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November 2007
TURF RUNDOWN
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Fall management practices can affect the likelihood and the severity of gray snow mold. Click here for more information from the University of Missouri Extension Service.
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The 2-Minute Tip for Success
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It’s time to begin planning your trip to the Annual STMA Conference. How can you convince your employer to send you?
Continuing education and industry connections are crucial to your success and the success of your sports facility. Here are some suggestions to help your employer understand how your attendance at the Annual STMA Conference and Exhibition can add value to the overall operation of the facility. At the end of the article is a one page document you can present to your employer that outlines the costs and benefits of your attendance.
Educate yourself on the Conference and Exhibition
• Provide an overview of the size and scope of the Conference. It may be helpful to give your employer a copy of the brochure.
• Pinpoint specific sessions you plan to attend, and tie their relevance to your sports facility.
• Highlight the trade show hours you plan to attend.
• Cite the suppliers and equipment manufacturers you plan to meet.
• Discuss the networking opportunities you will have with peers who share challenges similar to the ones you have.
• Detail the CEUs you will receive toward recertification.
• Explain how innovations in products, new research, and cutting edge management techniques continually change, and why it is important to stay abreast of those changes.
• Reinforce how the success of your sports fields ultimately depends upon the continued professional development of you and your staff.
Know the Cost
• Make a case for efficient and effective use of your facility’s training dollars. By attending the STMA Conference and Exhibition, you will be exposed to the most relevant education and technology available in one place, making it the most effective use of training dollars.
• Show how the conference registration fee includes almost all your meals.
• Research airfares and drive times. Phoenix has very reasonable airfare costs from almost anywhere in the U.S. You may be able to beat the cost of airfare while spending a reasonable amount of time in the car.
• Consider sharing a hotel room with a peer to cut costs.
Have an Action Plan
• Develop a plan for how operations will continue in your absence. Make sure you are accessible by phone or by pager to address any concerns that might arise in your absence.
• Promise to prepare and present a report on the information you learned and how you plan to put it into practice at your facility.
• Demonstrate how you will share the technical information learned with your staff for their continuing educational development.
- Employer Conference Document.doc (doc, 40 KB)
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News You Can Use
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The STMA Nominating Committee presented the 2008 Slate of Candidates to the STMA Board of Directors at its Fall Board Meeting. Placed on the slate for election includes:
Officers
For President: Mike Andresen, CSFM
For President Elect: Abby McNeal, CSFM
For Immediate Past President: Mike Trigg, CSFM
For Vice-President Commercial: Dale Getz, CSFM, CSE
For Treasurer: Troy Smith, CSFM
For Secretary: Chris Calcaterra, M.Ed, CSFM, CPRP
Directors
For Academic Director: Mike Goatley, Ph.D. and John Sorochan, Ph.D.
For Higher Education Director: Steve Dugas, CSFM and Amy Fouty, CSFM
For Parks and Recreation Director: Kevin Meredith and David Pinsonneault, CSFM
The K-12 Director Jody Gill has one year left in his term. Two director positions will be appointed by the President per the Bylaws: a director for Facilities used by Professional Athletes, and a Commercial Director. These openings were created when directors Getz and Smith were slated as Officers. Each had one year left in their terms.
The Nominating Committee, chaired by Past President Mike Trigg, CSFM began its work in June. Members include Tom Burns, Bob Campbell, CSFM, Murray Cook, Bob Curry, Mary Owen, Jay Warnick, CSFM, and Steve Wightman.
Ballots will be mailed to voting members in late November and the candidates’ biographies will be found at www.STMA.org at that time. Winners will be announced at the STMA Annual Meeting, Jan. 17, 12:00 p.m. in Phoenix.
Recap of the October Board Meeting
The STMA Board of Directors met in Phoenix last weekend to conduct a final site visit prior to the upcoming annual conference, which is Jan. 15-19, 2008. In addition to touring the meeting rooms and exposition hall, the board approved the 2008 association budget and adopted the recommendations of the STMA Governance Task Group on changes to board service for 2009. President Andresen will present these modifications to the membership at the STMA Annual Meeting, which is held at the conference. Highlights of the modifications include shortening the officers’ terms to 1 year, expanding the board by two members, and combining the Secretary and the Treasurer position into one position, which will then be on track to become president. These changes will require Bylaws adjustments and the Bylaws Committee will begin work in early 2008. As with all Bylaws changes, a vote will be taken of the membership for approval.
