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: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/113699
President's Message Dr. Mike Goatley Goatley@vt.edu DIRECT MAIL LIST SALES Cheryl Naughton 678-292-6054 cnaughton@m2media360.com SUBSCRIPTION SERVICES Phone 845-856-2229 Fax 845-856-5822 REPRINTS Cheryl Naughton 678-292-6054 cnaughton@m2media360.com Account Representatives: Leslie Palmer 16267 W. 14 Mile Rd., Ste 202 Beverly Hills, MI 48025 Ph: 248-530-0300, ext. 1402 lpalmer@m2media360.com Scott Hill 134 N. LaSalle St., Suite 1700 Chicago, IL 60602 312-348-1206 shill@m2media360.com Classified Sales/Marketplace: Glenn Datz Phone: 213-596-7220 Fax: 213-624-0997 gdatz@m2media360.com PUBLISHER'S NOTICE: We Assume No Responsibility For The Validity Of Claims In Connection With Items Appearing In Sportsturf. Reader Service Numbers Are Given To Facilitate Further Inquiry. Mention Of A Commercial Product Does Not Imply Endorsement By Sportsturf Or Specialty Information Media, Or Preference Over Similar Products Not Mentioned. www.stma.org Pay it forward NE OF OUR CONFERENCE KEYNOTE SPEAKERS, Ian Hill, gave a very thought provoking presentation in Daytona Beach this January. One of the quotes off Ian's website (www.thechangingpoint.com) does a pretty good job of summarizing how Ian goes about living his life: "Most of us don't have the capacity to change the whole big, bad world, but all of us have what it takes to handle our little corner of it." Ian's no-nonsense speaking method caught many in the audience by surprise, but he quickly won our group over as it was evident that he was speaking from the heart. In doing his background research on STMA, Ian said it caused him to realize that he had never really considered how important sports turf managers had been to him as a standout high school athlete, a college track coach, and now a parent with a young daughter playing sports. In honor of the sports turf managers that had touched his life, Ian said he wanted to now "pay it forward" and donated $1,000 to SAFE. He then challenged all of those in attendance that night to support SAFE by putting some cash into the hands of either Jeff Fowler or myself in honor of a mentor they wished to thank. For the remainder of the week, people from all areas of our industry approached me with cash and the name(s) of those they wished to recognize and thank. I wish now that we had had the foresight to record the names of all those honored (Ian caught us off guard with his challenge), but I hope that each of you that made a donation takes the chance to share your appreciation in person, if at all possible. SAFE received an additional $1,300 from Ian's challenge, and I am sure that they will gladly accept further donations if you are so inclined! Paying it forward does not always involve cash. Another way is to volunteer for STMA committee service. The Board realizes that our committees are responsible for doing the "heavy lifting" of the association. As President, it is my charge to appoint Committee Chairs and then make the first attempt (eventually finalized through our Executive Committee) at placing volunteers per their preferred committee and the necessity to ensure that a committee is appropriately represented by all categories of STMA membership. We are engaging our Student Membership subcommittee (chaired by Amy Fouty, CSFM) in 2013, with goals of better serving our students and increasing and sustaining their membership. We also have a new Sports Turf Curriculum task group committed to exploring how STMA can best deliver and administer the exciting new sports turf curriculum developed by our Education Manager, Kristen Althouse, as part of her Master's degree at The Pennsylvania State University. By way of Kristen's efforts, STMA has a comprehensive sports turf curriculum that is going to introduce a totally new audience to this profession, opening up possible career opportunities while also improving field safety and playability conditions. Thanks to all who continue to pay it forward. ■ O SportsTurf 7