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/409813
46 SportsTurf | November 2014 www.sportsturfonline.com STMA in Action News from the Sports Turf Managers Association for Wake Forest University in North Carolina for the past 4 ½ years, McNeal now is heading back to her old stomping grounds after accept- ing a job as assistant director of parks for the City of Denver. McNeal said she has enjoyed the past few years at Wake Forest due to there never being a dull moment. Dan Bergstrom, CSFM, an Iowa State University grad, is the senior director of major league field operations with the Houston Astros. He claims there are too many things to mention of what he likes most about working the past 11 years with Houston, but says working for Major League Baseball is a very special thing. Finding his love for the industry through the University of Florida ath- letic department and golf program and receiving his degree at Lake City Community College, John Pridgen has now gone on to be his own boss. Pridgen is the president and founder of Sportscape Services, Inc., special- izing in sports field design and construction supervision in Lacrosse, FL. The road to success Twenty years ago, the sports turf industry had not gained popularity of the masses, just yet. Much like today, the sports turf managers were a tight-knit group who liked to swap information, pick each other's brains and even share horror stories among themselves, just on a smaller scale. With the world as their oyster, the scholars shared with us their journey of how they got to where they are now. Starting from a young age, McNeal knew she liked working with plants and wanted an outside job. With the help of her college profes- sors, she was steered toward the turfgrass industry. After discovering she was not a big fan of golf, McNeal decided to take a swing at sports turf. McNeal found that internships and the SAFE scholarship helped confirm that sports turf was the right path. "I did internships in college that helped solidify this is what I wanted to do," says McNeal. "The [STMA] Conference helped solidify that I found my career." Straight out of college, Bergstrom's first job was with the NFL's Cleveland Browns. Beginning his career with the pros, Bergstrom had plenty of knowledge to transfer to his fellow comrades at his following jobs at the University of Kentucky and a baseball park in Lincoln, NE. Bergstrom is grateful to his previous jobs and opportunities for leading him to a position he has loved now for 11 years. "I've been really lucky," he notes. "I've had some very interesting jobs." For Pridgen, the love of the sports turf industry devel- oped through various jobs and internships working on athletic fields. In college, he was promoted to sports turf manager of the football field. After 12 years at that position, Pridgen started his own company and became his own boss. Pridgen's company has seen much success, and has been a part of four Super Bowls and two Quarter Back Challenges for the NFL. "We've had a lot of opportunities," says Pridgen. "[The company] started originally just doing painting, working with Disney and the NFL. As soon as we got connected to the NFL, we were flying to San Diego for the next Super Bowl to help with the NFL experience." No matter the path you choose in the sports turf industry, these pioneers claim that the sports turf community is one of the best to work in. Conference talk As some of the first students to ever attend the conference, these recipients discovered how many opportunities the STMA confer- ence has to offer. Seen as a highlight of receiving the scholarship, the opportunity to attend the national STMA Conference provides a huge educational advantage for students. In addition to a financial scholarship, each winner's conference registration is paid for and each receives travel reimbursement for their stay. When talking about the sports turf industry, nothing beats the camaraderie found at the STMA Conference. "I've attended every conference since 1996. It's like a family reunion," says McNeal. "I truly value and appreciate all the people I know and appreciate seeing them every year." STMA's Annual Conference & Exhibition allows members to net- work and share information with other successful members of the sports turf industry. The Conference attendees also participate in educational seminars and hands-on workshops and are able to tour professional, college and municipal athletic facilities. "The STMA Conference is a one stop shop for our industry," adds Bergstrom. "It's the best show in our industry. Anybody who wants to get into our business, this is the place to start." Scholarship Scholarships are awarded every year to students who have excelled in not only sports turf knowledge, but also within the classroom and among their peers and advisors. SAFE looks into such factors as aca- demic achievement, accumulative grade point average and experience within sports turf management when assessing applications. SAFE rec- ognizes that turf professors and mentors are the lead drivers of students toward our scholarship. "My turf professor at the time knew of STMA and heard of the scholarship program. [The professor] encouraged me to apply," says McNeal. "At the time, I didn't know what STMA was." Although STMA was just beginning to make its mark across the country twenty years ago, the recipients found that applying was well Abby McNeal, CSFM Dan Bergstrom, CSFM John Pridgen