thank a job well txstma - nebula.wsimg.com
TRANSCRIPT
Texas Sports Turf
Managers
Association
Txstma.org
Spring 2016 Providing education and training for safer and healthier sports turf facilities
A Job
Well
Done!
Thank
you Rusty
Walker
for your
service to
the
TXSTMA 2016 President Kevin Lebanik ® presents 2014-2015 President Rusty Walker CSFM a plaque of
appreciation for his years of service to the TXSTMA at the 2015 Annual Meeting.
Growing in 2016 Well I guess it’s safe to say that winter skipped Texas this year, except for one little blizzard in the West. Now that the flowers are blooming and the oh so nice greenish tint is covering the sports fields it is time for us to get 2016 growing. What do we need to make 2016 a year of growth? We know what we need for our turf to grow right? What do we need for US to grow?? The Philosopher/Rapper Tupac Shakur once said ““I want to grow. I want to be better. You Grow. We all grow. We're made to grow. You ei-ther evolve or you disappear.” This may be the first and probably last
time I quote Tupac. However, he has a point. We as professionals spend thousands of hours a year growing turf, growing flowers, growing first impressions of our facilities. How much time do we spend growing ourselves? 8 hrs. a year for the state required CEU’s? 4hrs a year for the HR man-dated management training? My dad, the teacher, would always quote Ben Franklin “We are all born ignorant, but one must work hard to remain stupid. Now, he was never calling anyone stupid. Just that we have to always seek knowledge by challenging our minds…growth. I travel all over the US looking at turfgrass, looking at flowers, shrubs, nature. Texas, hands down has some of the best sports facilities in the country. These facilities are meticulously managed by some of the best staff in the country. The TXSTMA has the challenge of growth as well. Not to grow membership but to grow opportunities for YOU. Opportunities for you to gain knowledge. Op-portunities for you to grow your network of others just like you. Others facing the same challenges you face every day. Others have experienced success at a project you have just been handed. This year the TXSTMA has field days scheduled throughout the state. We will have opportunities for you to grow at field days at professional baseball facilities in Houston and Austin. At Universities in all 3 regions, and West Texas. We have partnered with the leading Turgrass Ph.D. professors and Industry leaders to give you access to industry leading research and networking. Most important to your growth in 2016, we want you to gain knowledge from your peers! Ask the ISD in Dallas how he “did it”, and take these ideas back to Houston. See how the Astros do it and try and build that tool at your fields in Lubbock. Here is a thought from John Maxwell. “Make a point to continually search for a better way of doing things, even when things are going well, to ensure that a better alternative has not been overlooked and to keep your creative talents in practice.” Please let me know if there is anything I can ever help with in your year of growth! Sincerely Kevin Lebanik 817-659-9111 cell
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2015 Three-Star Sponsors
Thank you to our 2015 Star Sponsors. Your generous support is
greatly appreciated. 2016 Sponsorships are now available
CLICK HERE FOR 2016 SPONSOR PROGRAM
2015 Two-Star Sponsors
2016 Event Schedule to be Announced Soon!
Check your email and watch txstma.org for announcements for events in
all three regions. In 2016 we are planning to visit each of the three re-
gions in the Spring and Fall. We will also participate in the Texas Tech and
Texas A&M Field Days as well as the Texas Turfgrass Conference. We are
also planning to host our very popular Scholarship Fundraiser Clay
Shoots. It is going to be an exciting year!
Click Logos to Visit
Company Website
The Leo Goertz Student Internship Grant was designed to honor Leo Goertz’s legacy of serving as a mentor to
countless students by providing hands-on learning experiences in the sports turf industry. This grant will be awarded
to a student enrolled in an accredited college or university who is performing an internship under the guidance of a
sports field manager at a professional, collegiate, or recreational athletic facility. This award is intended to help stu-
dents with moving and/or living expenses associated with performing an internship and to make this experience
more accessible to students interested in sports turf management.
Details of this grant as are as follows
This grant is open to students interested in working in sports turf management and does not depend on them
being enrolled in a turfgrass management program.
This grant is open to students attending a college or university in Texas, or to students attending a college or
university outside of Texas but performing their internship in Texas.
Applications for this grant are due on May 1st during the year the student is performing the internship.
