The sad and untimely passing of Robert Barksdale hit the Virginia turf community hard. I didn't know him well but I know so many of his character around the nation. They are the often unsung heroes who step forward to do the extra work that benefits all of us every day.

Too often we forget how much we rely on a handful of folks like Robert who are always willing to take the lead on industry efforts. He'll be missed in many ways - as a family man, a friend to many and a turfgrass problem-solver - but there will also be a void in the many organizations he helped to lead.

I hope others are there to step up and fill that void. I suspect the burden will fall to some of the same people who are already doing more than their share to help lead the industry. You know who I'm talking about: those individuals who seem to be able to do their "day job" admirably and still dedicate time to chapters, foundations, university boards, teaching and mentoring.

Over the years, I've known and admired hundreds of these special individuals. They tend to rise to the top of chapters and associations because they feel passionate about their profession or there's some aspect of leadership they find rewarding. They are the unpaid editors who find time to write and organize stories and get newsletters published every month. They are the government relations chairs who burn the midnight oil attempting to prevent unfair regulation that would hurt our industry. They are the organizers who put together education programs, raise funds and cajole suppliers for their sponsorships.

They are the 10 percent or so of any profession who believe strongly that the job is more than just a set of duties laid out in a position description... it's going the extra mile to give something back and help make the business stronger for those who follow.

The problem today is that the nature of both our business and our traditional professional networks is changing. Fewer employers are encouraging turf pros to actively engage in the industry. Participation in local associations is sagging nationwide as job pressures and cuts to education budgets make it tougher to get to meetings. Funding from suppliers has also dropped as the same economic pressures hit them and because they begin to question whether their investment in the profession is necessarily returned in the form of loyal customership.

However, the biggest issue facing our industry groups isn't short-term economics or the changing buying habits of turf managers. Instead, it's the overall societal change that has shaped a new generation of younger professionals who don't necessarily see the value of formal associations or physical meetings. Historically, chapter meetings, field days and other lynchpin events have been driven by the value of networking: that opportunity to see colleagues face-to-face, compare notes and try to find solutions to the problems back at your place.

Now we have a generation of up-and-coming professionals who network differently via social media, texting and other "closed groups." Their mindset is that most, if not all problems can be solved with a Google search or a query posted to Twitter.

And the funny thing is they're right. Information sharing is vastly superior today than in the heyday of chapter meetings and agronomic discussions over coffee or a beer. There isn't a day that goes by that I don't see a mysterious patch disease identified or some other problem fixed over social media. Crowd-sourcing, as it's known, is a miraculous way to reach out to the best and brightest minds globally to solve problems in minutes that would have previously required weeks of research, testing and multiple visits to a site.

Given that, how do we re-engage young folks in our institutions and try to identify and nurture more folks like Robert?

The larger challenge and the greater need for young professionals is not agronomy... it's business. I still find far too much education at the conferences and events aimed at growing grass instead of growing ROI for employers. Yet the research we do at Golf Course Industry consistently ranks people management, budget management and job stress as the biggest issues turf managers face. And those challenges aren't age-related. Young and old have the same issue: how can I run my business more efficiently and effectively?

I sincerely hope there are more Robert Barksdales out there waiting to fill his very large shoes. But, instead of hoping, let's do more to reach out to the talented and eager folks seeking to become better managers and find a way to get them involved by offering them better skills where they really need them... in the non-agronomic world. That would be a great legacy for a man who gave so much of his time and knowledge to help grow our business into what it is today.