It's that time of year when many of us, with the best of intentions, write a leadership development plan, or establish goals for the upcoming year. Unfortunately, most of us will fail to achieve those goals. Why? We fail for a lot of reasons, most importantly, we underestimate how hard it is to change behavior.
Production is starting on the annual GrasStains video, which is a fun and integral part of the STMA Awards Banquet. As always, photos and video clips of your year, crew, and other memorable moments are desired and appreciated! Two areas are specifically requested: Videos or pictures of your grounds crew's work (even embarrassing moments!)and photos of your "younger" days in sports turf management (older pictures).
Access various conference features including the schedule, exhibitor list, speaker list, education session information, maps, and sponsors. Create your own personalized schedule to make sure you attend all the conference has to offer. Build your own profile and connect with other attendees and exhibitors to boost your professional contacts. Download the STMA conference app to your smart phone or tablet.
There is still time to register for the Nebraska Turf Conference to be held at the LaVista Conference Center at the Cabela's exit on the outskirts of Omaha. The conference continues improving in this new location and format, bringing in speakers from across the country to join the local professionals. This conference is extremely cost effective and a great way to educate the entire staff.
STMA member Michael Hopkins, Louisa, VA was featured in the December 30 print issue of Sports Illustrated. He is one of six individuals listed in the "Faces in the Crowd" section for his work as Sports Turf Manager and Turfgrass Science Instructor at Louisa County High School.
Ohio State's 17th Annual Sports Field Short Course will be held February 20 and 21 at the Nationwide and Ohio Farm Bureau 4-H Center, 2201 Fred Taylor Drive, Columbus OH. The course is held in conjunction with the OSU/OTF Golf Tee-Off (details soon).
The retail-worker strikes that swept the nation in 2013 did not move Congress to raise the minimum wage, but a growing number of states are taking action. The minimum wage will rise in 13 states this week, and as many as 11 states and Washington, DC, are expected to consider increases in 2014, according to the National Employment Law Project. Approval is likely in more than half of the 11, says NELP policy analyst Jack Temple.
It may qualify as a small irony that in the run-up to the first outdoor, cold-weather Super Bowl, the people seemingly least threatened about the possibility of bad weather are the folks whose job is to protect the surface on which the game will be played. It should come as no surprise, since the NFL's groundskeeping experts are used to dealing with the elements and improvising when they have to.
A town is considering constructing a new multipurpose soccer/rugby field in an existing park, but will need to have the field be able to hold water in event of a 100-year storm. This is because there is not enough land to build retention/detention ponds and subsurface holding tanks are too costly. After a little thought and research, the answer is very broad. How about less than 24 hours and up to 60 days! Why the wide range in time that a turf stand can withstand submersion? There are many factors at play, the most important is the ambient temperature and the temperature of the water.
