Ohio Turfgrass Foundation elects 2010 officers and trustees

The Ohio Turfgrass Foundation (OTF) elected 2010 officers and trustees at the association’s annual meeting held December 9, 2009, Columbus, Ohio.  Officers elected to serve one-year terms for the 49-year old turfgrass organization, beginning February 1, 2010, included:


President: Joe Enciso, Midwest Turf Consultants – Enciso is currently employed at Midwest Turf Consultants. He is a member of many local superintendent association chapters and has been involved with OTF his entire career. He has served on the OTF Board of Directors since 2004.


Vice President: Doug Gallant – Gallant is the Head Groundskeeper for the Cincinnati Reds and was named to his current position in 2001, where he oversees all aspects of the daily playing field maintenance. He attended Wilmington College, where he played baseball for two seasons. He later transferred to The Ohio State University and graduated in 1994 with a degree in turfgrass management.


Treasurer:  Kim Kellogg – Kellogg served 6 years on the Ohio Lawn Care Association board, including a term as president in 2004.  Kellogg and his wife, Char, are the owners of Grasshopper Property Maintenance, Inc., a full service company that serves the central and eastern portions of rural Holmes County.  In addition to turf management, the company offers landscape design, build and maintenance, plus snow removal services. 


Trustees elected to three-year terms running February 1, 2010 through January 31, 2013 were:


Trustee: Mike Dietrich, John Deere Landscapes – Dietrich spent 12 years at ChemLawn as a Lawn Specialist, Research Agronomist, and Purchasing Manager.  He has been employed at JD Landscapes/LESCO, Inc. since 1989 and currently serves as Senior National Account Manager.


Dietrich served on the Professional Lawn Care Association (PLCAA) Board of Directors for 12 years and was a founding trustee of the Ohio Lawn Care Association.   He has also served on the Green Industry Expo Board for 15 years and serves on the PLANET Lawn Care Specialty Group Committee.  This is Dietrich’s second term on the OTF board.


Trustee: Jim Dillard, Century Equipment – Dillard started in the golf business in 1992, working at WGC golf course for 6 years as the assistant superintendent. In 1999, he went to work for Century Equipment as an irrigation service tech in the Cincinnati and Kentucky markets.  In 2002, he became the irrigation sales rep in the Dayton and Toledo areas, and in the fall of 2008 he became the golf irrigation sales and service manager.


Trustee: Kyle Frederick, Rattlesnake Ridge Golf Club – Frederick attended The Ohio State University – ATI in Wooster, OH.  While at ATI he served his internship at the Double Eagle Club, where he later became Assistant Superintendent.  In 2000, he accepted the Superintendent position for the construction and grow-in of Rattlesnake Ridge Golf Club in Sunbury, OH.  Frederick is currently a member of the GCSAA and Central Ohio GCSA.  This is Frederick’s second term on the OTF board.


Also serving on the 2010 Board of Directors: Immediate Past President, Dan Walter, City of Blue Ash Golf Course; Executive Director, Kevin Thompson; Director of Education, Dr. John Street, The Ohio State University; Jason Straka, Hurdzan/Fry Environmental Golf Course Design; Todd Dodge, Brown’s Run Country Club; Ryan Gregoire, Agricultural Design, Inc.; and Don Lawrence, Midwest Turf Consultants.


The Ohio Turfgrass Foundation is a non-profit organization with more than 1,200 members in the turfgrass industry in and around Ohio.  Its mission is to improve turfgrass through research and education.  In 2009, OTF donated more than $85,000 in turfgrass research grants and student scholarships.


For more information about the Ohio Turfgrass Foundation, please contact OTF at 888-683-3445, 740-452-2552 (fax), info@OhioTurfgrass.org (email). www.OhioTurfgrass.org.