Sea change for Greg Harris

Sea change for Greg Harris: Ex-Royal Navy weapons engineer Greg Harris from Fife in Scotland has won SRUC Elmwood’s annual John Deere HNC Golf Course Management Student of the Year Award, sponsored by John Deere and Scottish turf dealer Double A.

Greg was chosen particularly for the leadership and mentoring skills he displayed during the 2018/2019 academic year.

Sea change for Greg Harris

Born in Dundee and brought up in Kirkcaldy, Greg took up an apprenticeship with the Royal Navy at the age of 19 and spent 12 years with the service until he was medically discharged in 2016 with knee problems. However, this paved the way for his next career move into greenkeeping and golf club management, as he was still encouraged and able to play golf.

While deciding what to do next, Greg was playing regularly at The Duke’s Course at St Andrews as well as his father’s local club at Glenrothes, where the pro mentioned the SRUC course.

“I realised I was never going to be a good enough golfer to turn pro, but taking up the greenkeeping option meant I could still be active and involved in the industry,” he says. “I attended an open day at the college, where I spoke to course tutors Paul Miller and Ian Butcher who outlined the opportunities and were very supportive, so I put in my application and was accepted.

“I thoroughly enjoyed the course and the people I met. I think my Royal Navy background prepared me well for many aspects such as planning and teamwork, which are key skills for any greenkeeper. The academic side of things was never a problem, and I also enjoyed the hands-on time spent as part of the tournament support team at Kingsbarns Golf Links during the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship.

“Everyone there was really accepting of me, considering my relative lack of practical skills. They recognised that I was there to learn and it was a great experience, apart from my least favourite job, swishing the dew off the greens!

“The John Deere award was mentioned at the beginning of the course, but I never gave it another thought. When Ian told me towards the end of the academic year that they were going to nominate me and I then found out that I’d won, I was really surprised but also very proud of the achievement.

“Since graduating I’ve ended up away from greenkeeping, and moved more towards golf operations – I worked in the pro shop at The Duke’s Course for the season following the course, and currently I’m assistant store manager for American Golf in Dundee. I did plan to return to Elmwood and do the HND course, but as that isn’t running this year we’ll see what happens next. If it runs again it would be a really good opportunity to go back and see how I can progress in my second career.”

Course tutor Ian Butcher, who is based at the Elmwood campus in Cupar, Fife, adds: “Throughout his time at SRUC Greg was a positive influence on the student group. He was a natural leader, and many times supported both individuals and the HNC team as a whole to meet various challenges. He consistently showed initiative, enthusiasm and a capacity for mentoring which is rare. This is of real value to us as an organisation, as we seek to involve our students more in the development of the SRUC programmes.

“Greg is one of a new breed of graduates who are open-minded as to their career paths, and is enthusiastic about gaining experience beyond the golf course maintenance shed. Taking advantage of workplace experience in customer services at The Duke’s clubhouse within the Old Course Hotel Golf Resort at St Andrews is an example of Greg having a more varied role in golf operations during last summer.

“His passion for the game combined with a long-term career perspective opens more doors for Greg, and we trust he finds the right opportunity to progress in his chosen profession. We look forward to him being a great ambassador for us.”

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Tributes to JCB employee

Tributes to JCB employee: Tributes have been paid to a former JCB employee who joined the company as a teaboy and rose through the ranks to become a director.

Bill Hirst MBE – who was the third person recruited by JCB in 1947 – passed away last night (Sunday, January 5th) at the age of 86.

Tributes to JCB employee

Today JCB Chairman Lord Bamford led the tributes to the man who joined JCB as the company was in its infancy. Lord Bamford said: “Bill and his generation helped my father to build a company which became a real force in the world of construction equipment.  Bill was very proud to have worked for JCB and will be remembered by many, many people from the early days of the company. I’d like to offer my condolences to Bill’s wife Jean and all her family at this very sad time.”

Bill, the fourth of eight children, joined JCB as a 14-year-old tea boy when he left St Joseph’s School in Uttoxeter, where he had been Head Boy.

He was recruited on a salary of £1 a week when the company was based at stables at Crakemarsh, three miles down the road from JCB’s World Headquarters at Rocester.

