Event Highlight: Garbageman’s Invitational: A Vehicle for Change

In its 6^th year, this social event has grown to engage haulers from across the country and give them an opportunity to discuss their industry in a casual atmosphere.

It’s back! The annual Garbageman’s Invitational Golf Tournament and Social Event will be held from March 31 – April 2 at the Blackwater Saloon and Pechanga Resort & Casino’s fabulous “Journey” golf course in Temecula, CA. Now in its 6^th year of bringing together industry professionals through a social networking golf event and reception dinners, the Garbageman’s Invitational has grown steadily every year since its inception, boasting close to 300 attendees and 16 sponsors, a full roster sure to keep the event at the forefront of the industry.

The Beginning

The brainchild of Kerry Homes, Vice President of Sales and Mike Melideo, President and CEO of Consolidated Fabricators and Ray Burke, Vice President of Clean Energy, the idea of an annual golf tournament was developed because they all felt there was a void that needed to be filled. Naming it the Garbageman’s Invitational in order to make it an invite-only event, the event has grown from about 100 attendees the first year to now close to 300. The first Garbageman’s Invitational was attended by Cole Burr, the owner of one of the largest independent haulers in the U.S., Burrtec Waste Industries. Burr lived in the area and suggested having the opening reception the following year at his ranch, the Blackwater Saloon, a spectacular western town that he built on his property that includes a theater, live entertainment, a game room, a bar, kitchen, barber shop and more. Now, the venue hosts the event’s banquet annually.

Still Going Strong

Currently, this annual golf tournament invites decision makers in the waste industry to enjoy three days of fun, networking and business. It prides itself on giving everyone who attends the opportunity to socialize in a relaxed environment. Says Holmes, “All of our sponsors are back this year and we have a special guest sponsor, Doppstadt. The leading recycling equipment manufacturer in Europe for the past 50 years, they have been in the eastern part of the U.S., but they really haven’t penetrated the market out here in the west so they are looking at our event as a tremendous vehicle to really bring their marketing out here.”

“Kerry was approached by Doppstadt who really wanted to be a huge contributor to the event so this is our first year trying out this type of sponsor. We may continue this next year with another company who is interested and wants to get good PR out of it,” says Burke.

Mike Schwalbach, Vice President of Environmental Group, stresses that a big part of what they are trying to do is to make the Garbageman’s Invitational a national event open to all decision makers in the industry who are interested in networking in a relaxed atmosphere. “It’s grown every year. If you look at the attendees, there is still a large concentration in the west but this event has become attractive to other attendees coming from all over North America, including as far away as Florida and New York.” He explains that another key element to the event is that not only do they have involvement from the Educational Research and Educational Foundation (EREF), who is the recipient of their fundraising every year, but Sharon Kneiss, CEO of the National Waste & Recycling Association, will attend the event as well as Jonathan Sper, Director of Membership and Marketing, and Anne Germain, Director of Waste & Recycling Technology. “Last year, Brian Staley CEO of the EREF came and talked, and what that does is just bring awareness across the country about what is happening. I think as you see this grow nationally, there will be more attendees from across the country. Many attendees we have are also members of the DCA group (Detachable Container Group) and the largest service providers, such as WM, Republic, etc. are represented as well.”

A Standout Event

This year’s tournament will get another media boost through the newly formed Twitter account and Facebook pages created especially for the event. “Since we’ve become more involved with social media, we’ve already gotten people to Like us as well as follow us on Twitter. So this year, it has been great to add that social aspect and media push (in addition to the Web site) for the event,” says Holmes. “We also encourage our support sponsors to participate in all aspects of the Garbageman’s Invitational, including the giveaways, opening night and other networking opportunities throughout the three-day event.”

In fact, this year, in addition to what Burke has pointed out are “fantastic gifts to give away to winners of the three flights in the tournament,” Holmes says on the first day of the tournament, Rush Refuse Trucks is sponsoring a $100,000 hole-in-one and Doppstadt is also sponsoring a hole-in-one prize, where they are giving away a DW 3060 K Slow-Speed Shredder that is worth $730,000.

Every year, the Garbageman’s Invitational works on getting people engaged in the event. For those attendees and spouses who would like to explore the surrounding area, Temecula wine country, old town, Pechanga Casino, a spa and much more are at their fingertips. Says Schwalbach, “Many people come to this event for different reasons, from the golf tournament to the opening night at the Blackwater Saloon, which is pretty unique in itself—a lot of people look forward all of the networking events and the surrounding areas.”

Holmes says that this year, in addition to the live entertainment (Radiostar) and fabulous catered dinner at the Blackwater Saloon, the banquet will include a cigar roller, a magician, horseshoes, bocchi ball and more. Says Burke, “It is a great social atmosphere for all of these companies that come from all around the country to network. In fact, we feedback from our customers who say it’s the best event that they attend every year.”

With a goal of raising $20,000 this year for EREF, the Garbageman’s Invitational Golf Tournament and Social Event is sure to please all who attend and stand out as one of the industry’s highlights of 2015. Says Holmes, “I think bringing together our industry to be able to network, talk about situations, state regulations, and national topics, such as organics, gives our attendees a unique opportunity to have a dialogue about the industry in a casual atmosphere. And that’s what we need more of.”

For more information, visit www.garbagemansinvitational.com.

Visit their Twitter page at @gminvitational and on Facebook at www.facebook.com/pages/Garbagemans-Invitational/1522046771391747.

Journey Golf Course 2 Journey Golf Course 1 Journey clubhouse GMI Journey Golf Course 3 GMI Journey Golf Course 2 Black Water Saloon 2 EREF Donation