Each year, Syngenta brings together a group of about two dozen superintendents to North Carolina, not to sell them product, but to give them education through the Syngenta Business Institute.The Syngenta Business Institute is an intensive four-day program designed to grow the professional knowledge of golf course superintendents and assist them with managing their courses. Through a partnership with the Wake Forest University School of Business, the program provides graduate school-level instruction in areas such as financial management, human resource management, negotiating, impact hiring and other leadership- and professional-development skills, and managing across generations and cultural divides.
Applications are being accepted for this year's event are being accepted through Aug. 18. This year's SBI is scheduled for Dec. 7-10 at the Graylyn International Conference Center on the campus of Wake Forest University in Winston-Salem, North Carolina.
Eric Frazier of Willow Oaks Country Club in Richmond, Virginia, a 2013 SBI attendee, found the program to be so useful, he had a difficult time pinning down what he found the most useful.
"After a week of education and networking, it is hard to decide what was the best part," Frazier said. "I think for me that would have to be the opportunity for open discussion that happened during the educational sessions."
Interested superintendents must complete an online application, which requires them to write a 250-word essay summarizing why they should be selected for the program. Syngenta selects 25 individuals to participate based on their essays, commitment to the industry and other factors. Travel, lodging and meals are included for all superintendent attendees.
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