now. (The food is now but a distant memory in my mind.) It did start raining about 20 hours after we finished seeding and actually rained off and on for about the first five days. A few hard rains, but the field was covered with a germination blanket. After five days, Kentucky bluegrass was poking out of the blanket. The blanket will come off on September 20. The high/low right now is 75-80/58-62. Alec has settled in now and continues to do a great job, despite the communication obstacles (and the Chinese wives tales). One of the big obstacles has been the big irrigation guns. They were installed and tested after the field was seeded, so the pressurization was performed over the top of the modules. (Can you say washout?) Of course Alec made several suggestions about how to keep this from happening, but this is a classic example of the difference between a consultant and in-charge. This irrigation system is clearly one of the issues for 2008 not the guns per se, but the coverage they will provide. (It will be back to a typical in-ground system in the stadium, if I understand them correctly.) Until next time, Trey Rogers |
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September 12, 2007 Sept 10, 2007 On Sunday, we went back to the construction site and the amount of work accomplished in 48 hours was amazing. Lights had been erected; buildings that were barely shelled out were fully furnished. This group was moving fast, scary fast. We met with representatives from Scotts and Toro. These guys are donating all equipment and fertilizer/chemicals. It was important to introduce them to Alec and to get some more questions answered. Because the water would be more functional on Tuesday, it was decided to postpone planting until that day. Therefore, we go to the stadium now on Monday. We found out that they said they could only find three varieties of Kentucky bluegrass (we wanted four and gave them a list of eight); Freedom III, Midnight II and Barrister, (from Jacklin, Turfseed/Scotts, and Barenburg, respectively). One of the big highlights was to visit Alec’s apartment, as he will stay on here until October 5. It is a brand new high rise and his studio apartment is on the 18th floor. We could see the light poles of the construction site from the window. I think his apartment is around 2 miles from the site. To give you some perspective on this, from the center of the city of Beijing to the construction site is like from MSU to Williamston so there are starting to be some rural areas, but there is lots of urban sprawl here as well, except that instead of single family homes you have 40 story apartment buildings, tens of them, all around the city. It is simply amazing. Everything in the apartment is brand new, but he had no cooking utensils, sheets etc. So off we went to the B and Q (amazingly like a Home Depot) to buy these things. Going to a store like this in China is quite fun, and we managed to find most of what we needed. I do believe Alec’s accommodations will be fine. The meals were Chinese and the lunch meal was more adventuresome than dinner. As most know this is not my cup-of tea, but luckily for Alec he enjoys the food quite a lot. The highlight for me was a soup (that I will admit was good) that had a main ingredient of Shark Lips. I did not know this before hand, let me assure you. There will be more to come. Trey Rogers Sept. 11, 2007 Monday was a busy day. We toured the 2008 Olympic countdown clock in the Capital area, and then went to the National stadium, known to everyone as ‘the Bird’s Nest’. The outside looks relatively finished, but the inside is certainly not. One of the advantages of the portable field is that construction of a stadium and construction/maturation of a field can exist uninterrupted on the other (this is more difficult with a conventional field). With the portable field waiting to be installed, stadium construction can continue literally until the day of field installation with no concerns over any stadium work harming the field. This will be an advantage in Beijing. The stadium is certainly impressive and has a seating capacity of close to 100,000. It is still a construction site, so entrances are heavily guarded. I was amazed at the number of tourists (Chinese and others) taking pictures. And, of course, if there are people gathered, there are people trying to make a buck, selling knock off Olympic souvenirs. After a rather unadventurous lunch (either that or I am becoming accustomed to the food), we made our way back to the construction site to calibrate seeders and spreaders. We may have had to improvise a couple of times with our calibration techniques, but we were never short on hands or labor. Lots of labor can accomplish lots of things. It is now time to start the seeding process. I will be back with another report at the end of our day. Trey Rogers Sept 12, After a very long day, the field is finally fertilized and seeded. Because the field was primarily sand and very void of nutrients, we put a couple of fertilizers down. Alec led this