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GGEF honors Casey Cagle

By |  December 12, 2012

HARTWELL, GA.—Lt. Gov. Casey Cagle has been honored by the Georgia Golf Environmental Foundation for efforts ensuring the industry’s efficient use of water resources in the state. Cagle received the Environmental Leader of the Year award in the foundation’s open category for leaders outside of golf. The award was delivered during a special presentation at the Georgia Golf Course Superintendents Association’s annual meeting on St. Simon’s Island, Ga., earlier this month.

“Lt. Gov. Cagle has been a champion on behalf of the golf industry’s environmental efforts and initiatives,” says GGEF Chairman Harold Franklin, from Fields Ferry Golf Club in Calhoun. “He has been a strong ally as we strive to raise the environmental profile of the game and ensure that the state’s laws and regulations allow superintendents to be more flexible, creative and efficient in using and caring for our natural resources.”

Franklin says Cagle worked first-hand with the state Environmental Protection Division to reframe regulations so superintendents had more discretion as to what hours and which locations they could apply water to courses during drought. Previous regulations allocated water on a cyclical or rotational basis which ignored turf needs and current weather conditions.

“That’s not an efficient way of using water particularly during drought,” Franklin says. “Now we are able to do a lot more to ensure a golf course’s viability using by using a little water where it is most necessary rather than a lot in a blanket fashion on pre-specified days.”

Cagle was diligent in helping the golf industry present its case, with the backing of scientists and researchers from the University of Georgia, during hearings and deliberations of the Statewide Water Plan Study Committee. He also was prominent in support of Golf Day at the Capitol in Atlanta, where the industry emphasized the game’s $5.1 billion economic impact in the state along with its environmental and stewardship efforts.

Cagle, from Chestnut Mountain, is Georgia’s 11th Lieutenant Governor and the first Republican Lieutenant Governor in the state’s history. He was the youngest member of the state Senate when elected at age 28 in 1994.

In the industry category of the Environmental Leader of the Year awards, Reynolds Plantation in Greensboro secured the honor now that all six of the facility’s courses have achieved designation as Certified Audubon Cooperative Sanctuaries.

“Reynolds Plantation has shown a strong commitment to its environmental program. They are to be commended for their efforts to provide a sanctuary for wildlife on the golf course properties,” says Joellen Lampman, Audubon Cooperative Sanctuary programs director.

To reach certification, a course must demonstrate a high degree of environmental quality in areas including environmental planning, wildlife and habitat management, outreach and education, reduced and safe chemical use, water conservation and water quality management. Receiving the award for Reynolds Plantation were golf course superintendents Lane Singleton, Hoyt Ellspermann, Lee Byce and Brad DiMascio.

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