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/232221
STMA in action Committee service is calling you! "Committees are the workhorses of STMA, says CEO Kim Heck. "They make our job at headquarters so enjoyable and so much more effective." STMA is considered a small-staff association in the world of associations, but it has something that many of the large associations do not: a strong culture of Committee Volunteerism. Committees have helped advance the work of STMA by providing insight and resources for current programs and ideas for future services. The nearly 200 volunteers who participate annually are provided various tasks short and longer-term—to help STMA achieve its strategic plan. The President of STMA annually appoints each committee chair, and all of STMA's membership is invited to volunteer. Consider yourself invited! To help streamline the process of volunteering, STMA has moved it online, at www.STMA.org, where members are asked to select one committee on which they are interested in volunteering. Our incoming President Pinsonneault asks for some flexibility and consideration from the membership to place volunteers where there is a need, if a particular committee is full. It is his intention to place all volunteers on a committee for the 2014 committee year, which begins March 1. Available Committees, their purposes and the estimated time volunteers will spend is noted below. All committees meet primarily via conference call, as necessary. • Awards: To judge the association's awards program applicants selecting the Field of the Year winners and the Minor League Baseball Sports Turf Manager of the Year; to develop strategies to enhance the programs (approx. 12 hours mid-Oct. to mid-Nov.). • Bylaws: To develop association bylaws, which are fair and enforceable, and clearly define the expectations for membership, governance processes and board of directors' service (approx. 3 hours per year). • Certification: To develop strategies to grow the number of certified members; to consistently monitor the program and recommend enhancements to ensure that the program is the top achievement for sports 42 SportsTurf | January 2014 turf managers (approx. 12 hours per year; also asked to volunteer to grade Student Challenge exams during the conference). • Chapter Relations: To create a chapter structure that is beneficial locally and nationally; to financially assist chapters with their administrative, operations and educational efforts; to facilitate the sharing of best practices (approx. 6 hours a year). • Conference: (Conference Education, Exhibition, and Tours subcommittees) To develop all content, sessions, workshops and off-site venues, and select speakers and moderators for the next year's conference that will make it a "must attend" event for members and nonmembers; to recommend strategies that will drive attendance to the exhibition and will add value to exhibitors. (Education, approx. 12 hours over 2 months; Exhibition, approx. 4 hours per year; Tours, approx. 6 hours per year.) • Commercial Membership: To recommend specific strategies to grow commercial membership and to develop benefits and value for our commercial members (approx. 4 hours per year). • Editorial: To insure that the STMA magazine contains information relevant to the sports turf manager; to provide ideas and contacts for articles for publication (approx. 4 hours per year). • Environmental: To develop environmental strategies that position STMA and its members as leaders in environmental stewardship and the related health and safety issues that impact fans and players (approx. 15 hours per year). • Ethics: To provide a fair and unbiased council to investigate claims of ethics violations, determine if the claim has merit, and shepherd the appeals process. This Committee is called into operation only if there is an ethics violation claim (approx. 15 hours, if engaged). • Finance & Audit: To provide oversight of the STMA's financial resources by reporting information to the Board of Directors (approx. 6 hours per year). • Historical: To preserve the history of the association and the profession (approx. 24 hours per year). • Information Outreach: To develop educational and informational opportunities for members to enhance their personal and professional development (approx. 12 hours per year). • International: To position STMA as a global leader in sports facility management and make STMA the "go-to" resource for those who work internationally in the industry (approx. 8 hours per year). • Membership: To develop initiatives to drive membership growth and retention; to recommend programs that add value for each member (approx. 8 hours per year). • Nominating: The Immediate Past President chairs this committee and selects its members. It must have representation from each category of membership (not available for general committee sign-up). • Past President's Advisory Council: Purpose: To advise the STMA Board on issues pertaining to the past, present and future of STMA (limited to STMA Past Presidents) • Scholarship: To judge the recipients of the SAFE Scholarships, the Terry Mellor Educational Grant and the Gary Vandenburg Internship Grant; to develop strategies to enhance these programs (approx. 12 hours over 1 month, mid-Oct. to mid-Nov.). • Student Challenge: To develop the annual student challenge exam questions, answer key, and protocols; assist in proctoring the exam as needed (approx. 8 hours per year and volunteering at the conference). • Student Membership: To recommend specific strategies to grow student membership; to provide students with appropriate resources and services as they move to their first job post-college (approx. 6 hours per year). Technical Standards: To help determine standards and best management practices needed in the profession and to guide the work of the ASTM on developing sports field and facility standards (approx. 4 hours per year). • Turfgrass Curriculum Task Group: To develop and implement strategies to best utilize the STMA turfgrass curriculum (approx. 12 hours per year). • Website: To insure that the STMA website contains information relevant to mem- www.sportsturfonline.com