crew, as they worked very hard through a interpreter to complete the task. One thing to remember is we are consultants. They will largely go by out suggestions, but do indeed want to perform the task, even though we have to teach them the whole time. For seeding we started off the day facing the task with only a drop seeder, advanced to a ancient pull behind, and finally a relatively brand new one that had been used at golf course (no bentgrass I was told) showed up (very clean). We finished in the dark, and then covered with a germination blanket. The Chinese are very determined. There were many ups and downs, and through it all Alec stood above the rest. He consistently displayed a leadership and patience that was outstanding. What is most impressive is that he does all this through an interpreter. All Spartans would be very proud of him. So the field is seeded and covered (rain is predicted in 24 hours) and now the management begins. I will keep you updated through Alec as he will remain here until October 5. I will see you all soon. Trey Rogers |
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September 8, 2007 Greetings, Yesterday was a long day. Perhaps because for me it started at 2 am as I could no longer sleep. We visited the baseball and softball venues for the Olympics. Both of these grasses are warm season (baseball is bermudagrass and softball is zoysiagrass). We were told that the baseball venue would be torn down right after the games for other buildings. The bermudagrass is not expected to make it though the winter and will be re-sprigged next May (it was put in this year for a test run). Ah, the power of the Olympics. After the fields we went to a Korean restaurant. This is where I really begin to struggle. But obviously I am still here. In the afternoon we went to Pearl City, which is the knock-off market. You can get anything here and you are expected to barter for it. It is, simply stated, one of the most intense things I have ever experienced. This is my third trip here and it still wears me out. I did get lots purses for the women in my life as this is what they were requesting. I finally got a good nights rest, woke up at 430 am to see that the Spartans won and UM was getting spanked. This morning we go back to the construction site for a meeting with suppliers (Toro, Scotts, etc). Stay tuned. |
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September 7, 2007 It is 3 am in the morning Saturday morning here and I have been wide awake for 1.5 hours and finally have given in and gotten up. This is the misery of international travel. Alec Kowalewski and I arrived in Beijing, China on the evening of September 6 after an uneventful flight (although we did barely outrun a typhoon in Tokyo earlier). Also traveling with us is Dr. Weijen Zhao, director of the MSU China program and our interpreter, and Sue Nichols on behalf of University Communications. On Friday morning we arrived at the modular field construction site. In all my experience with modular fields and their construction, I can say without reservation that this site is the best I have seen. It is, of course, brand new constructed, but it does not lack for anything, space to operate, 2 wells, office buildings, lights and security lights. The field was at least 97% built when we arrived, with only some soil compaction work left. The construction was superb and was done exclusively by-hand. It appears the root zone is what we specified for the most part. The water is not hooked up yet, but should be by Monday and that is when we will plant the Kentucky bluegrass seed. The equipment we will use is all brand new and largely donated (as is the chemicals and fertilizers (Toro and Scotts). Everyone seems to want to be part of the Olympics in China and the field is only 10,000 m2, so it not too much of a ‘donation’. Biggest concerns are compaction of root zone. This will cause us stability issues in the future if not done properly. The machine they were using is wholly inadequate (it was hand-held), in part because of their seemed determination to do things by hand. Getting the water hooked up and running is also a key, but they have two wells each drilled over 650 feet. The biggest thrill thus far has to have been the initial cab ride from the hotel to the construction site. Since the site is slightly off the beaten path (not out of the city, but just not easily located like a McDonalds), the drivers (two cabs) did not know where to go. I knew we were in trouble when I saw the other cab backing up on the freeway to get to an exit. We went through some true shanty towns as we were roaming and never did find the spot (we were picked up by the project manager about 2 miles from the site). It was quite an experience, none the less. There will be more to come in a day or two. Trey Rogers |