And it was Bill who was instrumental in the relocation to Rocester in 1950 to the site of a former cheese factory. Bill knew JCB Founder Joseph Cyril Bamford was searching for a new location for a factory and suggested the Rocester site – because it was closer to home and meant he could spend an extra 10 minutes in bed each morning.

Tributes to JCB employee

Bill started his National Service in 1951 as was posted as a Royal Military Policeman to Kenya, returning to JCB two years later.  He married his wife Jean in 1955 and the couple had four children.

On his return to JCB, Bill completed 10 years as welding foreman, five in research and then joined the service and spares department at Rocester as service engineer, later becoming Warranty and Final Inspection Manager. He was awarded the MBE for services to export in the New Year’s Honours List of 1975 and became Technical Services Director in 1981. Bill Retired in 1991. He was a staunch supporter of the Royal British Legion and served as President of the Uttoxeter branch in retirement.

Speaking on JCB’s 65th anniversary in 2010, Bill said: “I am proud to have been part of JCB – it’s been my life.”

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JCB engineer scoops apprentice award

JCB engineer scoops apprentice award: A JCB Design Engineer is the toast of the UK today after winning a national apprentice award.

Louise Meredith, 21, scooped the title of Higher or Degree Apprentice of the Year at the finals of the National Apprenticeship Service (NAS) Awards in London last night (Wednesday, November 27th) just weeks after winning the regional final.

JCB engineer scoops apprentice award

It was a night of success for JCB apprentices as Quality Engineer Tom Lomas, 21, from Cheadle, was also highly commended at the same ceremony in the National Advanced Apprentice of the Year category just weeks after he was named Regional Advanced Apprentice of the Year. Tom works JCB Earthmovers, in Cheadle.

Louise, a Design Engineer in the Loadall division at JCB World Headquarters, in Rocester, said: “I’m passionate about apprenticeships and undertaking a degree / higher apprenticeship has been a fantastic way to start my career, so to win this national award is just amazing. I still can’t believe I’ve been recognised in this way.”

JCB Director of Learning and Development Max Jeffery said: “We are immensely proud of the outstanding achievements of these award winners who have excelled in their studies at JCB. To be recognised at national level is testament to their hard work and commitment.  The company now has more than 400 young people on its apprenticeship, undergraduate and graduate training programmes, as we continue to invest in the next generation of engineering and business professionals.”

Louise and Tom are part of a group JCB apprentices who are proving they are in a class of their own when it comes to winning awards.  JCB World HQ Business Degree Apprentice Elena Newbrook, 20, of Nantwich, Cheshire has won the Regional Make UK Business Apprentice of the Year: Rising Star award and Morgan Smith, 21, of Handforth, Cheshire has scooped Regional Make UK Engineering Apprentice of the Year: Final Year. Degree Apprentice Morgan is a Hydraulics Design Engineer at JCB Heavy Products, Uttoxeter.  Elena and Morgan will now represent the region in the National Make UK Awards on January 29th, 2020.

In addition, two JCB apprentices were highly commended on the Make UK awards shortlist. In the Midlands awards Engineering Degree Apprentice Chris Owen, 19, of Newcastle-under-Lyme who specialises in Electrical Engineering, and Olivia Pearch, 19, of Derby who is a Business Degree Apprentice at JCB Power Systems were honoured.

Applications for JCB’s 2020 apprenticeship and graduate training programmes open in December. Visit www.jcb.com/about/careers for details.

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IOG award for Callum Allsop

IOG award for Callum Allsop: Award sponsors Toro and Reesink Turfcare, an official UK Toro distributor, are delighted to announce Callum Allsop from Leicester City Football Club’s Belvoir Drive training ground has been crowned the Most Promising Sports Turf Student of the Year at the 10th annual Institute of Groundsmanship (IOG) Awards.

Having worked in the turf industry for 10 years, Callum was recognised for his dedication to the industry and education. As well as leading a team of nine as head groundsman at Leicester City Football Club’s Belvoir Drive, Callum is also currently undergoing studies for his Level 3 in Sports Turf Management.

IOG award for Callum Allsop

“I got involved in the industry volunteering at my local club at 14 and really enjoyed it,” says Callum. “Since then, I’ve worked my way up and worked hard to get to where I am, and education has been a large part of that career progression for me.

