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/791889
STMA IN ACTION News from the Sports Turf Managers Association 46 SportsTurf | March 2017 www.sportsturfonline.com "OUR WINNING GREEN SPACE" CONTEST WINNER Project EverGreen, in partnership with Exmark Manufacturing, STMA and SAFE, announced the winner of the inaugural "Our Winning Green Space" contest, In Memory of Community Garden and the Warrendale Community Organization in Detroit, MI. These two non-profit organizations, headed by Joe and Barb Matney, work with the City of the catalyst for the development of the SAFE Foundation. That winner was Victoria Kramer, also from Mt. San Antonio College. Due to the generosity of The Toro Company, SAFE is able to award three additional scholarships to honor Dr. Watson. The winner of the Graduate Dr. Watson Scholarship was Matthew Jeffries from North Carolina State University. The Dr. Watson undergraduate winners in a 4-year program were Kristin Burnett from Texas A&M and Nate Leiby, from The Pennsylvania State University. Due to its strong fundraising efforts during the 2016 conference, SAFE was able to increase its scholarship amounts by $4,500. It awarded six additional scholarships to the top students at 4-year institutions, including: Mitchell Countryman, Iowa State University; Josh Gray, Penn State; Madison Mahute, Penn State; Curt Moore, Penn State; Brandon Reavis, University of Georgia; and John Thomas, University of Tennessee. STUDENT CHALLENGE Congratulations to all STMA Student Challenge participants for their exceptional performance on the 2017 exam. The Student Challenge is presented by SAFE, Founding Partner Hunter Industries, and supporting sponsor Ewing Irrigation. Nine 2-year teams and 26 4-year teams competed for $5,000 awards in each division. Winning the 2-year competition was Mt. San Antonio College – Team 207. Penn State University – Team 208 took second place, and Mt. San Antonio College – Team 201 took third place. Winning the 4-year competition was Penn State University – Team 422. Iowa State University – Team 416 took second place, and Virginia Tech – Team 409 took third place. See stma.org for a full list of results. WOMEN'S FORUM More than 50 women (and men!) attended the annual Women's Forum January 25. Hosted by Lynda Wightman of Hunter Industries, this event brings together women in the sports turf industry, attendee spouses, and STMA Presidents past and future. Besides a great lunch, those in attendance heard presentations from Disney's horticulture department as well as its wellness department. New Ground Technology won the 2016 STMA Innovative Award for their Turf Printer technology. Posing on the STMA Trade Show floor were, L to R: Jason Zielke MTD/ Cub Cadet, Pete Davis, owner/founder, and Kelli Pearson, marketing director. The Innovative Awards Program recognizes commercial company members that have developed a product, service, equipment or technology that substantially enhances the effectiveness of sports turf managers. There was a waiting list to join the more than 175 exhibitors during 10 hours of trade show in Orlando. Every STMA Conference is primarily about education. Here is a packed house to hear Ben Polimer talk about using plant growth regulators.