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July 14, 2007 Greetings again to all the Spartan faithful. It has been dry here, but that is certainly better than too wet. Dr. Crum returned from China (don't ask him about any raw fish) in one piece. He put them on the right track for the soil component of the field. It appears as though they are committed to Kentucky bluegrass, and now, of course, the MANAGEMENT begins. It looks as though I will go in late August/early September to oversee planting. Feel free to join me if you are in the area. Speaking of China, the letter I promised you from Dr. David Gilstrap, coordinator of the MSU Sino-American program, is below. The letter outlines the program and some information about the parameters of the students and the internship needs. Simply stated, we need your help in obtaining quality internships for this program and these students. Know that this is a total MSU turf project and has the support of the entire faculty, so we sincerely appreciate any and all considerations you may give this. Finally, if you live by an interstate out west, keep a lookout at the end of the month for ol Dr. Crum as he and Ed Everett begin their 5000-mile big bike Odyssey visiting interns. I am quite sure in the history of our visitation program this is a first. More to come on this. Keep the updates coming. Some of you still find the lost souls, thank you and keep looking. Ask your buddies if they got this email because many people change emails and we do not know their new ones. All the best and thanks again for any consideration you may give our request for interns. You can direct your questions to Dr. Gilstrap or myself. Trey Rogers
Dear Turf Alumni: This letter is to inform you of the status of the American-Sinno Turfgrass Education Program and information about the internship needs of its students. This is a cooperative venture launched in 2002 by MSU and four universities in China in which students first take a year of intensive English followed by two years of basic undergraduate courses at their respective institutions. Upon passing a standardized test of English competencies, they are admitted by MSU as transfer students. Their last two years of coursework involve an internship during the first semester of their senior year, which is their only time in America. The first class of students has reached this point and will be coming here this fall. Please read on to see if having one or more of these students intern with you might be a good fit for all involved. The attached curriculum shows that the students have by now completed most of their turf courses. What they lack is work experience! In late August, they will come to East Lansing for two weeks of indoctrination during which time they will receive some hands-on training with turf equipment and irrigation. Their internships begin after Labor Day and continue through the first of the year. Housing and transportation are the primary concerns. Several students are planning on getting cars that can be used by clusters of three or four students each. Reasonable accessibility to mass transit would be a bonus. They will be here on J-1 Student Visas and will have proof of having applied for SS cards while in East Lansing. Most of the discussions so far with potential employers have been with those in the south or along coastal areas where turf-maintenance activities are ongoing throughout the fall. Of the 25 students (22-23 years old) in this 2008 class, 18 are female. Some of those in particular have expressed a desire to have part of their internship involve club/resort operations too since that is where they see their best chances for employment in China's burgeoning golf industry. However, they will all need turf experience as they are getting a turf degree. As far as physical abilities, all students took fitness courses (including pre-military training) as freshmen and sophomores. So far, these students overall have done very well in their MSU courses, which were all taught in English with no translator. The faculty, particularly those who have instructed them in China (Vargas, Frank, Smitley, Calhoun, Kells, and Gilstrap), can attest to the students' eagerness to learn, their exemplary deportment, and their ability to communicate in English. This venture is another challenge where the MSU turf program is expected to succeed (once again). The model is the brainchild of President Lou Anna Simon who has mandated it as an institutional priority. It has the full attention of the Provost, several deans, and of course our new department chair, Dr. Jim Kells. Its success will only improve our favorable lot here at MSU. If you feel that partnering with us in this undertaking could indeed be a good fit, please do not hesitate to contact me at gilstrap@msu.edu, my office (517-355-0271 x 140), or my cell (517-881-0201). Go Green, David
Dr. David Gilstrap |
