High Times

If you’re a normal front-to-back reader of GCI, you probably already saw the farewell editor’s note from the fabulous Kyle Brown.

Kyle, who’s been a key part of our editorial team for five years and the driving force behind the brilliant Superintendent Radio Network podcasts, has been promoted to become managing editor of a new magazine we’re launching here at GIE Media. Which new magazine, you ask?

It’s called Cannabis Business Times.

Yes, you read that correctly. And, no, I’m not high.

Our company, which kicks butt in nearly every nook and cranny of the green industry, will now be serving the information needs of folks who grow marijuana legally in about 30 states. And pretty much everyone expects cannabis to continue to become legal in more states and federally over the next few years. In short, weed is rapidly becoming a giant legal industry in the U.S. and globally.

The agronomic part of the legal pot equation is closely tied to the greenhouse business (which we serve via our Greenhouse Management group). But, growing a highly regulated crop like cannabis brings with it other challenges like security, banking and legal affairs. Protecting cultivated pot from insects and diseases is a particularly knotty problem since there are exactly ZERO pesticides labeled for cannabis at the moment. It’s a fascinating and complex business and we’re excited to be – as always – on the cutting edge of an emerging market.

Kyle’s move over to the wacky tabacky world is not the only change we’ve had here lately. The other bit of news is that my job changed recently as well.

For the past several years, I’ve been responsible for running both GCI and our flagship turf publication, Lawn & Landscape. The two publications have very similar business structures (lots of companies that advertise in both to reach turf pros) but are quite different in terms of editorial focus and scope. Where GCI is focused on the relatively narrow world of managing very short grass, L&L covers lawn care, landscape design/build, fleet operations, snow and ice removal, and all things related to small business management and profitability. It’s also a much larger market than golf and L&L, as part of GIE Media’s business, is a substantially bigger enterprise than GCI.

As much as I loved trying to manage both markets, it was increasingly apparent to me that we needed somebody to be focused 100 percent on running L&L every day. My boss agreed with that assessment. So, I’m delighted to say we promoted Dave Szy, our longtime associate publisher and national accounts manager, to become publisher of L&L. You can expect big things from Dave and his team in the coming months and years thanks to his market expertise and passion for that business.

My passion, as always, is right here. And now I have the time to focus on GCI and what we do best:
 

Educate:

My mom was a schoolteacher for five decades and even though I didn’t pursue that noble vocation, I’ve always felt our first priority is to help readers educate themselves on timely topics.
 

Provoke:

Nothing would ever change unless new ideas and opinions were introduced. That’s why we give free reign to provocateurs like Kaminski, Moraghan, DeLozier and yours truly.
 

Advocate:

We will always use our megaphone to cheer for superintendents and heap ridicule on any fools who want to harm our industry. We also support the companies who support us. We hope you will too.
 

Entertain:

Hell, it’s not brain surgery. You need a sense of humor to put up with Mother Nature and idiot golfers. Part of our job is to lighten things up every once in a while and puncture the stress bubble that squeezes in on all of us.

So, it’s high times for all of us around here. What kind of craziness will we dream up next? Come along for the ride and find out. It’s gonna be fun.
 

Pat Jones is editorial director and publisher of Golf Course Industry. He can be reached at pjones@gie.net or 216-393-0253.