STMA IN ACTION
46 SportsTurf | July 2015 www.sportsturfonline.com
News from the Sports Turf Managers Association
Sports Turf Managers
Association of
Arizona: www.azstma.org
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, j
ohn@turf-tec.com
Florida #3 Chapter (Central):
407-518-2347, Dale Croft,
ale.croft@ocps.net
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:
http://imstma.blogspot.com/
Indiana - Contact Clayton Dame,
Claytondame@hotmail.com or Brian
Bornino, bornino@purdue.edu or
Contact Joey Stevenson, jsteven-
son@indyindians.com
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.
Minnesota Park and Sports Turf
Managers Association:
www.mpstma.org
MO-KAN Sports Turf Managers
Association: www.mokanstma.com.
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.
Oklahoma Chapter STMA:
405-744-5729; Contact: Dr. Justin
Moss okstma@gmail.com
Oregon STMA Chapter:
www.oregonsportsturfmanagers.org
oregonstma@gmail.com
Ozarks STMA:
www.ozarksstma.org.
Pacific Northwest Sports Turf
Managers Association:
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.
STMA Affiliated Chapters Contact Information
Chapter Sponsors
football, soccer and baseball games. "The organization
that used the old facility reached out to MO-KAN for
guidance," says John Watt, CSFM, MO-KAN President.
"After hearing some of the stories about the childhoods
of these young athletes, our chapter knew what we
needed to do to put a smile on their faces." After several
years of work by MO-KAN, the facility is near comple-
tion. "Other groups helped financially, and the kids
have taken ownership of the fields and the facility with
great enthusiasm", says Watt. "Although this project was
a major undertaking that spanned several years, any
local chapter can improve their community by starting
on a smaller scale."
OUTREACH
STMA views each of its 33 local affiliated chapters as a
significant component of the association, not only for
local education and networking, but to carry the mes-
sage of safer fields. Bobby Behr, CSFM, STMA Chapter
Relations Chair views chapters as critical to reaching
non-technical audiences who are associated with
sports fields. "Local chapters have the opportunity to
convey information about why sports fields need to be
managed by a professional," says Behr. "They are in a
unique position to educate fans, employers and field
users about the safety benefits of employing a quali-
fied sports field manager."
IN THE BEGINNING
STMA's first official chapter, South Florida, also
known as Florida #1, was formed in 1988, just 7 years
after the national association began. The impetus for
developing the chapter was primarily for employment
opportunities.
According to John Mascaro, one of the founding
members of Florida #1, "The group in south Florida
really needed to identify a network of qualified sports
turf managers who could run the day-to-day field
operations at stadiums and other facilities. We also
needed help with purchasing products and equipment
for sports field maintenance and by forming the chap-
ter, we were better able to connect with commercial
members who could help," says Mascaro.
"The first president of South Florida was Ed Birch,
Broward County Schools," Mascaro reminisces. "As
with many chapters' leadership, he held that position
for quite a few years." The administrative aspects of
forming a chapter was challenging, Mascaro remem-
bers. "We formed as a for-profit corporation, initially.
We didn't know any better."
There were two organizations in Florida that
Mascaro recalls as being similar. "The Florida
Turfgrass Association and the Florida Golf Course
Superintendents Association were up and running,
