Golfdom, April 2012

PHOTO COURTESY OREGON STATE UNIVERSITY Off The Fringe Golembiewski to Bayer Former Oregon State University turf director chooses to move family back home BY SETH JONES 6 Golfdom April 2012 Golembiewski says leaving OSU was the hardest decision I ever had to make in my professional career GCSAA Fights DOL Rule Urges superintendents to oppose possible changes to the H 2B program BY BETH GERACI T he week of the Golf Industry Show was stressful for many but especially for Rob Golembiewski Ph D Golembiewski was trying to decide what he wanted to do Stay at Oregon State University what he calls the premiere turf program on the west coast or take a job with Bayer CropScience as a technical service specialist When he returned home on Monday following the GIS he made up his mind he was taking his family back home to Columbus Ohio and joining Bayer It was not one thing Goelmbiewski told Golfdom It was the position It was the location It was family I tell you what man it was the hardest decision I ever had to make in my professional career With Bayer Golembiewski will be performing the same job as former UC Riverside plant pathologist Frank Wong Ph D who left a similar position to work for the same company Golembiewski will focus on the Midwest while Wong continues to work on the East Coast Its a fairly new position for the company These positions were previously only research and development but Bayer is making a conscious effort to invest in the industry Golembiewski says As products come to market theyll be passed along to me and Frank to provide support to end users Golembiewski says hes 99 percent sure Oregon State will replace him He says the position supports not just Oregon but the entire West Coast In the three and a half years Golembiewski worked for Oregon State he did 80 presentations to more than 30 different groups Golembiewski is the 10th child of a family of 11 He says eight of his siblings still live in the Columbus area Im excited for my three kids to get to know all their cousins he says T he Department of Labor DOL has issued a final rule that would make significant changes to the H 2B program Due to become effective April 23 the rule would make it more expensive for golf courses to hire and retain foreign workers a large part of the industrys work force Rep Rodney Alexander of Louisiana recently introduced a House joint resolution H J 104 that would block the DOL from enforcing the rule And the Golf Course Superintendents Association of America GCSAA is urging its members to rally in support of the resolution Ask your congressional representatives to co sponsor and support it the GCSAA says because if the resolution does not garner enough congressional support many golf facilities wont be able to hire an adequate number of workers during the peak season The GCSAA is actively working with the H 2B Workforce Coalition to prevent the changes in the H 2B wage rule from being implemented The association and its members submitted comments opposing the proposed rule last year and the GCSAA is currently supporting pending litigation The association is now focused on a legislative response from leaders on Capitol Hill Members are asked to contact Chava McKeel the GCSAAs senior manager of information and public policy at 800 472 7878 ext 3619 for help in taking action Or log on to http capwiz com gcsaa issues bills bill 6 1029011 alertid 61029016