SportsTurf

April 2012

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.

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STMA in action Collaboration advances STMA's strategic goals The Sports Turf Managers Association's strategic plan for 2012 through 2014 has a re- curring theme: collaboration. Each of its four distinct platforms: membership growth and re- tention, taking a leadership role in education, garnering recognition and respect for members and the profession, and creating value for our commercial partners, have relationship build- ing identified as a means to achieve these plat- forms. STMA is pleased to announce three new partnerships that align with its strategic plan and helps to ad- vance the association's goals. The Institute of Groundsman- ship (IOG), a 75-year-old associa- tion that serves the grounds care industry in the United Kingdom, and STMA signed a Memoran- dum of Cooperation. STMA Presi- dent James Michael Goatley, Jr., PhD and IOG Director of Profes- sional Services Ian Lacy, who stood in for IOG's Chief Executive Geoff Webb, signed this memorandum while at the STMA Annual Conference in Long Beach in January. The memorandum outlines a mutual commitment to be leaders in advancing the profession of sports field management by shar- ing information and working together on issues and opportunities of common interest. Goatley sees similarity in the two organiza- tions' visions. He says, "We both seek to be leaders in the profession and gain recognition for the excellent work of our respective mem- berships. As partners, we can be even stronger advocates and make a greater impact on the industry." The IOG has also officially become STMA's second International Affiliate Organization (IAO). To be recognized as such the IAO must be a business entity in its own country and oper- ate under bylaws and with a board of direc- tors/officers. The primary purpose of an IAO is to share information and education. STMA and the IOG will offer its education to the other's membership at member prices. STMA also in- cludes its certification program at member prices in this opportunity. Goatley believes that sharing information between the two countries on the different practices in field management will help advance the profession. "STMA mem- bers who attended our annual conference had the opportunity to hear Ian present some inno- vative drainage techniques that are being used of information available through PMN is excel- lent. It's applied and peer-reviewed informa- tion will really help our members in the practical aspects of sports field management." Sports turf managers have been using sound environmental practices long before pro- tecting the environment moved to the forefront of human consciousness. However, this stew- ardship goes largely unnoticed, and many out- side of the profession believe just the opposite. Rather than seeing sports turf managers as protectors of the environment, they see their work as poisoning the environ- ment. The STMA Environmental Committee is working to shift that perception. In addition to developing the environmental mission, vision, goals and guid- ing principles for STMA that were recently adopted by the STMA Board of Directors, it is recommending specific part- in the UK. Our members can take this informa- tion, apply it to their practices, and really im- prove the playing surfaces," Goatley says. STMA's first IAO is the Sports Turf Associa- tion in Canada. Supporting STMA's focus on education is its new partnership with the Plant Management Network (PMN). PMN is a nonprofit publisher of applied, online plant science resources for re- searchers and practitioners, including turf pro- fessionals. Key resources now available to STMA members through PMN include Applied Turf- grass Science, Plant Disease Management Re- ports, Arthropod Management Tests, the PMN Image Database, PMN's Plant Science Database, and PMN's Partner Extension Search. STMA members receive access to PMN as a benefit of belonging to the association, and there is no additional cost for this subscription. STMA Aca- demic Director Jeff Fowler sees PMN as an ex- ceptional tool for STMA members. "The quality nerships that support STMA's environmental stewardship philosophy. Green Sports Alliance One of those partnerships is with the Green Sports Alliance. STMA has become a Commu- nity Partner with the Green Sports Alliance (GSA), a non-profit organization with a mission to help sports teams, venues and the leagues enhance their environmental performance. As a Community Partner, STMA will participate in GSA's annual Green Sports Summit that will be in Seattle on September 5-7. This 3-day sum- mit is designed for leaders from the sports community. Attendees will be introduced to best practices around sustainability that also produce bottom line benefits. STMA members receive $50 off of registration fees by using the discount code: STMA. For more information, go to GSA summit website at http://www.green sportssummit.org/. ■ 2012 Regional Conference set for Cincinnati June 26-27 The 2012 Regional Conference, June 26-27 in Cincinnati, OH hosted by STMA with the support of several chapters including the host, Ohio, and Illinois, KAFMO (Pennsylvania), Ken- tucky, Michigan, Tennessee Valley, and Vir- ginia chapters, is a must attend educational event for anyone who deals with athletic turf. While focusing on sports turf managers, STMA encourages attendance by crew, coaches, parks and recreation professionals, athletic di- rectors, school business officials, and others, 42 SportsTurf | April 2012 and will be providing education for all levels of sports turf experience. Attendees will be treated to more than ten hours of education presented by nationally recognized sports turf researchers and aca- demics, as well as professional, college and high school sports turf managers from the re- gion and across the country. They will lend their expertise to presentations and panel dis- cussions on natural turfgrass, irrigation, small- engine repair, synthetics, weather, safety, pesticide management and managing bermudagrass. There will also be behind-the- scenes tours of Great American Ballpark and Paul Brown Stadium, home to the Reds and Bengals, respectively. There will be an exhibi- tion held at the Paul Brown Stadium on June 27 as well. Registration will include all education, en- trance to the exhibition and most meals. The group will also be taking in a night at the ball- park, watching the Reds take on the Milwau- www.sportsturfonline.com

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