CLICK HERE FOR PDF VERSION OF APPLICATION
VISIT TXSTMA.org TO DOWNLOAD A WORD DOC VERSION OF THE APPLICATION
Click
Are You Connected with TXSTMA? We hope you are enjoying all of the new communication vehicles we are using to
reach our members! Please make sure your email address is current so you don’t
miss out.
Let us know at
You can also
“Like” us on
Facebook and “Follow” us on Twitter!
Thanks to Dr. Joey
Young of Texas Tech
University for writing
a heartfelt tribute to
Leo Goertz in the
STMA publication
SPORTSTURF
March Edition
You can view the
article HERE
The article starts
on page 30
TXSTMA lost Dr. Jim
McAfee (L) and Leo
Goertz (R) in 2015
@TXSTM
Click
Click
The TXSTMA held its 2015 Annual
Meeting at the Texas Turfgrass
Conference in San Antonio. 2014 -
2015 President Rusty Walker cov-
ered a very successful year with a
review of the Field Day events,
membership growth and associa-
tion finances. Rusty also took a
moment to remember Leo Goertz.
At the meeting, the membership
approved Bylaw and Financial Pol-
icy proposals that will go in to ef-
fect in 2016. The membership also
approved the 2016 slate of officer
and director candidates. Kevin
Lebanik was elected President
and presented Rusty Walker with
a plaque of appreciation for his
many years of service to the
TXSTMA.
Special thanks to all who attended
and participated in this important
meeting. Also, a big thank you to
our 2015 Annual Meeting Lunch
Sponsors. They made it a great
day. See you all in 2016!
The TXSTMA ap-proved revisions to the official bylaws and adopted a new Financial Policy at the 2015 Annual Meet-ing. The changes to the bylaws were recommended by the TXSTMA Board of Directors in order to clarify some questions that have arisen in the past. The STMA has also reviewed the document and offered recommend-ed changes. Attached to the links below are the approved bylaw changes as well as a Proposed Finance Policy. Please take the time to review these documents and contact the TXSTMA office or any Director if you have any
questions or comments.
Approved Proposals:
2015 Bylaw Recommendations
2015 Finance Policy Proposal
PASSED Thank You
to our 2015
Annual Meeting
Lunch Sponsors!
Click-
Logos
The TXSTMA Board of Directors is very excited
to introduce the 2016 Advertising and Sponsor-
ship program that will provide you with terrific op-
portunities to reach your customers. This pro-
gram was initiated in 2015 to utilize new commu-
nication avenues that were successfully created
and utilized during the year. These new communication avenues include:
Email Newsletter - “Scoreboard”
Email Blast Communications – Job Announcements and “Quick Hits”
We also made significant improvements to existing avenues that will enhance advertising value. These in-
clude:
Updated and improved website – home page advertising
New look newsletter – “Sidelines” – expanded content, fresh design
Event recognition – banner, table
signs, announcements
Our goal is to preserve the advertising
and sponsorship opportunities that you
have supported and utilized in the past.
Many of you already support the asso-
ciation through your newsletter adver-
tising and event sponsorships and we
want to continue these successful op-
portunities in 2016.
The sponsorship opportunities that will
remain in place for 2016 are included in
the chart on this page.
MENU – 2016 Advertising and Sponsorships
Newsletter Advertising - 4 issues (price is per issue)
Full Page Ad $ 500
Half Page Ad $ 250
Quarter Page Ad $ 200
Business Card Ad $ 150
Field Day Sponsorship - 3 Events (price is per event)
Gold Sponsorship $ 500
Silver Sponsorship $ 250
Bronze Sponsorship $ 100
Lunch Sponsorship $ 200
Clay Shoot Sponsorship - 3 Events (price is per event)
Gold Sponsorship $ 1,000
Silver Sponsorship $ 750
Bronze Sponsorship $ 400
Lunch Sponsorship $ 200
Annual Meeting Lunch Sponsorship held at TTA Conference
$ 200
Click here to
view 2016
Sponsor
Program and to
reserve your
spot today!
Not your average backyard!
Dr. John Sorochan, Distinguished Professor of Turfgrass Science at University of Tennessee, Knoxville, crafted this natural grass playing surface for his son's birthday party.