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January 24, 2007 Greetings in this New Year, I sincerely hope that all of you had a wonderful holiday season, and are looking forward to a new year, 2007. School has resumed here and we are just finishing our second week of classes. It will be spring before you know it. The Great Lakes Trade Expo (formally the Michigan Turf Conference) was a another success. The move of the show from Lansing to the Amway Center in Grand Rapids has proven very smart, kudos to the Michigan Turf Foundation and Dr. Kevin Frank for pulling this off. The Amway Center is modern and the downtown area of Grand Rapids is vibrant. Because we are combined now with the Landscapers and forestry people we have a very large 2 day tradeshow, over 5000 people in attendance, and many opportunities to educate people other than turfies in turfgrass science. The conference was a real bonanza for yours truly in finding more lost souls for the Alumni data base. I found by my estimates around 20 people. Several people I either approached or vice versa. I think the word is getting out. One thing I need everyone to realize, the web site and the location of your classmates is not just for those still in the turf business (or subsidiaries thereof), it is for all graduates! The goal is to find everyone. I encourage you to check out the website as new offerings are constantly being put onto the page. In addition to your ability to order clothes and turf pins (as well as email us any changes in your status, etc), we now have the ability to post and view jobs and internship opportunities. Since all graduates and current students are aware of this site, it seems like a perfect vehicle for initial communications of these matters. Check it out and we welcome any suggestions/comments. Now some sports news. This one comes from our Hockey coach, Rick Comley. Great guy and I have gotten to know him quite well as he and his wife, Diane, eat lunch at the Hobies Restaurant together at about the same time each day as I do and we sit together and chat. As you may or may not know, the Spartan hockey team is ranked in the top 8 and on a real roll. The weekend of Jan. 12-13 they hosted Alaska-Fairbanks. After the Friday night OT victory, the AF coach was upset and challenged our coach at center ice (or some semblance thereof). Someone then thought one of our guys grabbed the AF coach shoulder and then it all broke loose from there. After a couple of suspensions for Saturday night, things calmed down. When I saw Rick on that Monday, I asked him if he need an agent or a cut man, and he laughed. He said that he had not been challenged at center ice very often in his 30 years (the AF coach was concerned that MSU was running his goalie). He did remark that Friday night's festivities sure made people come out early on Saturday night so they would not miss anything. Both teams were on their best behavior and MSU won. There is little substitute for winning. Keep those updates and searches coming in strong. I will be back with another letter soon. All the best. Trey |
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December 27, 2006 Greetings all, First, I hope you all are having a joyous Holiday season. Dr. Crum and I made it back safe and sound (and on schedule). Always good to return to the good ol' USA. Now some news. Some you may know this, but the USGA Green Section just recently released that their 2007 Green Section Award winner will be none other than our own, Dr. Joe Vargas. This is a tremendous honor for Dr. Vargas, the University, and of course, your Turf program. (Interestingly, Dr. Vargas is the fifth MSU person to receive this honor, joining, Drs. Beard, Payne, Rieke, and Peter Cookingham.) If you want to drop Dr. Vargas a congratulatory email (vargas@msu.edu), I am sure he would be quite flattered. He will receive the honor at the USGA Education Program at the GCSAA conference in Anaheim. The MSU Turfgrass Lapel pins have arrived and are now available. We have posted a picture of the pin on the web site (www.turfgrass.msu.edu)with all the order information. These pins are very attractive and will certainly identify you as a Spartan graduate. All proceeds go to the Turf program, so order yours as soon as possible. As you know (or read as you are only now on the mailing list), we are now in our third month of correspondence (number 8) and we are making progress toward finding email addresses for our graduates (it may not seem like it, but we are.) We started out with the whereabouts of 720 out of 1415 graduates, and in the first two months found over 85 'lost souls'. In 2007, I would like to ramp things up a bit and be more aggressive in locating people. It was suggested to me by Terry Poley (94) that we have a captain for each graduating year that would be responsible for that year and help me in locating people. To that end, I am now asking for volunteers for captain (or captains) from each class. I will work with you on leads, etc, and together we can make a dent in the unknowns. As always, suggestions to make this process better/more efficient are very welcome. Have a Happy New Year and I will be back to you in 2007. Visit the website and give us your updates/permission to post email/changes. Trey Rogers |
