Big wave champion surfer Paige Alms was the keynote speaker at the 2025 GCSAA Conference and Trade Show Opening Sunrise Session Wednesday, Feb. 5. Photos by GCSAA
Golf industry professionals from across the country and beyond joined each other Wednesday morning for the Sunrise Opening Session, presented in partnership with Syngenta, at the 2025 GCSAA Conference and Trade Show.
Among other things, the event honored 2025 GCSAA Col. John Morley Award Winner and 40-year member Pat Finlen, CGCS; 2025 GCSAA President’s Award for Environmental Stewardship winner and 22-year member Matt Gourlay, CGCS, MG, AGS; Outstanding Contribution Award winners Larry Stowell and Wendy Gelernter; outgoing GCSAA President and 34-year member Jeff L. White, CGCS; and recognized the winner of the 2025 GCSAA National Championship and 16-year member, Mike Gianopoulos, CGCS.
The event’s keynote speaker was Paige Alms, two-time world champion big wave surfer, who shared her breathtaking feats riding some of the world’s most dangerous waves, inspiring attendees to face challenges head-on and ride the waves of life with confidence.
Alms described being hit by a 60-foot wave and the aftermath — a torn hamstring and stretched eardrums from being plunged so deep by the crashing wave — and the importance of preparation in that moment.
“After that wave hit me, my incredible team of people — a safety team driving jet skis with rescue knowledge — came in to rescue me. I don’t know what would have happened without them, truthfully,” Alms said. “I probably would have been washed all the way to the rocks taking 20 waves on the head. I can honestly say I don’t know if I would have survived to be here today. For everything to go well in an uncontrollable situation like this, it goes back to preparation and trust in my team. I couldn’t and I wouldn’t do it without them.”
Alms encouraged attendees to embrace fear as a motivator in life and to not be afraid of making mistakes, rather use them as a chance to learn.
“I am scared sometimes. But I’ve come to realize that fear is a motivator in my life, and probably why I’m so drawn to big wave surfing. Fear is merely a feeling in your mind,” Alms said. “It is really important to recognize the difference between real fear and then the b.s. The fear of failure is my own personal b.s. Failure can be your friend. Learning from my mistakes has made me a better surfer and a better person. The reason why I’m so good at what I do is because I’ve made mistakes and I’ve failed many, many times. I’ve learned a lot when I’ve failed. Failure and fear, it’s just fuel. You just have to learn to use that fuel to power you to do better.”
GCSAA president Jeff L. White, CGCS and GCSAA CEO Rhett Evans congratulated Pat Finlen, CGCS, the recipient of the 2025 GCSAA Col. John Morley Award.
Finlen receives GCSAA’s highest award
Among the event’s highlights, Pat Finlen, CGCS and 40-year member of GCSAA, was recognized as recipient of the 2025 GCSAA Col. John Morley Award, the association’s highest distinction.
“This means a lot. I never thought I’d be here,” Finlen said. “If you ever go to headquarters and you walk in, you’ll see on the wall John Morley’s words: ‘No life can be or should be self-existent. We depend upon each other.’ That’s pretty much been my career. My whole career has been dependent on others.”
Finlen credited the association with helping him get to where he has been.
“I have met so many people, developed many friendships and learned from many superintendents and general managers,” Finlen said. “Once you get into chapter service, once you get involved, you start to meet some really neat people, neat superintendents, people in the industry and you just get drawn to that service.”
Through member nominations, Finlen was selected from among a slate of candidates for the 2025 award. His lifelong service to GCSAA, mentoring other members and far-reaching impact on the turfgrass industry are just a few of the reasons he is the 2025 recipient. Finlen’s accomplishments include serving as GCSAA’s President in 2013 and being a valuable member on 29 different GCSAA committees. During his career he also served as the president of three different GCSAA-affiliated chapters.
After a long career as a golf course superintendent and club general manager, Finlen is currently the executive vice president of DENEHY Club Thinking Partners, a full-service executive search and management consulting firm serving private clubs and boutique resorts.