“I strongly believe that in order to be successful, you have to make sure that every piece of work you do is always done to the best of your ability and that you should strive to learn more. Always ask questions and stay interested in what you’re doing, and you will reap the benefits from that.”

Callum was presented with his award by Reesink’s national key accounts manager, Alastair Rowell, in front of an audience of 650 leading groundscare experts from the UK and Europe. And when it comes to gaining the benefits of winning the award, he wants to use his new platform to inspire others as well as improve himself.

“I think currently in the industry, more needs to be done to encourage younger people,” he says. “That’s why awards like this are important, because it’s vital to raise awareness of the career and educational opportunities available to young people. In fact, at Leicester we’re looking at the possibility of going into schools to speak about the careers in groundscare as many young people aren’t fully aware of what they might be able to achieve in this industry.

“Personally, winning this award has been a great experience, and the highlight for me has been meeting so many top professionals in the industry. I hope winning this award at such a key point in my career will open up more opportunities for me in the future.”

Marketing manager at Reesink, Rochelle Bedford, says: “Sponsoring this award is just another demonstration of ours and Toro’s long-term commitment to the development of the industry and our investment in the careers of young people; a hugely important undertaking for us. It’s wonderful to see Callum has achieved so much in his career already, and we hope the award helps him to progress his career further and inspire more young talent like himself.”

The awards, which took place on 31 October at the The Vox at the Birmingham NEC, recognise leadership, innovation and outstanding achievement across every aspect of groundscare and highlight the progress of young, student grounds professionals. And Reesink and Toro are proud, as ever, to play a part in giving a platform to the best and brightest young people in the industry through the sponsorship of such an important award.

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Jason Moody Joins Campey

Jason Moody Joins Campey: Campey Turf Care Systems has brought in new product specialist, Jason Moody, to cover Wales, the Midlands and West Cheshire.

Jason brings almost three decades worth of greenkeeping experience to the Campey team having started in the industry at 16-years-old as an apprentice at Royal St. David’s Golf Club, where he stayed for seven years.

Jason Moody Joins Campey

He continued honing his skills at Botley Park Hotel where he took on the role of deputy course manager for the construction and grow-in of the new course before becoming course manager.

Five years as course manager at Canterbury Golf Club and two years in Hertfordshire followed before Jason moved back to North Wales so he could be closer to his family. Over the next 13 years, he gained sales experience and returned to greenkeeping at Plassey Leisure Park, Wrexham, before taking on a new challenge at Campey.

“This is a fantastic opportunity,” Jason said. “I hope my knowledge and experience can bring something to the business, and I’m very excited about the new challenge ahead.

“I’ve been aware of Campey during my career, and they’ve helped me throughout as a greenkeeper. I’ve seen the evolution of the company through my career and the impact they’ve had on greenkeeping. When I started in the industry, we were dressing greens by hand with wheelbarrows, and now we’re using Dakota top dressers.”

Campey managing director, Julia Campey commented: “We’re very happy to welcome Jason to the Campey team. We always aim to give customers advice from a place of experience, and Jason is in a great position to do that because the knowledge he has gained during his time as a greenkeeper and working in sales.”

Jason has already had the opportunity to meet customers from his area on the Campey stand at SALTEX 2019 and is now looking forward to getting out on-site to work with customers.

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New Appointments from AGS

New Appointments from AGS: Advance Grass Solutions is very pleased to announce the appointment of Jonathan Knowles and Matt Le Brun to their in-field technical team.

Jonathan, a former greenkeeper at Rufford Park Golf & Country Club moved to Myerscough College as a lecturer in the early 2000’s, completing an array of sports turf qualifications which culminated in a postgraduate doctoral degree researching the incidence and potential benefits of a symbiotic fungi that naturally inhabits turfgrass.  Specifically, the endophyte.

New Appointments from AGS

Latterly, he has been based from home managing the apprenticeship arm of the college, visiting golf, football clubs and private schools, expanding training provision and contacts across the Midlands.

Sam Honeyborne, MD at AGS said ‘’Jonathan has been on our radar from some time and I’m very pleased that he has joined as we head into our third year. He is well known in the area, having already visited many of our existing customer base. His technical background will compliment the business and in turn offer first class product support within our added value model”.

