The Georgia GCSA should probably have been renamed a generation ago.
"Our chapter became known as the Atlanta chapter," said Georgia GCSA president Tim Busek, superintendent at St. Ives Country Club in Johns Creek, Georgia. "All the board members were from Atlanta, 98 percent of all of our events were held in Atlanta. It really alienated superintendents around the rest of the state."
That isolation from the rest of the state ended when Tenia Workman took over as the association's executive director in 2002. Workman focused on making the association more representative of the needs of superintendents throughout all of Georgia, not just those in the metropolitan Atlanta area. And it worked. In her time as executive director, Workman ran an association that saw its membership nearly double as it literally became a model for government relations work and environmental stewardship.
"She brought the association together as one," Busek said.
There is no doubt we are now seen as a leader in this industry nationwide.
Workman, a 2019 recipient of TurfNet's Jerry Coldiron Positivity Award, announced recently that she will retire at year's end. Busek, who has served on the chapter board of directors for the past 14 years, will take over as executive director.
Busek's last day at St. Ives is set for Nov. 10, and he is scheduled to begin his new post the following day. Workman will stay on through the end of the year to help Busek get acclimated to his new position.
As Workman strived to bring superintendents throughout Georgia under the chapter umbrellla, membership grew from 400 about 20 years ago, to more than 700 today. As the wife of a retired superintendent and mother of a working superintendent, Workman has a keen insight into the needs of the association.
Scott Lambert, superintendent at Atlanta Country Club, has been a chapter member since 2007, when he still was studying turfgrass management at the University of Georgia. He was immediately impressed with Workman's tireless work on behalf of association members.
"She treats everyone like she's known them for years," Lambert said. "She gives everyone that personal touch.
"She is a lot like a superintendent. She does things behind the scenes that not everyone notices, and she does it not because she has to, but because she wants to be the best she can be."
To that end, Workman played a key role in helping superintendents draft a BMP plan in the face of water-use restrictions that were imposed during drought conditions in 2007. That plan has become a blueprint for other chapters as well as non-golf industries nationwide by forging a positive relationship with the Georgia Environmental Protection Division.
"She helped establish that relationship with the Georgia EPD that is still there to this day," Busek said. "When people from other industries call them about best management practices, they give them our number."
During her tenure, results like establishing a BMP program that government officials and agencies recognize helped cement the Georgia GCSA's place among the country's leading chapters.
She brought the association together as one.
"There is no doubt we are now seen as a leader in this industry nationwide," Busek said.
Busek, 51, spent the past five years as golf course superintendent at St Ives Country Club. Prior to his time at St Ives, Busek spent 15 years as superintendent at The Manor Golf and Country Club in Milton, and 10 years before that as an assistant superintendent at Atlanta Country Club. He is currently closing out a second term as Georgia GCSA president. His first term was in 2020-21.
Among his goals is working with schools throughout Georgia to promote careers in turfgrass management.
"Realistically, I know I can't fill her shoes," Busek said. "I'm just going to try to build on where she left off."