Western District History

Posted on October 13th, 2010

Western Michigan GCSA History

By: John Fulling, CGCS and MiGCSA President 2008

The “Western Michigan Turf Association” was founded in 1938 to serve its members needs through communication, fellowship and continuing education. The WMTA’s geographic region stretched from Jackson west to the Lakeshore and from Cadillac south all the way to the state line.

The association was incorporated on August 23, 1963. The original founders were L.L. Anderson, George W. Field, William C. Miller, Arthur M. Young, L.E. Dustin, George Graber, Robert G. Spoelma, Alexander Wilson, Joel C. Case, Joseph Feringa, Harold Peck, Roy Peck, Donald A. Ross, Leslie L. Peck, Robert E.L. Ellis, Carl Andre, W. Bruce Matthews and Kyran Mitchelson.

The Association officially changed its name to the Western Michigan Golf Course Superintendent’s Association on May 10, 1966 at the urging of Norm Kramer, then superintendent at The Point O’ Woods Country Club, who had just been elected director of the Golf Course Superintendent’s Association of America. Norm Kramer went on to be west Michigan’s first and only GCSAA President in 1970.

Our earliest records begin at a regular meeting on October 1, 1963. At the time the Board Consisted of :

President: George Graber

Vice President Bob Spoelma

Sec / Treas Clare Ferguson

Directors Joel Case

Darl Scott

David Heiss

Harold Peck

Don Rose

Past President Roy Peck

The meeting was held at the Anchor Inn on Gull Lake and hosted by Darl Scott who, after the meeting gave the 47 members in attendance a tour of his new Gull Lake View Golf Course.

We would love to have any records that date before 1963. If anyone has an idea where some may be, please let us know.

Since the renaming of the Association in 1966 the WMGCSA grew to many times it’s size and at it’s peak had more than 300 members. The mission had never changed and remains the same today!

Western District Past Presidents

PAST PRESIDENTS
1963-1964 George Graber
1965-1966 Bob Spoelma*
1967 Norman Kramer*
1968 Harold Peck
1969 Joel Case*
1970 Rolfe Wells
1971 Donald Foss
1972 Roger Barton
1973-1974 Curtis Smith
1975 Bob Spoelma*
1976-1977 Lee Adair*
1978 Donald Fitz, CGCS
1979 Roger Barton
1980-1981 Charlie Scott
1982-1983 Mark McGee, CGCS
1984-1985 Keith Paterson, CGCS
1986-1987 Kurt Theummel, CGCS
1988-1989 Roger Barton
1990-1991 Fred Pastoor, CGCS*
1992-1993 Chris Fochtman, CGCS
1994-1995 Harry Schuemann, CGCS
1996-1997 Paul Schippers, CGCS
1998 Doug Boyle, CGCS
1999-2000 Al Bathum, CGCS
2001-2002 Jeff Hopkins, CGCS
2003-2004 John Fulling, CGCS
2005-2006 Joe Hancock
2007 Jeff Holmes, CGCS
* = Deceased

All Corporate Entity Documents

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WMGCSA Articles of Incorporation

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