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December 22, 2006 Greetings from China, As I write this, we will be leaving Beijing China in this morning after 5 days of meetings and tours. It has been quite an experience. We have met with many Chinese officials involved with the Olympics. (And if my own eyes are any judge, you can believe what you see and here about the Chinese throwing one heck of an Olympic party. They will be ready). Our main goal has been to continue our role as advisor/consultant for the turfgrass system will go into the Main stadium (aptly called the Bird's Nest). To this point, I would call our mission a success. We did our shopping yesterday at 'knock off city' (our name). It is simply, stated, amazing. Everyone should experience this, it is a real eye opener. No question though, Dr. Crum and I are ready to come home. (He loves the food. I do not.) It is time for Christmas and all that entails. I think Dr. Crum is missing his clock operating job at Breslin Center just as much as anything. Even in China, I have Spartan football news (albeit from the internet.) Seems as though coach D threw down a challenge at the Michigan All-State Football banquet last week. It was turning into a big time UM festival (too much for his liking) and he simply stood up in the middle of the banquet and told the audience and the UM table there was a new sheriff in town and to be on alert. Way to go Coach. (I am going to like this guy.) That is all for now. I want to wish everyone a great holiday season. Keep the notes and updates flowing. We will hopefully see a lot of people at the shows in early 2007. (If anyone has a good idea on how we can get together in Anaheim, I go the vehicle to get out the word.) All the best and happy holidays, Trey Rogers |
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December 14, 2006 Greetings all, Final exams are winding down and it looks as though we will all make it through another semester. I have seen Coach Dantonio a couple of times at lunch in the past week and my confidence in him grows with each passing day. Last week it came to light in my world that several of you had been sending me messages through the alumni web site and email system. Until last week it was not accessible from my end and so needless to say when I finally go into the system there was quite a backlog. 106 messages later, I was caught up and so were many of you. Another glitch solved, but hopefully a few more people are now connected. I was wondering why some of the emails directly to me (the one on the web site does not come to me, I have to access it through another method) were making references to earlier messages! It is all clearer now (and running smoothly again). On this Sunday Dr. Crum and I will travel to Beijing, China to meet with Olympic officials about MSU involvement in the stadium field for the 2008 Olympics held in August 2008. It should be quite interesting. I will try to provide an update next week from post there. Keep looking for lost souls, I know I am. If we just found you, check out the web page (www.turfgrass.msu.edu) as we have cataloged all the old emails. Also, let us know if we can publish your email address (you have to email us permission) and/or you have any updates you want to share. Remember, the turfgrass club has shirts and stuff for sale on their web site. We should have the MSU Turfgrass Alumni pin available by the first off the year, just in time for conference season. More to come on that. Finally, if there are improvements you would like to see with the web page, or things you want written about or updated, just let me know. All the best, Trey Rogers |
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December 1, 2006 Greetings all, Quite a week, now the dust is beginning to settle. The smoke came out of the chimney on Monday and we got our 24th football coach, Mark Dantonio. (As an aside, to put that 24 th coach in perspective, we have two people in the Turfgrass Soils/Extension position, Drs. Reike and Frank, since 1966, 40 years). Anyway, I still put this coaching stuff and Golf course Superintendents in the same boat in a lot of ways. Very tough jobs. More on Dantonio. I knew him while he was here in the 90's with Saban and Williams. I liked him quite a bit (I know I said I was for Shermur, but that was then and now we have Coach Dantonio) as he was someone who I could hold a fairly long conversation with on a variety of subjects. We spent some time talking as I was quite involved with some recruiting when Saban was here. I am not surprised President Simon liked him. She knows talent when she sees it. One of his strengths will be his ability to handle PR and the media. Another is his wife actually, Becky. She will be an excellent first lady of MSU football. I think he will get a good staff in here and then start after the players we need. I am excited again for the first time this decade. One quick story. One of his big linemen is in my class. He is an underclassman, still making his way on several fronts. I asked him what he thought, and quite frankly I told him more about him then I think he knew just from my past experience. However, on Thursday he told me that Coach's reputation of strong discipline was already taking root. He posted a note that he wanted all lockers cleaned up in the locker room. A few did not move quite soon enough for him and, consequently they all ran at 6 am this morning. Stay tuned. Keep sending me your updates and let me know if you want your email posted on the web site. Order your MSU turf clothing if you want, and we should have MSU Turfgrass pins again for sale after the first of the year. Have a great weekend. Trey |
