By John Kmitta
Born and raised in Sylacauga, Alabama, Rising Star Award Winner Justin Danelutt studied Criminal Justice at Jacksonville State University; but a job at Cider Ridge Golf Club in Oxford, Alabama led him to an unexpected career in the green industry.
Later, when Choccolocco Park, a 360-acre multi-use facility, was being built in Oxford in 2015, Danelutt seized the opportunity to become assistant superintendent at the park, and has been there since.
Now, as director of grounds and athletic fields for the City of Oxford, Alabama, Danelutt oversees Choccolocco Park, which includes a stadium baseball field, a stadium softball field, seven auxiliary softball fields, two auxiliary baseball fields, collegiate track and field, four soccer fields, a 40-acre multi-purpose cross country track, a 15-acre disc golf course, as well as approximately 40 acres of common areas that he and his crew maintain.
They also spray and fertilize grounds around the city, such as City Hall; perform landscape renovations in the downtown area; and help out with their sister facility, Oxford Lake.
The crew includes Danelutt, two assistants, a full-time mechanic and mechanic’s assistant, a housekeeping coordinator and housekeeper, 10 groundskeepers, and six to seven part-time workers during the summer months.
The fields at Choccolocco Park receive a heavy event load, starting in February with Oxford High School sports, including baseball, softball, and track and field.
“We host a spring break tournament that sees approximately 60 teams come in and out over three weeks in March,” said Danelutt. “We host several collegiate championships. We have hosted the Ohio Valley Conference, Gulf South Conference softball and baseball, Atlantic Sun softball, the Junior College Softball World Series, and state championships in softball and baseball. May is a busy time for us. We host a travel ball. And in June, we have three straight weekends of state tournaments for travel ball, and then rec league.”
The park director at Choccolocco Park handles the event scheduling, and works with Danelutt to identify windows of opportunity for cultural practices.
“We’re all natural grass,” said Danelutt. “The only synthetic we have are the hips on our stadium softball and baseball fields. The biggest challenge is trying to fit our cultural practices in that busy schedule.”
According to Danelutt, weather is always a challenge as well. And, until two years ago, staffing had been an issue. That was remedied when Choccolocco Park began utilizing high school graduates for seasonal help.
His message to his younger workers, and young people in general, is that if you work hard, opportunities will come your way.
“If I would have known that this was a career when I was in college, I would have gone for the turf degree,” he added. “It’s a great career path. It’s a lot of hard work, but it’s very gratifying. You are a part of these kids’ memories – they are winning state championships on the field that you maintain. They don’t know who you are personally, but they will remember that they won a state championship at Choccolocco Park when they were 12 years old. That’s pretty gratifying.”
Danelutt credits the City of Oxford with the support needed to make Choccolocco Park a success.
“The mayor and the city council understand what kind of economic impact this facility makes on the community, and they don’t give us any flack if we need anything,” he said.
During his tenure at Choccolocco, Danelutt has learned how to manage people.
“You have to be able to manage people differently,” he said. “People have different temperaments, and can handle things differently. You just have to adapt and learn and grow and try to learn your employees’ temperaments.”
Danelutt is also active in the industry and is a resource for others. For example, Talladega Superspeedway reached out to him last year because they were having issues with their infield. Danelutt consulted with Talladega, identified a drainage problem and suggested solutions. He and his crew also help Cider Ridge Golf Club.
“This is an industry where, at the end of the day, everybody has the same goal and you want to help your peers,” he said. “You want them to succeed.”
For Danelutt, the best part of the job is his workplace.
“You just can’t beat walking out onto a baseball field, and that’s your office.”
Outside of work, Danelutt and his wife, Amber, have a 6-year-old daughter named Lillian. They enjoy time at the beach, in the mountains, and especially trips to Disney World.
“We go to Disney World three or four times a year,” he said. “In the past five years we’ve probably been close to 30 times.”
Danelutt also enjoys building LEGOs and has a substantial LEGO collection.
As for the recognition as a SportsField Management Rising Star, Danelutt feels a sense of accomplishment at being chosen for the award.
“My peers in this industry know the blood, the sweat, the tears, the hard times that it takes to have a facility like this,” he said. “It’s an honor to receive this award and for my peers to nominate me; but also this is just not an award for myself – this is an award for my staff. This facility would not be the way it is without the staff that I have. I’m probably a little biased, but I think I have the best staff in the country.”
What their nominator had to say:
I believe credit is due where credit is due. Justin loves to take a backseat to everyone; but when it’s all said and done, no one is more deserving. He has some of the best all-natural fields around, and it’s hands down because of his leadership. He puts his facility in a position to succeed. That’s what you want in a star.
Editor’s Note: SportsFieldManagementOnline.com will profile each of this year’s Rising Star Award winners online so that each winner is highlighted in our featured spot on the site. You can also read about all of this year’s winners in the October issue of SportsField Management.
Special thanks to STEC Equipment for sponsoring the Rising Star Awards.
