Welcome a new addition to the GCM family

It's not often that we get the chance to welcome a new member to the staff of GCM. We haven't been immune to some of the staff reorganizations that have taken place around GCSAA recently, but for the most part, our team has been a model of stability over the years, and we're understandably proud of those lengthy tenures and the experience that we've amassed in this industry.

But a recent game of musical chairs among the publications that cover the golf course management industry claimed one of our own, Seth Jones, who moved over to Golfdom to captain his own ship after nearly a decade with the association and GCM. And while we hated to see him go and wish him luck (although, not that much luck!) in his new endeavors, it did create an opportunity for us to inject some new blood and new perspectives into our operations.

That new blood's name is Howard Richman (pictured here) and we couldn't be any more excited about bringing aboard someone as talented and as experienced as Howard in the position of associate editor. Howard has more than 25 years of publishing experience under his belt, including a two-decade stretch as a sportswriter with the Kansas City Star.

At the Star, Howard handled a variety of duties, but among the most notable was a stint as the paper's golf writer. As a part of those duties, he covered 23 major championships, established a close working relationship with Kansas City's own Tom Watson and got plenty of exposure to the job of the superintendent. He also spent six years as the beat writer for Kansas State University athletics (although I mention that only to satisfy my own loyalties as a K-State fan and to tweak all the Jayhawks around GCSAA headquarters).

We're super excited to have Howard with us, and I know he's super excited to be with us and working in this great industry. He'll say hello and introduce himself very soon on the blog, but if you want to beat him to the punch, you can feel free to reach out to him at hrichman@gcsaa.org. I know he's excited to get going, excited to here from superintendents and excited to learn more about the business of golf course management and what those superintendents do each and every day.