The Board of Directors of the Northwest Turfgrass Association announced at its Feb. 15 meeting that it has hired Paul Ramsdell to be the executive director of the association that provides turfgrass research grants throughout the Pacific Northwest.

 

Ramsdell will begin immediately with the NTA, whose Turfgrass Universities Research Fund has distributed more than $900,000 in research grants in the past 14 years. Ramsdell is also currently the executive director of the Western Washington Golf Course Superintendents Association. He also is secretary of the Washington State Golf Association, which contributes greatly to the NTA.

 

“I look forward to this opportunity,” Ramsdell said. “It’s been difficult for the NTA to be without an executive director for nearly a year. I believe I can offer stability and sustainability to get the association moving forward again. I hope to use my knowledge of the Northwest and my various contacts to support and promote turfgrass research wherever it is needed.”

 

Tim Mack, the president of the NTA and the superintendent at Avondale Golf Club in Hayden Lake, Idaho, made the announcement after the NTA Board meeting.

 

Ramsdell, 53, will bring a wide range of experience to the position and ample knowledge of the golf industry in the Northwest. Before taking the position with the WWGCSA, he was the club manager of Kitsap Golf & Country Club in Bremerton, Wash.

 

Prior to that, he was the editor of Pacific Northwest Golfer magazine and a senior editor with ESPN.com. He served as president of the Northwest Golf Media Association for six years and received its Distinguished Service Award in 2008.

 

A graduate with a degree in journalism from the University of Oregon, Ramsdell has worked for various newspapers including the Seattle Times, The News Tribune of Tacoma, The Register-Guard of Eugene, Ore., the Lewiston (Idaho) Morning Tribune and the Pendleton (Ore.) East Oregonian.

 

Visit www.nwturfgrass.net for more information.