Florida Turfgrass Association Florida Turfgrass Research Foundation

Florida Turfgrass Association & Florida Turfgrass Research Foundation Conference & Show Scholarship Form

The Hans and Otto Schmeisser Memorial Scholarship was established to allow students who are engaged in getting the online Horticulture Certificate the opportunity to network at the FTGA Annual Conference & Show (C&S). The C&S scholarship amount will be $250 per student. If students volunteer to help with C&S, the FTGA will wave all C&S costs for those students plus provide a $100 travel allowance (an estimated $850 total value) instead of $250.

Applicants, please note that Florida Gateway College will be contacted to verify that you are working towards an online Horticulture Certificate and have earned a grade of B or better in the course specified below.

Applicants should fill this form out and attach a transcript that shows your grades. Submissions must be returned by June 30. Late submissions will not be considered.

Mail 3500 S. Florida Avenue, Suite 7 Lakeland, FL 33803 Fax (863) 688-9610 Email [email protected]

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The scholarship was created in 2015 to honor Hans and Otto Schmeisser. Hans Schmeisser was born and educated in Germany, and came to the U.S. in the 1920′s to develop the landscaping at Everglades City. While there, he designed and built his first course, one of the first golfing facilities in Florida. He was instrumental in establishing the first Association of Golf Course Superintendents in Florida and was one of the nation’s leading golf course superintendents and designers. He was involved in the design and building or reconstruction of more than 30 golf courses, most of them in Florida. Schmeisser was active in GCSAA affairs, served as president of the South Florida GCSA, and taught turfgrass management at Palm Beach Junior College. He was awarded posthumously the GCSAA Distinguished Service Award. Hans Schmeisser, passed his knowledge and love of the culture of plants on to his son, Otto, who was born in 1926 in Immokalee, FL. Otto was an agronomist in his own right. He attended all of the University of Florida and the Tifton turfgrass conferences. The first job Hans found was managing a crew at the Breakers Country Club, which was then under construction in Palm Beach. He ended his career as golf course superintendent at the Everglades Club in Palm Beach. Otto passed away in 1988. In 1991, the Florida Golf Course Superintendents dedicated a new research green at the University of Florida Research and Education Center at Fort Lauderdale in honor of Otto Schmeisser.