@Aggieturf
Casey Reynolds
1st official copy of
2016 Texas
Turfgrass Pest
Control Guide! 121
pages of control
recommendations,
available in April!
Follow STMA #TURFTIPS on Twitter and Facebook
Grass is a big deal in football – a really big deal. Nearly every day of the week, untold millions of
people watch players step out onto lush, green fields painted with white.
All aspects of the game are tough. Even growing and maintaining a real turfgrass field has its
challenges, like freezing temperatures, rain, and damage from tackles and foot traffic. So what
type of grass can hold up to all that? Turfgrass breeders throughout the land-grant university co-
operative extension system, as well as USDA researchers from Agricultural Research Service, are
working to answer that question. USDA’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) sup-
ports their research with Hatch Act funding.
The USGA has cooperated with the USDA and land-grant universities developing turfgrass varie-
ties for the golf course since 1921. Many of the improved cultivars used for fairways are often
adapted to football fields. Many of these USGA supported projects have received multi-million dol-
lar grants from NIFA to develop and improve turfgrass varieties.
At the game’s highest level, 17 of 32 National Football League (NFL) teams play on real grass in-
stead of synthetic materials. Just like golf courses, those teams employ a turf or field manager to
grow, improve, and maintain their turfgrass.
The first two priorities for a turf manager are to make the field safe and playable. The NFL has
tight standards for a field’s ability to absorb shock and tests the fields before every game. Any-
thing too hard or soft is dangerous for players and can increase the frequency and seriousness of
injury.
United States Golf Association
Turfgrasses Playing Big Role in Safety of NFL Fields
Turfgrass developed with the support of the USGA is
being used in several
stadiums that are the home to NFL teams, in-
cluding FedExField in Landover, Md.
(USGA)
Not your average lawn grass, sports turfgrass needs to be strong, dense, and able to withstand
changes in temperature. Horticultural scientists test these characteristics at land-grant universities
across the country. Kentucky bluegrass, Bermudagrass, and tall fescue are grass species best
suited for sports turf.
The varieties that land-grant universities develop are sometimes patented. For example, the Kan-
sas City Chiefs, Washington Redskins, Tennessee Titans, and Cleveland Browns use a Bermu-
dagrass hybrid called “Latitude 36,” developed and patented by the Oklahoma State University
(OSU) Extension Service. Latitude 36 is known to have excellent traffic tolerance and recupera-
tion rate, improved cold hardiness, and excellent color, texture, density, and uniformity.
Latitude 36 was initially developed for golf course fairways with a research grant from the USGA.
Developing cold-hardy, fine-textured Bermudagrass cultivars for fairways led to national recogni-
tion and adoption by the NFL and other athletic organizations. The wide acceptance by golf and
other professional sports is an indication that the researchers did their jobs well, said Dennis Mar-
tin, OSU Cooperative Extension turfgrass specialist. “It’s very important that the intended audi-
ence is confident enough to install and use Latitude 36. That means that not only did we do our
job and assess the market correctly, but also that the market is accepting the product,” Martin
said.
Another golf fairway variety supported by the USGA, “Tifway 419,” developed at the University of
Georgia’s Coastal Plain Agricultural Experiment Center, grows on the fields of the Jacksonville
Jaguars, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the Arizona Cardinals.
Click
STMA Reaches New
Heights in
San Diego!
San Diego played host to one of the most successful conferences on record for STMA . Approxi-mately 1200 attendees were represented from 48 states. A record high of 175 exhibitors sold out the trade show floor and with more than 600 exhibitor personnel on-site, created the largest confer-ence STMA has hosted. Attendees and exhibitors agreed it was an exceptional event.
Here is a sampling of comments STMA received: "This was the first time that I had ever been to San Diego and the STMA national conference, and it has left lasting memories."
"I would just like to add my thanks to you and the STMA and as a "first timer" I was impressed by the whole week and in particular the education pro-gram."
"San Diego was by far the best STMA show I have attended since 2005. The venue was perfect."
"Everyone I have spoken with had a great time and found it very worthwhile -- this in-cluded exhibitors and visitors as well."
"I spoke with many attendees and they all agreed that this was the best conference to date, everything from the golf outing to trade show to banquet dinner was in perfect order and went off without a hitch."
