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/605094
20 SportsTurf | December 2015 www.sportsturfonline.com FACILITY & OPERATIONS VENDOR SUPPORT The vendor members of our organization are the glue that holds everything together. We have a group of talented busi- ness people who really respect the industry and are a huge help in promoting the SFMANJ. This group provides the financial backing that makes it possible to hold our field days free of charge for SFMANJ members. I mentioned this earlier as a tease but holding a free event is a great way to give back to the membership. It also allows municipal and school employees, who make up the bulk of our membership, an easier way to get to the event by not having to try and find someone in their business office to go through the process of producing a pur- chase order for payment. In the past many of our members had complained about how difficult it was to get to our field days because of the paperwork involved. We listened and thanks to our loyal vendor members, more people are able to attend. There are many ways that a vendor can support our field day. We offer a variety of packages that can include having their literature placed in the attendee packet, a tabletop booth to display information and products, a field demonstration with equipment and sponsoring breakfast or lunch. These options allow the vendor to participate as little or as much as they want in our event. We hope that our field days provide a good return on their investment in us. FOOD It always amazes me how much joy people get out of having food provided at an event, although it shouldn't be a surprise. The late Dr. Henry Indyk, founding father of our association, made the point that breakfast is the most important meal of the day. Henry made sure that there was food available at SFMANJ events because he reasoned that it made people feel better and think clearer. I completely agree. We offer coffee, doughnuts and sometimes bagels to get our events started. It is also an opportunity to mix and mingle with our vendors that have set up tabletop booths around the area that is serving the food. It gives the vendors direct access to the attendees and keeps everyone in the same area until the educational sessions begin. While I am a breakfast man, lunch at a SFMANJ field day steals the show and not for an obvious reason like gourmet-type food. The food is great but there is one man that really makes it a special meal. Don Savard, CSFM, and a past president of SFMANJ, puts together a lunch that keeps everyone happy. Don is an extremely modest guy but through his dedication and mobile catering equipment we feed everyone at a very affordable price (i.e., the cost of ingredients). Everyone is given two of Don's "dirty water dogs" with sauerkraut or homemade chili, a bag of chips and a beverage. It is as simple as it gets but most everyone loves this lunch. Don is the maestro in the kitchen but our Board of Directors serves the lunch to the members. It is our way to thank the members for their support and puts a per- sonal touch on the event. In the past we had purchased boxed lunches from various deli operations but nothing comes close to Don's "dirty water dogs." TIDBITS There are other things that don't seem important but we have found make a big difference in our events. We have found that if you schedule a field day at the same time every year, it makes it easier for the membership to plan to make it to your event. The people that attend our events are very busy people with changing sports schedules but if they have the information about an event early enough, it makes it easier for them to make plans to attend. The other thing is the structure of an event. We have made a timetable for our field days that stays the same every year and all we have to do is plug in the new speakers or vendors. It saves time and makes the planning portion of the event easier. The SFMANJ Board of Directors and Executive Secretary Debbie Savard have put a lot of time and energy developing the formula for our field days. It has taken some time to work out the details through trial and error but ultimately it has been very rewarding putting on a quality event for our members. The STMA has great chapters all over the country. Try and get to a chapter field day near you and see for yourself what they have to offer. ■ ST Rich Watson retired this past November from the Deptford Township SD in New Jersey. He can be reached at wats100@msn. com.