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It's time for you to choose GCM’s Most Valuable Technician, which is being presented in partnership with Foley United. From an initial field of 67 nominations, a team of industry judges narrowed the field to 11 "semifinalists" and then to the three finalists featured here.

Please review the information below on each of the finalists and vote for the one you feel most deserves the title of 2010 Most Valuable Technician. Look for the winner to be announced in the Insider: Shop column in the July issue of GCM. Voting closes May 9.

The finalists:

Finalist #1
Herb Berg
Oakmont Country Club
Oakmont, Pa.

To say that Herb Berg’s work is appreciated by those he works both with and for at Oakmont (Pa.) Country Club would be a vast understatement: In addition to the official MVT nomination from Oakmont superintendent John Zimmers, Berg’s candidacy was bolstered by letters of support from the entire grounds department, Oakmont’s grounds chairman (written on behalf of the club’s grounds committee), the club’s general manager and four different equipment distributors. Berg is in his 10th year as Oakmont’s equipment technician, and this July he will prep equipment for his third USGA championship when the U.S. Women’s Open comes to Oakmont (he previously worked the 2003 U.S. Amateur and 2007 U.S. Open). In his nomination, Zimmers lauded Berg for his overall management of Oakmont’s equipment fleet, an innovative spirit and eye for detail, a willingness to offer up his expertise to matters that extend far beyond his normal job duties and for his penchant for giving back after the workday is done, whether by working on a coworkers car or helping the kitchen staff in fabricating and welding a new tomato rack. “What superintendent would not relish the opportunity to employ Herb Berg,” Zimmers wrote. “What golf course or country club would not love to retain Herb’s relentless work ethic, caring personality, unmatched professionalism and superb mechanical skill? Herb not only satisfies but exceeds any and all expectations.”

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Finalist #2
Cliff Henning
Whistling Straits Golf Course
Kohler, Wis.

There are few emergencies that Cliff Henning can’t handle in his job as the equipment manager at Wisconsin’s Whistling Straits, which will host this year’s PGA Championship on its Straits Course. Managing the fleet of turf maintenance equipment at Whistling Straits might actually be the easy part of the job for Henning, who’s worked in one capacity or another for the Kohler Co. since 1991 (he was the equipment manager at Blackwolf Run before moving to Whistling Straits). Straits Course superintendent Chris Zugel, who nominated Henning, praised his organizational skills, his ability to instruct others on matters of turf maintenance equipment and his overall focus on the business health of the operation. But Henning brings much more to the table. His mechanical sense extends to Kohler generators (he’s a fully trained technician in that arena), and he’s regularly looked after the ones used around the course during the major tournaments it has hosted in the past. He’s also a certified Emergency Medical Technician and first-responder who is often the first one on the scene if a problem arises on the golf course. And when he’s not on the golf course, Henning races sled dogs on a local competitive circuit, has volunteered his time at several Iditarods and speaks locally about the humane treatment of animals.

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Finalist #3
Ramon Salas
Azusa Greens Country Club
Azusa, Calif.

A veteran at this daily fee course near Los Angeles, Ramon Salas has an almost unheard of record among equipment technicians, according to superintendent Robert Maycock: “For the 26 years Ramon has been with Azusa Greens, never once have we ever had to buy one single piece of new mowing equipment.” That amazing track record of keeping older pieces of equipment not only in service, but producing outstanding playing conditions has buoyed Salas’ reputation in Southern California, and when other courses have equipment nearing the end of the line at their facilities, it often ends up at Azusa Greens as a useful member of the club’s equipment fleet — after Salas gets his hands on it, that is. Salas has also made shop safety a hallmark of his tenure at Azusa Greens, leading weekly safety meetings at the club for the past 15 years. But as dedicated as Salas is to his craft, he’s equally dedicated to his interests outside of the maintenance shop, most notably in junior golf. He helped teach the game to his daughter, Lizette, who is now a two-time All-American golfer at USC, and continues to cut-down adult golf clubs for kids to use in learning the game while assisting the head professional at Azusa Greens with the club’s Kid’s First junior golf program.

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