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November 21, 2006 Hello again from Spartan Turf country, Hope you are readying for Thanksgiving. I have some important updates to give you in this email, so read on. (There are several of you new to these mailings as I found quite a few over the past few days. This is correspondence No. 5; the first four are at the bottom of the page to catch you up. Things with the Alumni web page continue on with a rapid clip, www.turfgrass.mus.edu. I encourage you to browse this page for the following: Alumni information - Go to your year and see a Golf Turf Management class picture, and find out where your classmates are (or who we need to find). Cutter Cup - catch some pictures of the past Cutter Cups (now the GW Hamilton Memorial Cutter Cup) and read some history. Homecomings - Look at past floats and all the themes and fun times. Links - link to other important pages, including the MSU Turf Research page and the MSU Turf Club page for ordering MSU Turf clothing!! New Happenings 1. After much talk with web master Dave, we have come up with a solution for those of you wanting the email addresses of your classmates. As long as I have on file your permission to post the email on the web site then everything is legal. What you need to do is send me a quick note with the following: I, YOUR NAME HERE, give the MSU turf alumni webmaster permission to post my email address on the appropriate web page. I will activate your email to the class page and it will be available to your classmates. 2. We now have the ability to post an update from you on the page. Send what you want everyone to know to me and I will post. Should be fun. In the interest of privacy, I will not post anything you have sent to me previously, only what I receive from this point forward. (So this means for some you that you will have to resend your information again, sorry. Finally, keep the suggestions coming. Things are getting better by the day. Have a great Thanksgiving. Trey Rogers |
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November 19, 2006 Greetings from MSU Turf, Hopefully you are preparing for the Holidays, wherever you reside. The students are ready, as well as the professors. We just finished our 19th annual Mock interviews with 31 students and 19 Superintendents/owners/General managers/Green Committee members. We moved our interviews to the new career services offices located in the new Stadium Tower (the suites). These offices are located on floor 2 of the tower (floors 4-8 have a view of the stadium). The day continues to be a huge success. Just finished watching the UM-OSU game. Quite exciting. I am quite sure that the field stunk (watch for Field Turf now), and that UM players slipped more than OSU (watch for that in the papers). You have got to love our field and the job Amy Fouty does. One thing I do know, that was the best two teams in the country, should be a rematch. Who will be the next MSU football coach? Been quiet a long time here, which is normally a bad sign. One good source for me has said it will be Pat Shurmer, which I like. (More on that if he gets the job.) It is getting crazy around here. Last night I saw a 10 minute. segment on the local sports show which outlined a 14-point program on why Tom Izzo should be the next coach. I think they were serious. Stay tuned. The MSU Turf club is going strong. They now have MSU Turfgrass clothing that you can buy on-line, or some form thereof. Go to the links page of our page www.turfgrass.msu.edu. This is a good effort by the club to answer requests by our graduates to obtain new clothing. Support this if you can. It is a new effort and suggestions are appreciated, as always. Hopefully with each correspondence we get a little more sophistication with our efforts to find our graduates. We are still far from perfect and very much need your help. You will notice we have sorted by and placed a graduation year next to the unknowns to help jog your memory. Keep your searches coming, as they all help. You can also look at the rosters via the web page to help the memory out as well. Have a great Thanksgiving and keep flying the Green and White. Trey Rogers |