"I just wanted to say thank you to you and all
of the STMA Directors for putting on another wonderful conference. It is always such a great way to start the new year and get everyone motivated to be the best groundskeepers, and people, that we can be."
If you were unable to attend, STMA is offering record-ings of the Education Sessions.
Don't miss the chance to see photos of all of your friends!
STMA and SAFE thanks its conference sponsors for their support in making this a valuable learning and networking event for attendees. The sponsors in-clude Barenbrug, Beacon Athletics, Bush Sports Turf, Carolina Green, Covermaster, Diamond Pro, Ewing, FIELDS Inc., Gail Materials, Graff's Turf, GreenOne Industries, Hunter, John Deere, JSM Ser-vices, Kubota, Pioneer, Rain Bird, Syngenta, Team Premier Pro, Toro, Turface Athletics, TurfStar, Ves-cio Sports Fields, and World Class Athletics.
At the STMA Annual Meeting, held Jan. 21 in San Diego, Calif., the 2016 Board of Directors officially took office. Following its introduction to the membership, newly elected President Salmond made two appointments. Those appointed to the Board include Jeff Fowler, Penn State Extension (left), to the At-Large Director position, and Randy Price, Tri-Tex Grass to the Commercial Director position.
The 2016 STMA Board of Directors also includes: Immediate Past President: Allen Johnson, CSFM, Green Bay Packers, Green Bay, WI President: Jeff Salmond, CSFM, University of Oklahoma, Norman, OK President-Elect: Tim Van Loo, CSFM, Iowa State University, Ames, IA Commercial VP: Doug Schattinger, Pioneer Athletics, Cleveland, OH Secretary/Treasurer: Sarah Martin, CSFM, City of Phoenix, Phoenix, AZ Academic: Beth Guertal, Ph.D., Auburn University, Auburn, AL Higher Education: Nick McKenna, CSFM, Texas A&M, College Station, TX Parks & Rec: Jimmy Simpson, CSFM, Town of Cary, Cary, NC At-Large Elected: Weston Appelfeller, CSFM, Columbus Crew SC, Columbus, OH Professional Facilities: Dan Bergstrom, Houston Astros, Houston, TX Schools K-12: Bobby Behr, CSFM, Ashley Ridge High School, Summerville, SC
2016 STMA Board of Directors Take Office in San Diego
At its winter board meeting, the SAFE Foundation unanimously voted to establish a grant to honor Leo Goertz, a longtime member who recently passed away. The grant will annually fund $1500 in confer-ence expenses for a member of a chapter to attend the STMA national conference and exhibition. In addition, STMA will pro-vide a complimentary conference registra-tion.
The STMA Scholarship Committee will be developing the criteria for the award, and the SAFE Foundation will be solicit-ing donations to fund this grant. If you are interest-ed in donating to this grant, please click here.
Jeff Salmon, CSFM Nick McKenna, CSFM Dan Bergstrom
Randy Price
In memory of Leo Goertz -
his chair at the
Silent Auction for the
Safe Foundation
Click
Not every grass is a good fit for home lawns, golf courses or athletic playing fields, so turfgrass researcher Dr. Casey Reynolds is testing varieties and comparing them side by side under Texas conditions as a part of the National Turfgrass Evaluation Program.
Reynolds, a Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service turfgrass specialist in College Station, is joined by Dr. Matt Elmore, an AgriLife Extension turfgrass specialist who is growing additional trials at the Texas A&M AgriLife Research and Extension Center at Dallas.
“The primary objective of these NTEP trials is to evaluate new and emerging varieties for their perfor-mance in southern and southeastern transition zone environments,” he said. “So, what that means is we plant grasses such as zoysiagrass, Bermuda grass, seashore paspalum and St. Augustine, because we know these species persist and do well in the southern United States and we evaluate them on an equal level.”
Reynolds said the AgriLife Extension trials at both locations include approximately 100 grass varieties, and the College Station trials were recently featured at the Texas A&M AgriLife Turfgrass and Landscape Field Day.
“We’ll take, for example, the NTEP zoysiagrass trial comprised of 30 or so different varieties and compare them to each other based on quality, color, leaf texture, density, drought hardiness, performance and pest incidence,” he said.
