during our work sessions and of course a big thank you goes out to all of you who volunteered their time working with committees and putting together another great Technical Meeting. It was again a record-breaking attendance for the Winter Meeting, as 123 registered!

After considerable discussion by the Board, it has been decided to look at moving the location of our 2012 Winter Meeting from Los Cabos due to safety concerns. Please watch for further communications on this.

The Board was equally as busy in the Bahamas. Yes, we truly were busy with a very full Board Agenda. Please read the Board Report on the latest Board decisions as a result of the Governance Task Force that has been in place this past year. I truly feel that the Board is moving up to the next level with respect to increasing the quality of our Association and our programs.

The Track and Tennis Certification exams were completed and available at our Winter Meeting. The exams were also available this year at the Synthetic Turf Council Conference in Phoenix in March. We had 15 people taking exams! The Track and Tennis Test Certification Committees worked very hard with many, many long conference calls to make this happen. It is hard to believe how complex writing these tests can be until you have actually been through the process. The progress of this Association simply would not be where it is without the great volunteer help.

As we all swing into our heavy bidding and installation season, I want to highlight a few thoughts. I think we are all feeling the increased pressure on our bottom line as a result of the fewer opportunities for projects in many areas of the country. Those projects are garnering many bidders, some bidding for the first time on a project they know little or nothing about. It is obvious from our dramatically increasing attendance at both our Technical and Winter Meetings, that the Association has a lot to offer its members with respect to help in our day-to-day business. Please keep in mind as you go through the year that the Association is here to assist us in our jobs and, without some input back from you, it is difficult to know how best to structure our meetings. We want our meetings to continue to be meaningful and with the appropriate content. You may run across new or better ideas for our construction manuals, position papers and obviously our technical sessions. Let us know!

I wish everyone a successful season! Watch for details on the upcoming Technical Meeting at the JW Marriott Resort & Spa in Palm Desert, California. You will not want to miss this!