In a continuing effort to strengthen board policies, President Andresen will also be appointing a task group to develop a Conflict of Interest policy that will be included in the Board Handbook, Committee SOP and reviewed during new board member orientation.
Go on-line and Renew Membership
STMA will be sending its annual renewal notices out to you to later this month. An easy and hassle-free way to renew your membership is on-line. Go to the members’ only section of www.STMA.org to renew your national and chapter memberships. If you need to present a purchase order, you can also print the form and fax or mail it to STMA headquarters.
Twice as Handy in 2008
STMA’s membership cards have been updated, improved and will be easy for you to find. You will receive two membership cards – the regular credit-card size for your wallet and a small key chain tag card, so that you will always have your STMA member number at your fingertips!
Who is Craig Karges?
It is difficult to categorize Craig Karges. What he is and what he does is often the topic of a huge debate when he walks off stage. He is funny and witty, but he is not a comedian. He uses magic in his performances but he is not a magician. Psychic happenings seemingly abound when he is on stage, but he says he is not a psychic. He is STMA’s Conference General Session kick-off speaker on Thursday, Jan. 17, at 8 a.m. at the Phoenix Convention Center.
He has appeared everywhere, from Hawaii to Egypt. Performance Magazine named Karges’ touring show one of the top five variety/family shows in the country and businesses such as IBM, McDonald's, General Motors and General Electric have relied upon Karges and his unique brand of showmanship to entertain their employees and clients and to motivate them. "Ordinary people are capable of extraordinary results because we all possess extraordinary capabilities. I communicate that message both verbally and visually," Karges says. Karges has also become known to millions of television viewers through his appearances on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno and Larry King Live as well as Lifetime Television, TNN, CNN Headline News, CNBC, United Paramount Network, E! Entertainment Television, The Fox News Channel and Wisdom Television. He has also starred in his own one hour television special - "Experience the Extraordinary!" Karges dramatizes the unknown, the unexplained and the unbelievable. You don't just watch this performance, you experience it.
The General Session featuring Karges is sponsored by World Class Athletic Surfaces. You will not want to miss his performance -- be prepared to be amazed!
‘Mounding’ excitement in the Expo Hall
STMA brings to the Exposition Hall an exciting demonstration – the building of a pitcher’s mound during its annual conference. Led by Chris Ralston, Lake Elsinore Storm Baseball, a full-size pitcher’s mound will be built during the trade show on Thurs., Jan. 17th. From 4 to 8:30 p.m., Chris and his team will be demonstrating the steps to building a perfect mound. Be sure to stop by the demonstration and watch its development from a flat concrete surface to a pitcher-perfect mound, ready for play. The completed mound will be on display during the trade show on Fri., Jan. 18, from 10 a.m. to 2:45 p.m. Stabilizer Solutions, headquartered in Phoenix, will be donating product to build the mound.
Phoenix has risen from one ‘big dig’!
For those who attended the 2005 conference in Phoenix, you will remember the big pit across the street from the Hyatt Regency Hotel and walking around the big pit to get to the usable portion of the convention center. That area has been completely renovated and now provides easy access to the STMA meeting rooms and the exposition hall. Simply walk through the new glass atrium directly across from the Hyatt, exit that building, turn right and in just a short walk you’ll be at the convention center building that houses the STMA conference educational sessions and exhibition hall. To make you feel right at home for that short stroll, you’ll be walking by the next phase of the ‘big dig!’ The expansion will increase the rentable space from 302,000 sq. ft. to 900,000 sq. ft. in a building complex that spans nearly 2 million sq. ft.!
‘Lessons Learned’ Publication Now Available!
The STMA Information Outreach Committee has completed a new bulletin, “Lessons Learned on Managing Synthetic Fields.” From gum and debris removal, to handling snow and baton twirlers, members share their successful practices on managing synthetic turf. To access the bulletin, click here. Be prepared to log in to the members-only side of STMA’s website.
STMA joins NTF
STMA Treasurer Chris Calcaterra, M.Ed., CSFM, CPRP, was appointed by President Mike Andresen, CSFM to represent the sports turf management profession on the National Turfgrass Federation board of directors. The NTFseeks funding for the National Turfgrass Research Initiative (NTRI), an industry-sponsored effort to initiate long-term, fundamental research within the USDA, ARS. For an overview of the NTF’s recent meeting in Washington, DC, click here.
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