The National Turfgrass Evaluation Program then takes that data from this location and data from through-out the U.S. at other cooperating universities and compiles it. “This way a producer or a customer or anyone who is interested in planting a new variety can look and see an independent source of data and use it to evaluate whether or not that grass is a good fit for their needs,” Reynolds said.
“For instance, we may have a zoysia grass that may do great in terms of how it performs under drought, and next to it one that may look a little better, but the data tells us it may not perform as well under drought,” he said.
NTEP is a great way to organize all that data and compare varieties.
That’s an important thing to understand when selecting a grass variety, Reynolds said, “because we all know in the south-ern United States drought is always an issue and will continue to be an issue. We certainly want to breed and select grasses that do well in hot, dry climates.
During the turfgrass field day, Reynolds asked the clients attending to place a flag in the plots that they thought looked the best.
AgriLife Extension researcher comparing turfgrass varieties under Texas conditions
Click photo to view video
“It was interesting to see that a lot of the flags were placed in the same plots,” he said. “I personally like a grass that has dark color, that has finer leaf texture and that has good density.”
Reynolds stood near two plots of grass with a big difference in texture, one rated four on texture and the other an eight. Looking at the data, he said, the eight is going to be a much nicer grass, “especially if you are on a golf course tee box, where texture is probably a bigger deal than if you are on a home lawn.
“But if you are a landscaper comparing the two species and you look at the drought data, you might say, ‘I don’t care how fine the texture is if I can’t keep it alive, texture doesn’t matter.’ So your selection may change.”
Reynolds said it is important not to get hung up on having the latest new variety – sometimes if it is not broke, why try to fix it?
“With the data we collect, we try to do it in a manner that is going to be reflective upon how people are going to view these grasses when they get to their home or their golf course or athletic field and whether it is going to fit into their environmental conditions.”
Results of the NTEP trials at College Station and Dallas can be found at http://www.ntep.org/. Other in-formation on turfgrass species and variety selection for Texas can be found at https://aggieturf.tamu.edu/texas-turfgrasses.
Article by Kay Ledbetter [email protected]
Click
Delivering the Gift of Green Space to New Homeowners Project EverGreen Partners With Turfgrass Producers International and Houston Habitat for Humanity on
Home Projects
Project EverGreen, Turfgrass Producers Internation-
al and Houston Habitat for Humanity joined forces to
install lawns and landscapes to five new homes in
Houston’s Harrell Park subdivision.
TPI members Advanced Equipment Sales, Brouwer
Kesmac, FireFly Equipment, Northwest Tillers, Pro-
gressive Turf Equipment, Redexim North America,
Trebro Manufacturing and Trimax Mowing Systems
contributed to purchase nearly 22,000 sq. ft. of har-
vested sod from Houston-area sod farm, All Seasons Turf Grass.
Project EverGreen and the Brickman Group provided the landscape materials and labor to install, with the
assistance of Habitat for Humanity volunteers, more than 75 ornamental plants and trees to the five houses.
The project includes installation of oak trees and an assortment of azaleas, boxwoods, gardenias and ferns, and mulch around the five homes to create landscape beds that complement the new turf, and create green spaces the new owners and their families can enjoy.
“Project EverGreen is proud to partner with TPI and Houston Habitat for Humanity to bring managed green spaces to these new homes and neighborhoods,” said Cindy Code, executive director of Project EverGreen. “Lawns, landscapes and plants turn houses into homes and neighborhoods into commu-nities. The end result is safer, heathier and more connected communities.”
Numerous research studies have shown that the presence of well-maintained green spac-es in communities offers numerous social, economic and lifestyle benefits. Some of the benefits include:
Trees, shrubs and turf remove smoke, dust and other pollutants from the air. One tree can remove 26 pounds of car-bon dioxide annually.
Natural grass recharges and filters groundwater supply and reduces storm water runoff
Project EverGreen’s mission is to preserve and enhance green spaces in our
communities where we live, work and play.
Your Donation Helps Restore Green Spaces in Your Community.
Please Donate Today! Project EverGreen is a 501(c)3 organization.
Not only does your lawn release oxygen and absorb carbon dioxide, it lowers temperatures caused by soil and hard surfaces. Lawns can be 31 degrees cooler than asphalt and 20 degrees cooler than bare soil.