Jonathan has written several articles into greenkeeping and sports turf related industry magazines, as well as having research work published in conference proceedings with the European Turfgrass Society.

He will be managing Nottingham, Staffordshire, Derbyshire and the West Midlands, as well as expansion into Lincolnshire.

Matt Le Brun joins in a new role as Business Development Manager (Sports Turf) with a brief to continue AGS’s progress in professional football, colleges and private schools.

Matt has worked at both manufacturer and distributor level, as well as gaining vital practical experience as a groundsman and trainer in an industry career spanning over ten years.

Phil Garrod, UK Sports Turf Manager said ‘’The sports turf division is growing from strength to strength and its vital we invest to maintain our high customer service standards as well as growing our geographical footprint. Matt is an established technical manager with a good following. His last role was all encompassing giving him the sort of experience that will allow him to develop further and support the business for years to come’’.

Matt Le Brun said ‘’I’m very excited to be joining AGS. I have kept a watchful eye on their progress in the past two years, from both an agronomic service and product development perspective. Their wide range of exclusive lines and pipeline of new technology made my decision very easy. I very much look forward to contributing to further success in years to come.’’

New Appointments from AGS

Advance Grass Solutions is a leading provider of agronomy services, products and customer

support throughout the UK, with loyal customers from lawncare and small bowling clubs to Ryder Cup venues and Premier League football clubs.

They provide a UK exclusive range of high-quality products including: Growth Products, Sustane Natural Fertilizers, Polyon controlled release technology, in addition to well-known UK based suppliers such as DLF Trifolium and Aquatrols. Their staff hold industry recognised qualifications such as BASIS and FACTS alongside honours degrees in sports turf, soil science and sustainable land management disciplines.

For more information on AGS or to enquire about ongoing opportunities to join the team  please call 01183-914540 or email info@advancegrass.com.

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New Amenity Specialist for Sherriff

New Amenity Specialist for Sherriff: Sherriff Amenity has announced the appointment of Andrew Norman, who joins the company as an amenity specialist based in the areas of Kent and East Sussex.

Eighteen years’ experience of golf greenkeeping make Andrew ideally suited for his new role with Sherriff Amenity. He joins the company from East Sussex National Golf Club where he started as a seasonal greenkeeper before working his way up to deputy course manager. It is this experience which makes Andrew fully appreciate the demanding workload of modern turf professionals and the need for high quality products.

New Amenity Specialist for Sherriff

Commenting on his decision to join Sherriff Amenity, Andrew said: “It seems to me that everyone in the industry has heard of them and that the products are of exceptional quality. They have a huge respect in the industry, a wide range of products and great distribution.”

Andrew, who also holds an NVQ Level 3 in Amenity Horticulture Greenkeeping and Sports Turf Management, said that he is relishing the opportunity to learn and assist turf managers.

“I was keen to start learning about all the other things that are going on in the world of turf. In my first few weeks I will try to get around to see a lot of people to find out more about their turf and their sites. I feel like I have learnt so much already across a wide range of sports turf including tennis, cricket and football – it has been enlightening.”

Sherriff Amenity’s extensive range of quality products are perfectly complimented by the first-class customer service provided by the company’s amenity specialists. Renowned for their technical knowledge, which is consistently enriched through industry leading training programmes, Sherriff’s amenity specialists can ensure that you are always getting the best results from your turf.

Away from work, Andrew spends his time on call for East Sussex Fire and Rescue Service and likes to play football and golf.

For further information, please contact Sherriff Amenity on 01638 721 888 or visit www.sherriffamenity.com

For more news and insightful views, you can follow Sherriff Amenity on Twitter @SherriffAmenity.

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Gareth Rogers Joins Symbio

Gareth Rogers Joins Symbio: Well-known in the industry, Gareth Rogers has been appointed by Symbio as Technical Sales Manager in Scotland.

A keen golfer, Gareth joins the Surrey-based firm after 5 years at Fairways GM. Before moving into sales, his greenkeeping career spanned 20 years at Grimsby, Elsham, Crieff Hydro, Merrist Wood and Gleneagles golf clubs.

