SportsTurf provides current, practical and technical content on issues relevant to sports turf managers, including facilities managers. Most readers are athletic field managers from the professional level through parks and recreation, universities.
Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/50965
STMA in action 2011 Terry Mellor Continuing Education Grant STMA, in partnership with Turface Athlet- ics, is pleased to present the 2011 Terry Mellor Continuing Education Grant to We- ston Floyd from the University of Texas at Tyler. He is the Eastern Region representa- tive on the Texas STMA Board of Directors, has hosted seminars at his facility for the members, and continues to champion the Texas Chapter as an excellent resource for sports turf managers in Texas. According to the person who nominated Floyd, Dan Bergstrom, senior director of major league field operations for the Hous- ton Astros, he is a, "proven and promising young professional." Bergstrom continues, "He will use his time wisely at the confer- ence, and he will continue to grow in our industry. I expect his leadership and loyalty to STMA in the future to only grow." In winning the grant, Floyd receives a complimentary conference registration and up to $1,000 in reimbursement of ex- Inaugural Gary Vanden Berg Internship Grant Presented STMA is pleased to announce Aaron Bryant of the University of Tennessee as the winner of the first Gary Vanden Berg Internship Grant. Bryant interned for the New York Mets at Citi Field under the su- pervision of Bill Deacon, director of land- scaping and field operations. According to Deacon, Bryant was, "an outstanding worker, was very inquisitive and demon- strated an ability to apply what he had learned." According to Dr. John Sorochan, associate professor and distinguished sci- entist at the University of Tennessee and Bryant's academic advisor, "Aaron is an outstanding young man who has tremen- dous passion for the sports turf industry, particularly baseball. Also, he is an excel- lent student and a leader in-and-out-of the classroom, including as an officer in the UT Turfgrass Club." The $1,000 grant is awarded to an STMA Student Member in good standing with the association, who is enrolled in at least six credit hours in the current semester or se- STMA Presents Awards at Baseball Winter Meetings Last month, STMA presented the Minor League Baseball Sports Turf Manager of the Year Awards at the Baseball Winter Meetings in Dallas. STMA proudly spon- sors these awards, which are presented annually to a Sports Turf Manager at the Triple-A, Double-A, Single-A and Short- Season/Rookie levels. The winning sports turf manager from each of the 16 leagues (three Triple-A, STMA and the Awards Committee commend these individuals for their out- standing dedication, effort and talents which have ele- vated their facilities to the pinnacle of Minor League Baseball playing surfaces. 46 SportsTurf | January 2012 three Double-A, five Single-A and five Short-Season/Rookie) is then eligible to compete for the award within their re- spective classification. The awards are se- lected by the STMA Awards Committee. The 2011 STMA Minor League Baseball Sports Turf Managers of the Year are: • Triple-A: Joey Stevenson, Indianapo- lis Indians Baysox Dash • Double-A: Matt Parrott, Bowie • Single-A: Doug Tanis, Winston-Salem • Short-Season/Rookie: Jon Hall, Danville Braves STMA and the Awards Committee commend these individuals for their out- standing dedication, effort and talents which have elevated their facilities to the pinnacle of Minor League Baseball play- ing surfaces. ■ mester immediately before the internship, and who successfully completed their in- ternship. The grant is intended to offset the costs Bryant incurred while interning in- cluding, but not limited to transportation, lodging, food, and subsidy to any wages. In addition to receiving the $1,000 grant, the winner will also receive a full conference registration and 3 nights lodging at the next STMA National Conference and Exhibi- tion. ■ Save the Date for 2012 Regional Conference After a highly successful event last year in Knoxville, TN STMA will again host a re- gional conference in 2012. The Mid-Ameri- can Regional Conference will be June 26-27, 2012 in Cincinnati, Ohio at Paul Brown Stadium, home of the Cincinnati Bengals. In addition to the Ohio Chapter, Kentucky, KAFMO, Illinois, Indiana, Michi- gan, Tennessee Valley and Virginia chap- ters are all supporting the event. The education program will include speakers from around the nation on a vari- ety of turfgrass topics, facility tours, an ex- hibition and a networking event. More than 300 people have been on-site for pre- vious events in Knoxville, Seattle, Ames, IA and Philadelphia. We look forward to an- other great event in Cincinnati and hope to see you there! ■ www.sportsturfonline.com penses for travel, lodging and incidentals in Long Beach for the 2012 Conference. He will also be recognized as the recipient at the 2012 STMA Awards Banquet on January 13. STMA and Turface would like to thank all those who applied for the Terry Mellor Continuing Education Grant and would en- courage all STMA members looking for as- sistance in getting to the 2013 Conference in Daytona to do so as well. ■