Matt Duncan, CSFM, Central Farm & Garden Benefits of certification verified
Editor’s note: This is another installments on how becoming a Certified Sports Field Manager (CSFM) can benefit turf managers professionally as well as improve their facilities
How did you prepare for the CSFM Exam? Duncan: The first thing I did was call Pam Sherratt and Matt Williams at Ohio State and ask them for any study materials they had for their turf students. They were a huge help in the whole process. Along with that material, I read the textbook Sports Fields by Jim Puhalla cover to cover and looked over a few other books as well.
How did you approach your employer to support your certification, both financially and in the time needed to prepare for the exam?
Duncan: I sat down with my boss and explained what the certification was as well as why I wanted to pursue it and he was behind it the whole way. They paid for the exam, and also paid for the textbooks I needed to study for the exam.
Why did you decide to pursue certification? Duncan: It was something I set as a goal for myself as soon as I heard about it. I do not have a turf degree, just experience, and I wanted to take the test to see how well I could do.
How has certification helped your career? Duncan: It has helped show a level of professionalism right away at work. Now not only does my boss ask me about his yard, but the whole staff now asks questions! In the community it has helped a lot. Being on the board with Ohio STMA, I get a lot of calls anyway about help with fields. With the CSFM, it gives you that instant credibility. I feel that down the road in my career, the CSFM status will help me get a position that maybe I wouldn’t have been eligible for without a turf degree. ■
STMA Affiliated Chapters Contact Information
Sports Turf Managers Association of Arizona: Chris Walsh cwalsh@scottsdaleaz.gov
Colorado Sports Turf Managers Association: www.cstma.org.
Florida #1 Chapter (South): 305-235-5101 (Bruce Bates) or Tom Curran CTomSell@aol.com
Florida #2 Chapter (North): 850/580-4026, John Mascaro, john@turf-tec.com
Florida #3 Chapter (Central): 407-518-2347, Randy Fisher, rfisher@kissimmee.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:www.imstma.org.
Iowa Sports Turf Managers Association: www.iowaturfgrass.org.
Kentucky Sports Turf Managers Association: www.kystma.org. Keystone Athletic Field Managers Org. (KAFMO/STMA): www.kafmo.org.
Michigan Sports Turf Managers Association (MiSTMA):www.mistma.org.
Mid Atlantic Sports Turf Managers Association (MASTMA) (formerly the Chesapeake Chapter STMA) Ph. 410-704-2197 www.mastma.org
Minnesota Park and Sports Turf Managers Association: www.mpstma.org
MO-KAN Sports Turf Managers Association: www.mokanstma.com.
Nebraska Sports Turf Managers Association: 402/441-4425.
New England STMA (NESTMA):www.nestma.org.
Sports Field Managers Association of New Jersey: www.sfmanj.org. Sports Turf Managers of New York:www.stmony.org.
North Carolina Chapter of STMA: www.ncsportsturf.org. Northern California STMA: www.norcalstma.org.
Ohio Sports Turf Managers Association (OSTMA): www.ostma.org.
Oregon STMA Chapter: www.oregonsportsturfmanagers.org oregonstma@gmail.com
Ozarks STMA:www.ozarksstma.org.
Pacific Northwest Sports Turf Managers Associa- tion: www.pnwstma.org. Southern California Chapter:www.socalstma.com. South Carolina Chapter of STMA: www.scstma.org.
Tennessee Valley Sports Turf Managers Association (TVSTMA):www.tvstma.com.
Texas Sports Turf Managers Association: www.txstma.org
Virginia Sports Turf Managers Association: www.vstma.org.
Wisconsin Sports Turf Managers Association: www.wstma.org.
Chapter Sponsors www.stma.org SportsTurf 51
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