STMA in action
New Advocacy Manual
created especially for sports turf managers
STMA CHAPTERS AND THEIR MEMBERS have
been asking for resources on how to address
potential regulations affecting sports field
management. In response, the association has
developed an in-depth 20-page Advocacy Manual that will help all managers deal with community and state governments, proactively and
reactively. This members-only resource takes a
down-to-earth, easy-to-understand approach to
identifying issues, creating relationships with
lawmakers, building coalitions, establishing
meeting protocols with lawmakers, communicating with the press, and much more.
The STMA Advocacy Manual was created as
a complete turnkey tool kit for those involved
in sports field management so they could hit
the ground running with these best practices
in-hand. As stated in the manual, advocacy is
"…any action taken to influence public policy. It can take many different forms, but the
end goal is always to persuade lawmakers to
take actions that are beneficial to your group
or organization. Letter writing, phone calls, inperson visits, media relations, public awareness
campaigns, giving public testimony, conducting
and sharing research, and lobbying are all
forms of political advocacy."
All well and good, but many people try to
persuade lawmakers with little success…how
does this resource differ from those that have
come before it? According to the manual, the
key to successful advocacy is "…the ability to
effectively communicate with lawmakers,
and to be seen by lawmakers as a trustworthy
source of credible information. After all, who
knows more about your industry than you and
your colleagues in the Sports Turf Managers Association?"
Some sample sections of the manual include:
• "Identifying Advocacy Priorities"
• Communicating with Lawmakers – Phone
calls, letters and emails
• Communicating with Lawmakers – Meetings
• Anatomy of a Lawmaker Meeting
• Communicating with Lawmakers – More
ways to build relationships
• Working with Alliances and Coalitions
• Communicating with the Media
• Social Media and Advocacy
• Hiring a Lobbyist
The STMA Advocacy Manual can be found in
the "Knowledge Center" (Members Only) under
the "Environmental Stewardship" tab.
STMA has also produced a comprehensive
list of Environmental Regulations that Affect Sports Fields (in the Members Only
"Knowledge Center" section under the "Environmental Stewardship" tab) to help sports
field managers stay in compliance with their
state's requirements. The document includes
state/federal laws and regulations covering
pesticide and fertilizer licensing/certification,
pesticide and fertilizer use, school IPM, integrated pest management, and water use and
quality topics. These specific areas were researched and included for their applicability
to the management of sports fields.-Shant S.
Thomas, STMA Sales & Marketing Manager
and STMA staff n
STMA Affiliated Chapters Contact Information
Sports Turf Managers Association of
Arizona: www.azstma.org
Kentucky Sports Turf Managers Association:
www.kystma.org.
Oregon STMA Chapter:
www.oregonsportsturfmanagers.org
oregonstma@gmail.com
Colorado Sports Turf Managers Association:
www.cstma.org
Keystone Athletic Field Managers Org.
(KAFMO/STMA): www.kafmo.org.
Ozarks STMA: www.ozarksstma.org.
Florida #1 Chapter (South):
305-235-5101 (Bruce Bates) or Tom Curran
CTomSell@aol.com
Michigan Sports Turf Managers Association
(MiSTMA): www.mistma.org.
Pacific Northwest Sports Turf Managers
Association: www.pnwstma.org.
Minnesota Park and Sports Turf Managers
Association: www.mpstma.org
Southern California Chapter:
www.socalstma.com.
MO-KAN Sports Turf Managers Association:
www.mokanstma.com.
South Carolina Chapter of STMA: www.scstma.org.
Nebraska Sports Turf Managers Association:
sphillips4@unlnotes.unl.edu
Tennessee Valley Sports Turf Managers Association (TVSTMA): www.tvstma.com.
New England STMA (NESTMA):
www.nestma.org.
Texas Sports Turf Managers Association:
www.txstma.org
Sports Field Managers Association
of New Jersey: www.sfmanj.org.
Virginia Sports Turf Managers Association:
www.vstma.org.
Sports Turf Managers of New York:
www.stmony.org.
Wisconsin Sports Turf Managers
Association: www.wstma.org.
Florida #2 Chapter (North): 850-580-4026,
John Mascaro, john@turf-tec.com
Florida #3 Chapter (Central): 407-518-2347,
Scott Grace, scott@sundome.org
Gateway Chapter Sports Turf Managers
Association: www.gatewaystma.org.
Georgia Sports Turf Managers Association:
www.gstma.org.
Greater L.A. Basin Chapter of the Sports
Turf Managers Association:
www.stmalabasin.com.
Illinois Chapter STMA: www.ILSTMA.org.
Intermountain Chapter of the Sports Turf
Managers Association:
http://imstma.blogspot.com/
North Carolina Chapter of STMA:
www.ncsportsturf.org.
Chapter Sponsors
Northern California STMA:
www.norcalstma.org.
Indiana -FORMING - Contact Clayton Dame,
Claytondame@hotmail.com or Brian Bornino,
bornino@purdue.edu
Ohio Sports Turf Managers Association
(OSTMA): www.ostma.org.
Iowa Sports Turf Managers Association:
www.iowaturfgrass.org.
Oklahoma Chapter STMA: 405-744-5729;
Contact: Dr. Justin Moss okstma@gmail.com
42 SportsTurf | May 2013
www.sportsturfonline.com
