Serving as the first president of the Canadian Golf Course Superintendents Association in 1967 was a highlight in the career of John B. Steel, who was the superintendent at St. Charles Country Club for many years.
He was well respected across Canada and in his home province and was a leader in the development of the profession which saw the term “greenskeeper” disappear from the golf language to be replaced by the more descriptive term “course superintendent”.
John was also a founding member of the Manitoba Golf Course Superintendents Association in 1950 and was president of the provincial body on three occasions – 1952-53, 1960-61 and 1976.
He was elected as honorary life member of both the Manitoba and Canadian associations in recognition of his outstanding contributions to the development of the profession of golf superintendents.
John was inducted into the Canadian Golf Hall of Fame in 1988, four years before his death in 1992 at the age of 91, and he is an inaugural inductee into the Manitoba Golf Hall of Fame & Museum Inc., September 29, 2003.