STMA engages public relations firm
AT ITS FALL MEETING, the STMA Board of Directors approved the hiring of Buffalo Communications to help gain recognition for
members and the profession. Buffalo is
headquartered outside Washington, DC, and
has offices in New York, Boston, Miami, Minneapolis, Pinehurst (NC) and Phoenix.
Buffalo presented to the Board a proposal
and scope of work to help grow STMA's membership and overall influence through a comprehensive publicity and media relations
program. The Board met with Buffalo in
early November and, within 2 days, they had
lined up a television interview and articles in
four print publications, such as the Denver
Post and Stadia magazine.
A division of Billy Casper Golf, Buffalo
Communications has a client base of top golf,
sport and lifestyle brands. Some of these include World Golf Foundation, LPGA Tour, Fila
and ECCO Sport.
"Buffalo's deep connections in the sports
industry played a role in our Board's selec-
tion of them," says STMA President James
Michael Goatley, PhD.
One of Buffalo's main charges is to elevate
the perception of the work of the individual
member with their employers.
"Our members tell us that their employers
often don't understand the complexity, technical knowledge and expertise that is needed
to manage sports fields," says Goatley. "Buffalo will help educate these employers by
getting media attention for sports turf managers at all levels, particularly for our schools
and parks members," Goatley says.
Rich Katz, Managing Director of Buffalo is
impressed with STMA's membership.
"STMA is a tightly-knit and highly-engaged
organization of talented professionals who
consistently employ best practices in the art
and science of sports field management,"
says Katz. "We have a unique opportunity to
tell countless stories, nationally and locally,
about STMA members."
Although Buffalo's role will primarily
focus on proactively reaching out to the
media, they will also help STMA when it is
necessary to react to a field situation.
"We know that Buffalo will be a great resource to help us to more quickly and efficiently respond on behalf of our
membership regarding crises and unforeseen
problems that arise on sports fields," says
Goatley.
Buffalo will be attending STMA's national
conference to interact with members and to
gather story ideas. They will present their
strategies during the STMA Annual Meeting,
Thursday, January 23, at noon. STMA will be
regularly reporting on this campaign's
progress in SportsTurf and News Online. For
24/7 access to information, check STMA's
Media Tab at STMA.org.n
STMA Affiliated Chapters Contact Information
Sports Turf Managers Association of
Arizona: www.azstma.org
Iowa Sports Turf Managers Association:
www.iowaturfgrass.org.
Oklahoma Chapter STMA: 405-744-5729;
Contact: Dr. Justin Moss okstma@gmail.com
Colorado Sports Turf Managers Association:
www.cstma.org
Kentucky Sports Turf Managers Association:
www.kystma.org.
Oregon STMA Chapter:
www.oregonsportsturfmanagers.org
oregonstma@gmail.com
Florida #1 Chapter (South):
305-235-5101 (Bruce Bates) or Tom Curran
CTomSell@aol.com
Keystone Athletic Field Managers Org.
(KAFMO/STMA): www.kafmo.org.
Ozarks STMA: www.ozarksstma.org.
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/
Indiana - FORMING - Contact Clayton Dame,
Claytondame@hotmail.com or Brian Bornino,
bornino@purdue.edu or Contact Joey Stevenson,
jstevenson@indyindians.com
North Carolina Chapter of STMA:
www.ncsportsturf.org.
Chapter Sponsors
Northern California STMA:
www.norcalstma.org.
Ohio Sports Turf Managers Association
(OSTMA): www.ostma.org.
www.stma.org
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