Former Toro CEO Ken Melrose has established a legacy of service to the golf industry and beyond. That legacy was rewarded recently when Melrose was named the recipient of the Golf Course Builders Association of America Don A. Rossi Award.
The GCBAA's highest honor, the Rossi award recognizes individuals "who have made significant contributions to the game of golf and its growth and who have inspired others by example." It is named for Don A. Rossi, who served as executive director of the National Golf Foundation from 1970 to 1983, was instrumental in forming the National Golf Course Owners Association and served as executive director of the GCBAA from 1984 to 1990.
It was awarded at the recent Golf Industry Show in San Antonio.
Melrose joined The Toro Co. in 1970 as director of marketing for the Consumer Products Division. Three years later, he was appointed President of Game Time, Inc., then a Toro subsidiary located in Litchfield, Michigan. Almost immediately, he was on the fast track to success.
A native of Orlando, Florida, Melrose graduated with honors from Princeton University in 1962, where he majored in mathematics and electrical engineering and was a varsity letterman in track for three years. He also earned a master's degree from MIT and an MBA from the University of Chicago.
By 1976, he was named vice president of the company's Outdoor Power Equipment Group, promoted to executive vice president in July 1980, named president in February of 1981, Chief Executive Officer in December 1983, and chairman of the board in December of 1987. On March 15, 2005, he stepped down as CEO but remained as executive chairman for Toro's board of directors. He retired as chairman and from Toro in 2006.
Under his leadership, Toro became a golf industry monolith through product development and innovation, customer support and service and philanthropy. Melrose helped establish The Toro Foundation that supports community and industry causes around the world.
"By honoring me with the Rossi award, the GCBAA is really recognizing the importance of superintendents to the golf industry," Melrose said. "In the face of ever-changing technology, volatile weather and increasingly demanding golfers, Superintendents are the unsung hero of the game of golf; they ensure that golf always puts its best foot forward. I am thrilled to accept this award on behalf of our superintendents."Following his retirement from Toro, Melrose formed Leading by Serving, LLC, whose mission is to advance the principles of servant leadership in organizations. He also remains an active supportive of the golf industry and its future growth. In 2012, he established The Melrose Leadership Academy with the Environmental Institute for Golf to help support the professional development of GCSAA member superintendents providing scholarships to attend the Golf Industry Show.
His legacy of service is long and enduring.
"My parents raised me to understand the importance of giving back to the community especially to those in need," Melrose said. "It is a privilege to give back to the golf industry that has given so much to me."
In 1995, he authored Making the grass greener on your side : a CEO's journey to leading by serving. Published by Berrett-Koehler with a foreward by the late self-help guru Stephen R. Covey, the book details a history of Toro and the role of the company and its leader to serve others.