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/484138
www.stma.org April 2015 | SportsTurf 7 Allen Johnson, CSFM. johnsona@packers.com Direct Mail List Sales MeritDirect, Jim Scova Phone: (914) 368-1012 jscova@MeritDirect.com Subscription Services Phone: (847) 763-9565 Fax: (847) 763-9569 Reprints Robin Cooper rcooper@specialtyim.com Group Publisher David Voll dvoll@epgmediallc.com Account Representatives: Chris Pelikan Senior Account Manager - East Phone: (954) 964-8676 cpelikan@epgmediallc.com Peggy Tupper Senior Account Manager - Mid-West Phone: (763) 383-4429 ptupper@epgmediallc.com Leslie Palmer Senior Account Manager - West Phone: (248) 731-7596 lpalmer@specialtyim.com Publisher's Notice: We Assume No Responsibility For The Validity Of Claims In Connection With Items Appearing In Sportsturf. Reader Service Numbers Are Given To Facilitate Further Inquiry. Mention Of A Commercial Product Does Not Imply Endorsement By Sportsturf Or EPG Media & Specialty Information, Or Preference Over Similar Products Not Mentioned. I often get asked by people what it is about my job that I like. I like what I do because I feel like I have a hand in creating something. I enjoy the anticipa- tion of spring and the challenge of trying to transform a worn-out playing surface into one that makes people awestruck. I love working with nature. It's still exciting to watch the young seedlings sprout from the ground and week-by-week slowly fill in. It has taught me patience. It feels so satisfy- ing each fall when the fields are ready for the season, and you can easily remember how barren they looked just a few months ago. I guess you can say that I like what I do because I can visually see the results of our turf crew's efforts. It feels good to know that you've made an impact. I must admit that when I first started in this industry I didn't feel that way, and I think I know why. My father always had so much pride in being a farmer. He said that we had the most important job in the world. He used to say that if it wasn't for us, what would all the people living in the city eat? Boy, did that ever make me feel important. Whether or not he knew it, he sure made me proud of what we were doing. There were times that I remember being alone on a tractor tilling the fields and very much wanting to be done, but thinking if we don't get these crops planted someone was going to starve. Looking back, it's funny to realize that it might've been us starving rather than the folks living in the city. And so as I entered the workforce as a young adult, I was searching for some- thing that gave me that same feeling of importance. At first I didn't see it, but now I do, and I hope that wherever you are maintaining athletic fields that you do, too. Athletic fields are woven into the fabric of our society. You would be hard pressed to find someone who hasn't had some type of interaction with them— whether as an athlete, a parent, or a fan. You have either run, walked, slid, or fallen on an athletic field, or you cheered for someone who has. We maintain the world's playgrounds. We help create hap- piness. What we do is important. In today's urban environment an athletic field may be the only place that children get much exercise, and falling on a natural grass field may sadly be one of their only interactions with nature. What we do as sports field managers is important. We should be proud of what we do and should know that we not only have an impact on the condition of the fields we maintain, but also have an impact on something much greater than that. This spring let's all give our best efforts in making an impact. ■ ST PRESIDENT'S MESSagE MAke AN iMPACT oN youR CoMMuNiTy