Marking the fifth anniversary of its inception, the Synthetic Turf Council has more than doubled its membership over the past year. Participants representing more than100 companies attended the association’s annual membership meeting here on December 2-4.
“An association is only as strong as its members and the true indicator of success is active member participation,” said Rick Doyle, President of the Synthetic Turf Council (STC). “During this meeting, more than 85 percent of our member companies were represented and fully engaged in educational activities.”
Panels and presentation topics included industry trends, the buyer’s perspective featuring athletic directors Jerry Comalander and Gill Garza, the STC’s Public Outreach and Education Campaign and the environmental benefits of synthetic turf. Chairman Joe Motz addressed the challenges and accomplishments of the past year, and members collaborated to address key issues in small workgroup meetings.
The STC also announced its newest board members, who include Treasurer Tom Evans of ProGrass LLC; David Forrester of Liberty Tire Recycling; Secretary Bruce Lemons of Foresite Design; Doug Schattinger of Pioneer Athletics and Troy Squires of FieldTurf USA. They join the Board’s current roster, which is comprised of Chairman Joe Motz, The Motz Group; John Amato, JJA Sports; John Giraud, Target Technologies International Inc.; Alastair Scott, Bonar Yarns & Fabrics Ltd.; John Tidwell, Turfstore.com; Vice Chairman Steve White, Challenger Industries; Director-at-Large Stanley Greene, Sprinturf; and Immediate Past Chairman Tom Peeples, Universal Textile Technologies.
The STC, based in Atlanta, was founded in 2003 to promote the industry and to assist buyers and end users with the selection, use and maintenance of synthetic turf systems in sports field, golf and landscape applications. The organization is also a resource for current, credible, and independent research on the safety and environmental impact of synthetic turf. STC members produce and install most of the synthetic turf sports fields in North America. Membership includes builders, landscape architects, testing labs, maintenance providers, installation contractors, infill material suppliers and other specialty service companies.