Water Quality Open 2007

Once again this year, we had a very successful Water Quality Open golf tournament and educational excursion. We provided presentations, demonstrations, and trivia all on natural resource topics such as conservation, water quality, rivers, endangered and threatened species, and erosion to name just a few. This year we had 144 players on 36 teams- 2 teams per hole, which is the maximum we could have. We had participants from government (all levels), environmental consultants, private business, LPRCA members, and several members of the public. The day started off prior to the tournament with a presentation by Roch Gaussoin, UNL Professor and Turfgrass Extention Specialist, on types of turfgrass and their water use characteristics. Golf participants were encouraged to attend this educational presentation with an incentive that gave their team 2 strokes off their golf score if all team members attended. We had seven teams take us up on this offer, which proved to be the deciding factor in the final score. NEBCO, owner of the course, agreed to provide a sponsorship, marketing assistance, teams, and other help. Quarry Oaks employs a number of conservation practices and exemplifies how to fit a recreational amenity into the existing natural landscape, rather than tearing up the landscape to fit the development. All players recieved a booklet, the official WQ Open hat, and a variety of info on the LPRCA programs. We have recieved nothing but positive reviews for the event.