Green spaces improve mental functioning and physical well-being. In fact, residents of areas with the highest levels of greenery were 40 percent less likely to be overweight or obese compared to those living in less green space.
The proper placement of just three trees around a home reduces interior house temperatures, allow air conditioning units to run more efficiently and offer homeowners $100 to $250 in savings annually.
Smart Money magazine indicated that consumers value a landscaped home up 11 percent higher than its base price.
“Our members are pleased to have an opportunity to work with these two respected organizations and to be able to give back to the Houston community that will be hosting the TPI 2016 International Education Confer-ence & Field Day,” said Melanie Stanton, executive director of Turfgrass Producers International. “Natural grass lawns provide homeowners and neighborhoods with numerous environmental, economic, social and health benefits that are often taken for granted.”
DONATE HERE!
It is that time of year!
Time to renew your membership for 2016
New Member Application
2016 Membership Renewal
The Texas STMA was established in 2004 by merging the North and South Texas STMA chapters to better serve sports
turf professionals and the turfgrass industry in Texas. Our organization is comprised of professional turf managers
across the state that manage college and university facilities, parks and recreation departments, school districts, private
sport facilities, and professional sport venues. Our membership also includes turfgrass researchers, commercial suppli-
ers, coaches and students pursuing a career in sports turf management. As you can see, we have a very broad range of
members.
Texas STMA provides its members several opportunities throughout the year to network, share ideas, learn the latest
research, and hear from top experts in the industry. Held at selected locations around the state, our events allow each
member the chance to gain a better understanding of the sports turf manager's role in ensuring facility users have a safe
and healthy sports turf to play on. These opportunities include:
* Regional Educational Field Days and Workshops
* Special Facility Tours
* Annual Meeting & Luncheon held in conjunction with the Texas Turfgrass Conference
* Vendor Exhibits
* Equipment Demonstrations
Our members also benefit from many programs and services unique to our industry.
* Access to TXSTMA.org website providing industry and association news, turfgrass resources, & technical information
* Email, Facebook, and Twitter communication for instant delivery of news and information
* The Cody Hobbs Professional Member Scholarship award; The Dr. James McAfee Student Scholarship award
* Sports turf manager Job Opportunities delivered to members via email and website. Resume posting service available
to members on website
* Coaches Corner – special section available to Texas coaches to have their field and technical questions answered by
Texas STMA professionals
I welcome and encourage you to become a member of Texas STMA soon. I know we can help you in your professional
development, as well as any personal goals that you have set for yourself. Please take the time to visit our website at
txstma.org often to get answers to any questions you might have. If you don’t find the answers or resource you are
searching for please email a board member and we will try to assist you in any way possible. Our chapter executive
team is also ready and willing to help you in any way – Carol Cloud, [email protected], 682-583-3143.
Please don’t forget to go to the “Membership Payment” tab upon
completion of your application to make payment for your 2016 membership.
Executive Directors:
President: Kevin Lebanik—Harrell's, [email protected]
Past President: Rusty Walker, CSFM—City of Grapevine, [email protected]
President - Elect: Brian Piper - City of Austin, [email protected]
1st Commercial Vice Pres: Darin Eberly—Pioneer Manuf. Co., [email protected]
2nd Commercial Vice Pres: John Kearns—Professional Turf Products, [email protected]
Treasurer: Nick McKenna, CSFM— Texas A&M University, [email protected]
Committee Directors:
Advertising: Will Dutton - Professional Turf Products, [email protected]
Communication Committee: Dan Bergstrom—Houston Astros, [email protected]
Region I (DFW): Allen Reed, CSFM, FC Dallas, [email protected]
Region II (Austin/San Antonio): Michael Piñon, San Antonio ISD, [email protected]
Region III (Houston): Kevin Hansen, Houston Texans
Membership: Brant Williams, CSFM
Scholarship: Chris Pitts, Clear Creek ISD, [email protected]
Chapter Executive: Carol Cloud, [email protected], (817) 736-0727
Texas Sports Turf Managers
Association
Providing education and training for safer and healthier sports turf
facilities
Txstma.org
txstmainfo@ yahoo.com
(817) 736-0727
5552 Plata Lane
Benbrook, TX 76126
Spring 2016 Issue
Save the date!
July 11 - Field Day details coming soon