STMA Commercial members: plan now to enter your innovation
TWO YEARS AGO, STMA introduced a new awards program for commercial mem- bers: the STMA Award for Commercial In- novation. Three exhibitors were presented with the award in its first year and earlier this year, G2 TurfTools, Inc., received the Innovative Award in Long Beach. You should start thinking about what
products, services, and/or equipment your company can enter. Although the entry form just takes minutes to fill out elec- tronically, the judging panel seeks links to videos, photos, marketing brochures, or other promotional material to help them understand the innovation. The purpose of the award is to recog- nize those exhibiting commercial compa- nies that are introducing products, equipment or services that improve the profession—either by enhancing the effec- tiveness of the sports turf manager or making playing surfaces safer and more playable for athletes. In addition to being innovative, as de-
scribed above, and an exhibitor at the 2013 STMA conference, the product, serv-
ice or equipment being submitted must be introduced for sale between the close of the STMA show in January of this year through the close of the upcoming Day- tona Beach show. The winners also must agree to display the product submitted during the 2013 trade show. When creating the program, the origi-
nal task group asked, "What is innovative?" and then came up with a list of words de- scribing a winning product, piece of equipment or service. Since then, these terms have been refined through judging the past 2 years' worth of entries. What has been found is that winning products, services or pieces of equipment: • Are creative. • Are cutting edge. • Have never been seen. • Make the task easier or more produc-
tive.
• Improve quality. • Improve efficiency. • Protect the environment. • Save time and resources. According to the Chair, Dale Getz, CSFM,
CSE, "These qualities are descriptive, but this list is by no means comprehensive." Getz credits the original with developing a program that has dual benefits. "Those companies that are presented with the In- novative Award receive excellent recogni- tion and bragging rights, and STMA also benefits by being the award presenter and by being the venue where the innovation was introduced." The STMA Awards Committee judges the entries and will announce the 2013 winners at the annual trade show with an all-hall announcement and booth signage. Winners of the award may use the special STMA logo when promoting the winning innovation for as long as they wish. In ad- dition, STMA will promote the winners through press releases, magazine cover- age, and during the STMA Awards Ban- quet.
The application is due October 1 and is
available on the STMA website. For more information or to enter your companies' innovation, log on to www.STMA.org. ■
STMA Affiliated Chapters Contact Information
Featured Chapter: Georgia STMA - www.gstma.org gastma07@gmail.com The Georgia Chapter announces its Fall Field Day on Tues., Oct. 9, 2012 at Georgia Tech University. For information, contact David Presnell at david. presnell@gcssk12.net.
Sports Turf Managers Association of Arizona: Chris Walsh cwalsh@scottsdaleaz.gov
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, john@turf-tec.com
Florida #3 Chapter (Central): 407-518-2347, Scott Grace, scott@sundome.org
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 Man- agers Association: www.imstma.org.
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 As- sociation: www.mpstma.org
MO-KAN Sports Turf Managers Association: www.mokanstma.com.
Nebraska Sports Turf Managers Association: sphillips4@unlnotes.unl.edu
New England STMA (NESTMA): www.nestma.org.
Sports Field Managers Association of New Jer- sey: 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
Oregon STMA Chapter: www.oregonsportsturfmanagers.org oregonstma@gmail.com
Ozarks STMA: www.ozarksstma.org.
Pacific Northwest Sports Turf Managers Asso- ciation: www.pnwstma.org.
Southern California Chapter: www.socalstma.com.
South Carolina Chapter of STMA: www.scstma.org.
Tennessee Valley Sports Turf Managers Associ- ation (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.
Chapter Sponsors
