Well it\'s the week after GIS and as I sat down to write my column I thought of several cool things that I saw at GIS, that I\'d like to share with all of you. The first was the new panel discussion sessions that were prevalent throughout the week. This sessions were free and seemed to be well received by attendees and speakers alike. I participated on one about turfgrass pests, and we were able to answer many questions related to turfgrass disease and weed problems. If you didn\'t attend GIS, be sure to check the GCSAA\'s website to find some of these discussions posted for all to view. Also, you should know that if you didn\'t attend this year, I\'m sure future GIS meetings will have lots of educational sessions to offer that don\'t cost the money that the workshops do. So if you\'re on a budget, there are still cool education opportunities at GIS. Another cool item that I noticed while I was there was the recent push to bring research back into the limelight through the Environmental Institute for Golf. This is the philanthropic arm of GCSAA, and it is through this organization that the GCSAA can offer scholarships and research funding. I hope that the organization is serious about the desire to fund research, because without sustained funding, researchers like me will be forced to look to other turf areas for finding sources and this will result in a reductionin the amount of golf turf research. One thing many folks don\'t realize is that researchers, like me, have to fund the entire cost of their program save for the building and our own salary. As an example, here at the University of Tennessee we have 9 graduate students that whose costs are provided by three faculty members. The total cost for each student is about $30,000, so just to cover the costs of the students (not research supplies, travel, etc.) is $270,000 per year in research funding that is required to support them. Add to that research supplies and travel and other necessities and the figure climbs to nearly $400,000. Some institutions also tack on what is called indirect costs (building, etc.) increasing the figure more still. So when the GCSAA or the USGA or a local association agrees to fund a project at $20,000/year this support doesn\'t even cover the cost of the student. Don\'t get me wrong - I\'m not saying we don\'t want the support, what I am saying is that it is important to realize that in order to be able to truly accomplish a research agenda it is going to take much more than the funding of a couple of projects nationwide to get the ball rolling. I hope Sandy Queen, and the Board of the GCSAA is serious about developing this program back into the robust program is once was.Finally, it was cool to walk around the GIS trade show. It is always interesting to see the new products that are there, and also to bump into folks I haven\'t seen in awhile and catch up. This year was no exception, and to those of you who I did get to catch up with, and all the others that I’ll have to see next year. I enjoyed seeing you and what you are up to! Vegas is such a fun town for a meeting. If you can get past the need to take cabs to get anywhere quickly, there are so many things to do. I realized on this visit that you don\'t have to play games, and that there are lots of things to do that are fun, exciting and will get your heart pumping just like playing blackjack or craps. See you next month where we start ramping up and getting ready for spring!Dr. Brandon Horvath is a column writer for Landscape Supply, Inc.\'s LSI Connections, a newsletter that is sent to our partners in business once per month. Dr. Horvath is a professor and a plant pathologist for The University of Tennessee Turf Program.