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2007 Superintendent of the Year finalist... Anthony Williams, CGCS, Stone Mountain Golf ClubWhether it is the result of being raised in an agricultural community or being the descendent of a full-blooded Cherokee Indian, Anthony Williams has had an appreciation for the land for as long as he can remember. And he proves every day at work.Williams, CGCS, who became superintendent at Stone Mountain (Ga.) Golf Club in January 2006, took the course from a picturesque layout in a state park that serves as a memorial to the Confederate States of America to a Certified Audubon Cooperative Sanctuary course in 41/2 months. He also is recognized throughout the state as a leader in environmental programs and water management issues. Williams, 43, personifies the future of the golf turf management professional. He excels as a greenkeeper, is a skilled communicator, is cognizant of environmental issues and goes the extra mile to share his knowledge with his co-workers, employees and colleagues. And he has a list of accomplishments that prove his level of dedication to the industry. In his nomination of Williams for TurfNet's 2007 Superintendent of the Year award, Eddie Seagle, Ph.D., professor of agriculture and environmental horticulture at Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College in Tifton, Ga., wrote: "Anthony personally exhibits every characteristic that one might attach to the label of 'superintendent of the year.' He goes above and beyond the call of duty and responsibility." Last year Williams was named the public and overall winner of the GCSAA-Golf Digest Environmental Leaders in Golf award and is the first two-time winner of Marriott's Golf Grounds Professional of the Year award, a feat he accomplished in consecutive years at different properties. Last year Williams was named the public and overall winner of the GCSAA-Golf Digest Environmental Leaders in Golf award and is the first two-time winner of Marriott's Golf Grounds Professional of the Year award...He also has developed a maintenance plan that resulted in Marriott's hotel property at Stone Mountain, the Evergreen Conference Resort, being recognized as the first hotel to gain status as a Certified Audubon Cooperative Sanctuary. "We want this property to be a model of stewardship," Williams said. Stone Mountain is the second Marriott facility Williams has guided to Audubon status, the other being the former Pine Isle Resort at Lake Lanier Islands, Ga. "I believe a lot of the leg work and programs he implemented at Pine Isle he was able to implement at Stone Mountain. And that sped the process," said Robert Waller, senior director of golf grounds for Orlando, Fla.-based Marriott Golf. "He's had total control over what he wanted to do." At Stone Mountain, Williams' plan has brought back dozens of acres of naturalized areas that are home to various types of indigenous plants including prickly pear cactus that grow from the granite in suburban Atlanta. He also has overseen construction of about 80 nesting boxes used to hatch hundreds of chickadees, bluebirds and finches throughout the 36-hole property that once was a thriving granite quarry. At Stone Mountain, Williams' plan has brought back dozens of acres of naturalized areas that are home to various types of indigenous plants including prickly pear cactus that grow from the granite in suburban Atlanta.Williams is a native of Oxford, Ga., and his grandmother was a full-blooded Cherokee. His heritage coupled with working for a company with Marriott's philosophy and at a site like Stone Mountain is a perfect combination. "I grew up in an agricultural community, and I've always had a respect for the land. If you take care of it, it will take care of you," Williams said. "Naturally, this is a good fit at a place like this. "This is part of our culture and who I am. My love for the land came first, and later I arrived at a golf facility that allowed me to use that philosophy." Williams has authored several articles on water management, and his BMP is bookmarked on the Environmental Institute for Golf Web site (www.eig.org). He has worked with other notable superintendents throughout the Atlanta area and the state to develop a water management BMP that has been filed with the Georgia legislature and serves as a model for all greenkeepers in Georgia. To date, 92 percent of all Georgia GCSA members have written BMP programs of their own, and that is significant with 61 Georgia counties affected by historic drought. "What timing, right?" Waller said. Last year's winner of the Purple Cow award, given annually by Bayer Golf Advantage, Williams was co-chairman of the Georgia GCSA government relations committee and played a key role in the association receiving the 2007 GCSAA Excellence in Government Relations award. He will speak at this year's GCSAA Education Conference and Golf Industry Show, scheduled for Jan. 28-Feb. 1 in Orlando, Fla., on the subject of Creative People Management. Williams takes a long-term look at how golf impacts the environment before ever applying anything to the turf at Stone Mountain. "I ask myself, 'Did I do everything possible to get a cultural solution before finding a chemical solution?" Williams said. "This is my planet, and I live here, too." Marriott has implemented a plan that will bring all of its 29 U.S. golf properties into Audubon status this year. To bring other properties along in the program, Waller said, the superintendents at each of the four certified golf properties, including Williams, serve as mentors for superintendents at the other facilities. "Marriott always has been environmentally conscious, but we didn't have a consistent brand that demonstrated what we did," Waller said. Williams' work at Stone Mountain has been recognized throughout Georgia and the industry. Wrote Pat O'Brien, director of the USGA Green Section Southeast Region, in his nomination of Williams for Superintendent of the Year: "I've never seen any superintendent accomplish these major environmental awards so quickly. It seems the environmental awards continue to arrive at Stone Mountain." Williams believes in setting and meeting goals, and he expects his employees to do the same. Each year he and his staff list their goals on index cards and review them throughout the year. For Williams, his goals included winning the ELGA award. His technician, Jim Stewart, also reached one of his goals in 2007, winning TurfNet's Technician of the Year award. "Anthony has truly excelled in his profession. And this level of excellence has extended throughout Georgia and across the USA," Seagle wrote. "He sets a standard for others to use as a benchmark in their careers in the golf and grounds industry." For a PDF version of this profile, click here. |
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