The recipients of the TurfNet Jerry Coldiron Positivity Awards for 2021 are Michael and Jenna Breuer and family of Bandon, Oregon, Paul and Kristie Hurst of St. Louis, Missouri, and Jack Percival of London, England.
The Jerry Coldiron Positivity Awards are given annually to recognize individuals within the golf turf industry who live lives of joy, caring, sharing and compassion for others… or who have experienced personal hardship due to illness, natural events or job loss… or who do something special for the natural world. They are presented in memory of Jerry Coldiron, CGCS, a career golf course superintendent, salesperson, TurfNet member and friend to many who passed away suddenly in 2017 at age 60.
Michael and Jenna Breuer and family
Michael Breuer, assistant superintendent on the Pacific Dunes course at Bandon Dunes Golf Resort (Bandon, OR), and his wife Jenna were happily expecting their third child in September, 2020. Life took a cruel twist when their newborn son, Grady, was found to have Hypoplastic Left Heart Syndrome and resultant impaired brain function from oxygen deprivation. Grady was flown to Seattle Children's Hospital where he underwent several open heart surgeries during his first few days of life. After a year of additional surgeries, feeding and oxygen tubes, cardiac arrest events, steroids, seizures, cerebral palsy diagnosis, lifeflights and ICU stays, Michael and Jenna (and their two other children, Kasen and Emma) celebrated Grady's first birthday on September 30.
Michael chronicled Grady's journey on Twitter, which was both heartbreaking and inspirational for many who followed. Nearly every post was tagged with #Gradystrong and #neverquit. He tweeted on Dec 2, 2020: "Thank you will never be enough for the love and support my family and I have received through Grady’s journey. To the turf/ag industry, you are the best group of people and make me proud to be a part of it. Others following, you renew my faith in mankind. God bless you all."
Tough year for Grady and family, but they persevered. Below, father/son bonding.
The Breuer family on a train ride this past weekend. #Gradystrong.
Sean Reehoorn of Aldarra Golf Club in Sammamish, WA, summed up the feelings of many in the turf industry with his tweet in July: "Love this kid. Sharing your story has helped many of us in the turf world stay grounded and positive when an alternative was the easier way out. My wife and I are expecting our first child in 9+ weeks. Your journey and openness in sharing it has altered my perspective and experience tremendously. Thank you."
Paul and Kristie Hurst
Not long after Covid-19 took hold in early 2020 and the world as we knew it ground to a halt, Paul and Kristie Hurst took their Midlife acoustic duo talents to Twitter for a series of nightly Covid Sessions from their kitchen, with Paul on guitar and vocals and Kristie on vocals and an occasional dance move. Six weeks later John Reitman profiled them in a TurfNet news piece here.
The Covid Sessions sputtered out at 50 as the realization dawned that Covid was here to stay for a while, but was quickly replaced by more music with dedications, hat and other swag exchanges, Lyla the dog and a few beers and cocktails intermingled among the shenanigans. It was all spontaneous, light-hearted and FUN... just what all of us needed then and continue to now as this pandemic drags on.
As a former superintendent and now a co-owner of GreensPro, a St. Louis-based turf supply house, Paul launched a 15-part "So You Want To Be A Sales Guy" video series this year. Casual and humorous but to the point, the videos provided insight into what seems to be a bottomless career sponge for absorbing superintendent "retirees" or refugees: turf sales. And the vids point out that it's a whole lot more than riding around in a truck and writing orders.
Certainly none of this TurfTwitter entertainment was planned. Rather, it evolved from their love of music, performing, people in general and the turf industry in particular. Paul and Kristie were invited to play at the recent Carolinas GCSA Conference and Show in Myrtle Beach, which turned out to be a transcendent experience for them after 18 months or so of little interpersonal contact. "The Carolinas show reinforced for me that genuine goodness in people is still there," Paul said.
Jack Percival
The Coldiron Awards take a trip across the pond this year to recognize the efforts of Jack Percival, course manager at Chipstead Golf Club in Surrey, southeast England and the driving force behind Percy's Homeless Hub, an outreach program for the homeless in Croydon, South London.
Percival's promotion to course manager (superintendent) at Chipstead earlier this year was the culmination of a rapid career path that had the unfortunate beginnings of six months spent on the streets of Croydon at age 17. Now 26, Percival credits the golf industry with helping him pull himself up by the bootstraps and get his life in order. He was profiled in several news articles (National Club Golfer, Golf Business News) in 2019 after receiving the BIGGA Outstanding Contribution of the Year award that year... for which he received a standing ovation at the 2019 BTME presentation.
Jack's journey in turf started as a mechanic greenkeeper at a 9-hole course in Forest Hill, South London, before taking the deputy course manager job at Chipstead. During that time he never forgot his time on the streets.
His efforts to help the homeless started simply with giving sandwiches to the hungry. One Christmas Eve he took the bus to Croydon with a satchel of soup and sandwiches to provide a bit of Christmas cheer for those in need. The next year he put out a plea for help and ended up galvanizing an entire community, collecting van loads of food, personal hygiene items and clothing, organizing volunteers and managing logistics. Percy's Homeless Hub was born.
It has grown from there. This year a fourth Big Feed event is planned for December 18. An Amazon wish list has been created to facilitate donations of needed items.
"Over the last three years we have been able to donate to the homeless of Croydon thousands of life-saving essentials and everyday items we take for granted," Percival posted on Twitter. "On December 18th we will be handing out hot meals, hot drinks, packs of everyday essentials, sleeping bags... and have opportunities for 1:1 chats with a nurse and even haircuts."
Percy's Homeless Hub has even provided hotel rooms — when finances allow — for homeless individuals to have a hot bath and a comfortable night's sleep in a warm bed.
Susan Coldiron, Jerry's wife, said: "Our family would like to congratulate all three winners of the Jerry Coldiron Positivity Award this year. Jerry will always be remembered for his keen ability to spread cheer and provide optimism and encouragement to everyone, even during the most difficult of times. Each of these deserving winners exemplify the positive outlook and values that make this award such a special recognition in Jerry’s honor. We would also like to thank TurfNet for helping us to continue Jerry’s legacy of paying it forward."
The recipients of the awards in 2018 were:
- Marcos "Mike" Morales of the Buccaneer Golf Club in St. Croix, US Virgin Islands
- John and Peggy Colo, Jupiter Hills Golf Club, Tequesta, Florida
- Adam and Erin Engle, Lake Shore Yacht and Golf Club, Cicero, NY
- John and Nick Paquette, Indian Hills Country Club, Northport, NY
The 2019 awards were presented to Tenia Workman, executive director of the Georgia GCSA, and posthumously to Tom Morris, CGCS, 20-year member of the TurfNet hockey team who passed away at age 61 in February 2017.
The award program was placed on hiatus in 2020 due to the Covid lockdown.
The recipients of this year's awards will all receive a $1,000 stipend to spend as they please.
