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/575944
www.stma.org October 2015 | SportsTurf 7 Allen Johnson, CSFM. johnsona@packers.com T his spring while traveling through LaGuardia Airport in New York, I set out with a peer of mine to get something to eat. A maze of technology stood between us and our ultimate goal. It was probably implemented to make things easier for us, more efficient, but more probable it was because of employee reduction. I swear it took an hour before we figured out what we were supposed to do, where to do it, and for a working, germ-filled touch screen to become avail- able, before we got our food. We probably would've completed the entire process in 15 minutes or less if we could have actually ordered from a human. I thought to myself, this is progress? I see the same thing over and over in our society. Anytime you call your insurance company, health care provider, or any other type of business, you'll have to learn the art of patience and skill to navigate the computer voice of options. Why does it speak so slowly? Every time I go to the grocery store there are fewer employees at the checkout aisles. There are self-check-out aisles and options to bag your own groceries. I don't know who wants to bag their own grocer- ies, but I don't. I have to clean my house, do the cooking, mow the grass, and the laundry. The last thing I want to do is bag my own groceries. I will actually wait in the only line that has a cashier and grocery bagger because I refuse to give in to the lack of investment in people. I don't see this as progress. I view it as a cost-cutting measure. I don't enjoy interacting with gadgets as much as I do people, and society is losing that ever-so- important feeling of human connection as we travel further down this road. This phenomenon also exists in our industry when administrators make their choices on how they will provide athletic surfaces for their communities. Those who choose to invest in a profes- sional sports turf manager and value and respect their knowledge will include the turf managers in conversations during the planning and construction phases. Those who use sports field architects and qualified sports field builders will reap the reward of having the best facilities to recruit their coveted athletes. Those who provide their sports turf manager with adequate resources for ongoing mainte- nance and listen to their ideas on how to maximize the fields' use without overdo- ing it, will be able to have those beautiful fields for years to come, and not just that first year after construction. Most of the substandard sports fields in this country are a direct result of the decision to devalue or cut out the exper- tise that a sports field manager, architect, and field builder possesses. There are so many examples in our society of what this approach gets us, and the results are clear. If you want the safest athletic fields you can possibly have, invest in a person first. Invest in a professional sports turf manager. ■ ST PRESIDENT'S MESSAGE PRESS "NONE" IF YOU WANT A POOR FIELD President: Allen Johnson, CSFM Immediate Past President: David Pinsonneault, CSFM, CPRP President-Elect: Jeff Salmond, CSFM Secretary/Treasurer: Timothy Van Loo, CSFM Vice-President Commercial: James Graff Professional Facilities: Dan Bergstrom Academic: Jeffrey Fowler Higher Education: Matt Anderson Parks & Recreation: Sarah Martin, CSFM K-12: Bobby Behr, CSFM Commercial: Doug Schattinger Elected-at-Large: Jimmy Simpson, CSFM Elected-at-Large: David Anderson 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 STMA Editorial Communications Committee Chairman: Sarah Martin, CSFM TJ Brewer, CSFM; Joe Churchill; Jim Cornelius, CSFM; Jeremy Driscoll; Cliff Driver, CSFM; Eric Fasbender, CSFM; Mark Frever, CSFM; Matt Hollan; Jamie Mehringer; Greg Petry; Jeff Salmond, CSFM; Troy Smith, CSFM; Scott Stevens; Dr. Joey Young SportsTurf (ISSN 1061-687X) (USPS 000-292) (Reg. U.S. Pat. & T.M. Off.) is published monthly by EPG Media & Specialty Information at 75 Pike Street, Port Jervis, NY 12271. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Sportsturf, PO Box 2123, Skokie, IL 60076-7823. 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 sub- scriptions are payable in advance in US funds. Send payments to Sportsturf, PO Box 2123, Skokie, IL 60076- 7823. Phone: (847) 763-9565. Fax: (847) 763-9569. Single copies or back issues, $8 each US/Canada; $12 Foreign. Periodicals postage paid at Port Jervis, NY and additional mailing offices. COPYRIGHT 2015, SportsTurf. Material may not be reproduced or photocopied in any form with- out the written permission of the publisher.