The Oregon Golf Course Superintendents Association of America (OGCSA) held their 2017 Annual Meeting on May 23. In addition to the business meeting, elections and a keynote speaker, there were several awards presented. This year a very special award was given to longtime OGCSA member superintendent, Robert (Bob) Senseman, CGCS.
Senseman was presented with the OGCSA Hall of Fame Award. The OGCSA Hall of Fame was established in 1995. The purpose of the OGCSA Hall of Fame is to recognize and honor a member’s lifetime work and service to our industry. This award is the pinnacle of all awards in the OGCSA. A recipient of this award must meet certain criteria to be eligible; such as having minimum industry involvement of 20 years and the individual must have given service to the OGCSA and its members though board service, committee service, as an advocate or volunteer. A few notable past recipients of this award are: Harvey Junor, Tom Cook and Dick Fluter.
Senseman’s involvement with the OGCSA and other affiliated industry organizations through the years certainly deserves to be recognized with this award. His membership goes back over 30 years and has included many years as an OGCSA board director and a term as chapter president in 1993-1994. In 1994, Senseman was also awarded the OGCSA Superintendent of the year award. In 2013 Bob was presented with the Richard Malpass Distinguished Service Award, which is yet another highly recognized award within the OGCSA. Senseman has also been closely involved with the turfgrass program at Oregon State University for many years and has served on the Oregon Turfgrass Foundation Board since its inception in 2001.
This is just the ‘tip of the iceberg’ when it comes to speaking about Senseman’s long list of achievements in the turfgrass industry. He is currently the Superintendent at Oswego Lake Country with a pending retirement date for June 2017. He has served as the Superintendent at OLCC since 1995. Prior to OLCC, Senseman held the position as Superintendent at other notable clubs such as Columbia Edgewater Country Club and San Louis Obispo Country Club. Time spent as a USGA Agronomist for the North-East region is also a noteworthy experience on Senseman’s resume.
Above all the accolades, Senseman is a family man, having been married to his lovely wife, Mary, for 46 years. They have 2 children; daughter, Christy and son, Michael. He has also been a longtime friend and mentor to so many in the turfgrass industry.