Recently I had the opportunity to work with our Grassroots Ambassadors from the Palm Beach Area and meet with Congressman Brian Mast from Florida’s 18th District. Erin Stevens, CGCS, MG, superintendent at Emerald Dunes Club pulled together the meeting with Representative Mast after meeting with him in Washington D.C. during the 10th Annual National Golf Day.
Our group consisted of Erin, Ryan Swilley, superintendent at Gulf Stream Golf Club and Grassroots Ambassador to Representative Ted Deutch, Jennifer Bryan, executive director of the Florida GCSA, and me. Our messaging built upon the foundation that was established during Erin’s meeting in Washington D.C.
Erin led off the meeting by refreshing Representative Mast of their conversations and the group added color as needed. We discussed NPDES permitting and were hopeful that Representative Mast would agree that the permitting was redundant considering that FIFRA regulates our application of pesticides. He supported our position and stated that he believed the NPDES permitting was excessive. As a matter of fact, HR 953 Reducing Regulatory Burdens Act of 2017 passed the House with support from Representative Mast.
We moved the discussion into the topic of H2B visas and Ryan commented on the need for the limit to be increased and that returning workers should not be counted against the cap limit. There are many golf facilities throughout the country that depend on these laborers and the demand is greater than the available numbers. We noted that these individuals serve in capacities beyond just the golf course but in the clubhouse as well. Representative Mast stated that he has heard this viewpoint from industries outside of golf and that the issue was front and center on his agenda.
In our time with Representative Mast, we were also able to venture into the topics of Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), Phit Act, and WOTUS. On behalf of the National Alliance for Accessible Golf, we asked Representative Mast if he would be interested in being the keynote speaker at an event coming up in Orlando in early 2018. He said that he would consider the opportunity provided it fit into his calendar. He was also inclined to throw his support into the PHIT Act after our discussion.
Toward the end of our conversation, Jennifer Bryan shed light on the economic impact of the game in Florida and emphasized that golf provides a direct economic impact of $8.2 billion in Florida which exceeds the $5.4 billion generated by all the amusement parks in the state. She also highlighted the charitable giving produced through fundraising events that benefit many outside the game.
I spoke about Florida’s Best Management Practices program and noted how the successes enjoyed here in Florida as well as several other states have inspired GCSAA’s BMP template and served as the groundwork to GCSAA’s desire to have 50 states develop BMP’s by the year 2020. I expanded on this and discussed how golf courses have shown a decrease of nearly 22 percent in water consumption over the past 10 years. Representative Mast asked how this had been accomplished, and I mentioned that reduction in turf areas, advances in delivery systems, utilization of moisture meters and the use of wetting agents all contributed to the reduction.
With Representative Mast supporting many of our positions and agreeing to consider our asks, the group left the meeting feeling positive about the interaction. The day was an excellent example of how GCSAA’s Grassroots Ambassador program can be implemented and could be easily replicated around the state. At the conclusion of the day, Ryan Swilley asked if the group would consider joining him with a similar interaction with his Representative Ted Deutch. I am looking forward to the opportunity and am hopeful that other ambassadors from Florida will consider this approach when meeting with their representatives.
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