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
From the Sidelines Eric Schroder Editorial Director eschroder@specialtyim.com 717-805-4197 SportsTurf 1030 W. Higgins Road Suite 230 Park Ridge, IL 60068 Phone 847-720-5600 Fax 847-720-5601 The Official Publication Of The Sports Turf Managers Association @twits #whocares* I am a late adapter to new technology. I didn't buy a cell phone until my wife was well into her first pregnancy. I realized how bad I'd look if there was a problem and I, most likely three-putting a green at the time, was unreachable. And I recall brushing off texting early on: what a waste of time, I thought; why not just make the call? Most recently I have been shaking my head at friends who constantly have their devices in hand, checking an updated score or searching for the nearest men's room. But just as the cell phone itself quickly became invaluable, of course I now text, especially with my kids. No more waiting for the bus; a quick message from my daughter tells me she is close and I arrive at the bottom of the hill just as the bus pulls up. High school football game a blowout at the start of 4th quarter? Text the teenagers to meet me at the car (they hate that because the game is really a reason to socialize). Not to mention how exchanging texts with the wife can ease the communication process—information only, no emotion! So far I have survived without a smart phone and data plan; call me the omega man. Working from a home office with limited road time, I can get away with it. Besides, the oldest kid has an iPhone so I can always ask him to find something out if necessary (and yes, he paid half the cost of the phone and shells out monthly for the data plan so thanks for not going there on my parenting). Enter Twitter. When it was introduced I ignored it as a fad. What important can you say in 140 characters? A lot, allegedly, as now everyone from presidents to rappers compete to see who can attract more followers. I had two questions when a previous boss requested that I sign up for an account so I could tweet on sports turf issues. If you don't have followers, who sees your tweets? And aren't sports turf managers busy folks who shouldn't be bothered with more digital noise deemed important by just me? But again I've come around albeit late to the game. Here are some tweets you might have seen from me if I'd bothered to post them: • "Txting while driving sure is risk—ah, I just rear-ended a guy! #whatadumba**!" • "Viagra commercials funny. Guy can start a fire with sand and corkscrew but can't . . . #nowonder mydaughterwon'twatchfootball" • "Cell phone use on planes! Say it ain't so! #ratherbepokedinfacewithsharpstick" • "2 million pickup trucks sold in US this year mostly to haul groceries. #urnotjohnwayne" • "Read novel titled 'Schroder' w/ protagonist named Eric Schroder. Character was an idiot" • "@college basketball coaches. Sit down and let 'em play! #yourfancysuitisempty" • "Dads talking cooking. 'roasted carrots & beets w/ sheep's milk feta blah blah.' #makesmewannabarf" So yeah, I'm tweeting now; please follow me, as well as Green Media editors John Kmitta and Steve Noe, on Twitter's @GreenMediaMags for news of interest to those in the Green Industry. *The views expressed in this column are entirely those of the author and have no connection to the STMA, Green Media or the author's spouse. n 6 SportsTurf | January 2014 President: James Michael Goatley, Ph.D. Immediate Past President: Troy Smith, CSFM President-Elect: David Pinsonneault, CSFM, CPRP Secretary/Treasurer: Allen Johnson, CSFM Vice-President Commercial: Rene Asprion Professional Facilities: Phil McQuade Academic: Jeff Fowler Parks & Recreation: Debbie Kneeshaw Higher Education: Jeff Salmond, CSFM K-12: Andrew Gossel Commercial: James Graff At Large: Mike Tarantino, CSFM At Large: Tim VanLoo, CSFM Chief Executive Officer Kim Heck STMA OFFICE 805 New Hampshire Suite E Lawrence, Ks 66044 Phone 800-323-3875 Fax 800-366-0391 Email STMAinfo@STMA.org www.STMA.org EDITORIAL Group publisher: Jeff Patterson Editorial Director: Eric Schroder Technical Editor: Dr. James Brosnan Art Director: Brian Snook Production Manager: Karen Kalinyak Stma Editorial Communications Committee Phil McQuade, Brad Park, Jim Cornelius, CSFM, Jason Henderson, PhD, Gwen Stahnke, Cale Bigelow, PhD, Jamie Mehringer, David Schwandt, Mark Frever, CSFM, Joey Fitzgerald SportsTurf (ISSN 1061-687X) (USPS 000-292) (Reg. U.S. Pat. & T.M. Off.) is published monthly by Specialty Information Media at 1030 W. Higgins Road, Suite 230, Park Ridge, IL 60068. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Sportsturf, PO Box 4290, Port Jervis, NY 12771. For subscription information and requests, call Subscription Services at (845) 856-2229. Subscription rates: 1 year, $40 US & Poss.; 2 years, $65 US & Poss.; 1 year, $65 Canada/Foreign Surface, 1 year, $130 Airmail. All subscriptions are payable in advance in US funds. Send payments to Sportsturf, PO Box 4290, Port Jervis, NY 12771. Phone: (845) 856-2229. Fax: (845) 856-5822. Single copies or back issues, $8 each US/Canada; $12 Foreign. Periodicals postage paid at Park Ridge, IL and additional mailing offices. COPYRIGHT 2014, SportsTurf. Material may not be reproduced or photocopied in any form without the written permission of the publisher. www.sportsturfonline.com