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November 12, 2006 Greetings from Green and White Country, This is the third round of correspondence between the MSU Turfgrass Management program and its graduates. This may be the first, second or third notice you have received as we continue to round up emails (I have included the first email at the bottom of this one.) If you are receiving this email it means one or all of a couple of things. First you are a graduate of our turfgrass management program, anywhere from 1966 -2007 (grad to be, I suppose). We are very proud of you. Second, you, and most importantly, your email are in our data base. This data base is fluid as this undertaking to round up the emails is very large. We have a data base of 1400 graduates (at this point only 2year golf turf and BS/MS/PhD students, hoping to add Sports Turf shortly). From this 1400, we have 760 known emails, (at least they do not get kicked back). The goal is to get an email address and subsequently a whereabouts for as many as possible. Obviously we need your help. If you go to the bottom of this email, it will give the 640 of so of the people who we do not have an email address for currently. If you just go to the website, turfgrass.msu.edu and go to your graduating year, you will see that we have name and our understanding of your current whereabouts. We may be correct on where you or your classmate are located, but still not have an email address. Matching up the unknown emails and the graduate is key. It is a little complicated, but we are making progress through your help. Let’s keep plugging. I keep working with the webmaster, our own Dave Krauss and keep making this site better and better, suggestions are always welcome. (We, by law, have trouble providing through the MSU site, email addresses, I believe.) We easily added or changed emails for 150 people the last correspondence. I’m game for this if you are. Been a little dark around here the last few weeks, plenty of rain, but also 4-7 will do that to a spirit. The new football coach search is in full swing and I know this... nothing. I will tell as soon as I know. Keep the faith,
Trey Rogers |
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October 30, 2006 Greetings all, Quite a roller coaster ride last weekend against the Wildcuts, huh? I am afraid it may that way for some time. Hoops as well. Best team will be the hockey team, I am quite certain. They will make frozen four, my bold prediction. The response from you people so far has been fantastic! Getting more MIA's all the time. One thing I have noted is that often I have someone's whereabouts but no email (this is the key as this is my way to communicate, by and large). Therefore I am sending this note with the people that we do not have any email address for in the data base. There are several errors with this data base and it is always helpful for you to point them out. There could be a few omissions as well, particularly among the BS students from 1995 onward -- so keep the changes coming. All the best, Trey Rogers (we have been almost 48 hours with no rain, wow!!) |
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October 13, 2006 Greetings from the land of Green and White, - the home of your alma mater for turfgrass management - Michigan State University. If you are a recipient of this email then I have located your correct address and have at least located you electronically. I hope this finds you well. The purpose of this email is several-fold. First, it is an attempt to begin to provide more communication to our alumni. We have been working on this email list slowly for the past year, knowing that we would never be perfect , but wanting to get it as right as possible. Finally, we said enough is enough, and away we go. The second purpose of this email is to le t you know about our Alumni web page, www.turfgrass.msu.edu. At this site you can review the nostalgia from your time at MSU. We have tried to put as many class pictures, Cutter Cup Matches, and Homecoming Parades as we could find for you to review and reminisce. If you look at the classes, you will find a listing of all graduates and our understanding of where they are now to the best of our knowledge. (You will notice all we list is the work place we think is accurate. University regulations prevent us from providing any more information.) It is hoped you can use this to look up an old classmate or at least know what they are now up to in their professional life. You will also notice at the bottom of this email the 600 or so graduates who we do not have in the data base (email address or place of work). Any way you want to slice it we could use your help in updating our list. What do we do form here? Well, first we want to try to get these addresses and whereabouts as accurate as possible. Therefore, when you spot inaccuracies or updates, drop us a line and let us know. We will get it updated as soon as possible. We would also like any suggestions as to how to make the website better for you to enjoy. Of course we would love any photos you want to share (need them to be appropriate, of course) Finally, this is the first of what we intend to be many communications/updates from our turfgrass management program. Through these updates we can keep people informed on many levels of happenings and changes at MSU. Trey Rogers |
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