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/739563
FROM THE SIDELINES EPG Media & Specialty Information 10405 6th Ave. N., Ste 210 Plymouth, MN 55441 The Official Publication Of The Sports Turf Managers Association SALES REPRESENTATIVES Chris Pelikan Senior Account Manager - East Phone: (763) 383-4408 cpelikan@epgmediallc.com Peggy Tupper Senior Account Manager - Midwest Phone: (763) 383-4429 ptupper@epgmediallc.com Leslie Palmer Senior Account Manager - West Phone: (763) 383-4460 lpalmer@epgmediallc.com EDITORIAL Group Publisher: David Voll Editorial Director: Eric Schroder Technical Editor: Dr. Joey Young Art Director: Jean Blackmer Production Manager: Karen Kalinyak SUBSCRIPTION SERVICES Phone: (847) 513-6025 Fax: (763) 383-4497 customerservice@epgmediallc.com REPRINTS Robin Cooper rcooper@epgmediallc.com GROUP PUBLISHER David Voll dvoll@epgmediallc.com DIRECT MAIL LIST SALES MeritDirect, Jim Scova Phone: (914) 368-1012 jscova@MeritDirect.com 6 SportsTurf | November 2016 www.sportsturfonline.com Eric Schroder Editorial Director Eschroder@epgmediallc.com 763-383-4458 O n pages 16-21 of this issue are details of the education sessions that will be presented at the STMA Conference, which will be held January 24-27, 2017, at Disney's Coronado Springs Resort in Orlando. Over the years an occasional query has crossed my desk, asking for details on how STMA choses what presentations will be included in their Conferences. The STMA Conference Education Subcommittee makes these decisions and theirs is a difficult job; here's what Subcommittee Chair Dr. Beth Guertal, professor, Crop, Soil and Environmental Sciences department at Auburn University, emailed to us: "Selecting speakers is one of the toughest things we do as a committee. In general, we do not have poor submissions. Almost all of the topics are really good and interesting. People are selected over others because maybe they have a bit more experience than another proposed speaker, or perhaps they represent an area of the country that the committee feels is not well represented. "For example, this year we needed a speaker to talk about salinity and salt issues in water quality, and we did not have a proposal that covered that area. So the committee recommended some people and we went from there. We try our best to have a balanced conference of university speakers, sports field managers, and other industry experts. We watch this closely and adjust if we get too many people from one area. We also try to balance the topics, covering everything from agronomy to personal well being to employee management. Last, we try to balance the content, from pretty technical material (such as detailed weed control) to a more entertainment-style talk (such as day- to-day preparation for a concert). "In general I think a key is to write a topical and interesting proposal that will interest the selection committee. There is some art involved in writing an engaging proposal, as it should attracts the readers interest quickly. Sometimes the committee selects a topic that we did not even think was important, because the proposal sells the idea so well." Paul Hollis, executive vice president for Redexim North America and a Subcommittee member, wrote: "When we start the selection process I look at the programs from previous years usually going back two or three, and I look at research and articles that have been written throughout the last year. I then look at the speakers presented and try to choose topics relevant to what is currently hot in the industry. I think it is key to have fresh material especially as a draw for repeat attendees and I try to choose speakers from the industry that are in academia or leading turf managers." Current members of the Education Subcommittee are: Adrian Austin; Jim Brosnan, PhD; Steve Bush, CSFM, CFB; Jason Campbell; John Cogdill; Jeff Fowler; Paul Hollis; Bryan Hopkins, PhD; Stephen Lord, CSFM; Andrew McNitt, PhD; Troy McQuillen; Gregg Munshaw, PhD; Brad Park; Craig Potts, CSFM; Chris Ralston; David Schlotthauer; Chrissie Segars; John Sorochan, PhD; Matt Tobin; and Doug Vescio. How Conference ed sessions are chosen