Gareth Rogers Joins Symbio

He comments, “I’m delighted to have joined Symbio. As a former greenkeeper, I know exactly what can be done to develop and maintain healthy rootzones and excellent playing surfaces using its unique products and approach. Sustainable technologies are changing the way sports turf is managed. With chemical use under increasing pressure across Europe and being limited by legislation, our product range goes a long way to filling the void.”

Established in 1990, Symbio was the first company to combine soil biology and chemistry to develop a range of industry-changing products including launching Green Circle in 1992, the first biotech product for nutrient retention and recycling for sports turf.

Since then some of the company’s industry firsts include:- Thatch Eater to convert thatch to plant food, mycorrhizal fungi to promote perennial grasses and in some cases more than halve fertiliser use; Liquid Aeration to oxygenate the rootzone; compost teas to restore life to chemically damaged and compacted rootzones which together with a comprehensive selection of fertilisers, biostimulants, Johnsons seeds and wetting agents, provides a complete range for healthy soil and plant growth.

Gareth can be contacted on 07976 624241 and by email at gareth@symbio.co.uk

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Machinery Imports’ Clive Carter Departs

Machinery Imports’ Clive Carter Departs: Machinery Imports General Manager, Clive Carter, bid a fond farewell to his team this month, as he departed the business after 13 years.

Making a significant contribution to the business during his ‘bakers dozen’ tenure, Clive started with the Ferris and Wright brands whilst working at IPU Group, before transferring to the T H WHITE Group when the distribution of the brands was taken over in 2016.

Machinery Imports' Clive Carter Departs

Over the past 3 years as General Manager at Machinery Imports, Clive has steered the team through both the booming and more challenging seasons, sharing his extensive knowledge and experience of the industry, and offering a relentless wit that has kept the team laughing no matter what.

Head of Machinery Imports, Bill Johnston, commented “Clive will be missed by all of the Machinery Imports team, we wish him the very best of luck and are confident he will make a success of all his future endeavours.”

“In departing the business, Clive leaves it in a strong position, with a positive year behind us so far in 2019 and extensive plans for further growth over the coming months and years.”

Whilst Clive is no longer a member of the organisation, he remains a highly respected and well liked ‘unofficial team member’, with the team arranging a fitting send off for him last week. At the event Clive was presented with an engraved statuette of a Spitfire fighter aircraft amongst other gifts – a thoughtful souvenir relating to one of Clive’s many interests.

Bill concludes, “with an ever expanding and high-quality dealer network, a team of experienced and hard-working colleagues in Machinery Imports, and superior quality machinery brands, we continue to strive forward.”

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Ransomes Jacobsen’s New Apprentices

Ransomes Jacobsen’s New Apprentices: Ransomes Jacobsen, has added 12 new engineering trainees to their successful apprenticeship scheme.

The programme is now into its seventh year with 27 local apprentices working through the craft, welding and technical areas of the manufacturing process. The machines the apprentices help build are shipped all over the world and are used at major sporting venues from Ipswich to Dubai.

Ransomes Jacobsen's New Apprentices

Passing on the knowledge of their current employees to a new generation is the core of the scheme. Nationwide, it is well known that there is a skills shortage in engineering due to a reduction in large scale manufacturing businesses, with only a small number remaining that use the same core skills as Ransomes.

Simon Rainger, operations director at Ransomes Jacobsen, views the scheme as a long-term commitment to manufacturing in Ipswich and wants it to continue benefitting young people in the area.

He said: “We’ve been manufacturing in Ipswich for 187 years and we’ve always employed local people, and we want to continue that with younger generations. We need to develop future experts by learning from our current staff, and that gives young people the chance to learn a valuable skill and build a career within Ransomes where they are highly valued team members.

“The apprentices are very well received in their work areas, and their rate of learning is a direct result of the one on one time they spend with trained staff. They are regarded as essential staff members, and there is no differentiation because they’re apprentices.

“To date, the scheme has been very successful, and we’re looking to attract a wider range of people with our 2020 apprenticeships. We currently have a particular focus on showing females the career opportunities available within a skilled factory setting because we want this opportunity to be for everyone.”

People who are interested in finding out more about the 2020 apprenticeship scheme can contact Jo Barber on 01473 276271 or e-mail jbarber@textron.com.

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