P R E S I D E N T ’S M E S S AG E
Arkansas Turfgrass Association P.O. Box 185 • Bryant, AR 72089 Tel: 501-860-0187
SPRING RETURNS I
Published by: Leading Edge Communications, LLC 206 Bridge Street, Suite 200 Franklin, TN 37064 Tel: 615-790-3718 Email: info@leadingedge communications.com
Richard Covert ATA President
don’t know about you, but I, for one am so relieved at the return of spring and warmer temperatures. It was a long winter by Arkansas standards, and seeing everything start to bud and green up, combined with some fantastic weather, has me smiling quite a bit more these days. Everything seems more manageable when it’s warm and sunny. We had our annual meeting in January, and it was our first in-person meeting in two years. It was a blast, and we had great attendance, workshops, and talks. We had 2 award winners this year: for High School Field of the Year, Gillam Field at Beebe High School was recognized. This field is managed by Ryan Smith. For Field of the year, we recognized and awarded Lester White Field in Mountain Home, AR. Cody McKee is the manager of this field. We had some amazing trade show vendors as well. To see the list of who exhibited with us, check out the list in this issue. We appreciate all of our trade show vendors so much, and they are truly what helps make this meeting a success every year. We want to give a special recognition to our Show Sponsor, AgraTurf. We appreciate your continued support of the ATA. Keep watching our website for some big changes coming soon, and make sure you follow us on social media. Daniel O’Brien and Shelby Hanson are doing a great job with managing our pages. We plan to try and have a members-only event this fall, so watch for information on that! Enjoy the weather, stay healthy, and let us know how we can serve you! Richard Covert ATA President
ATA OFFICERS Richard Covert, President Baptist Health Systems Richard.covert@baptist-health.org Kyle Sanders, Immediate Past President Sanders Ground Essentials 501-315-9395 kylesanders@sandersground.com Jeff Haskins, Treasurer Paragould Country Club 870-780-5883 Ja1116@earthlink.net Shelby Hanson Executive Director sgouche@uark.edu Pat Berger, Director Emeritus University of Arkansas • 479-575-6887 pberger@uark.edu Charlie Bowen, Director Emeritus Arkansas Hydroseed • 501-315-7333 charliebowen@yahoo.com Seth Dunlap Arkansas State Plant Board seth.dunlap@agriculture.arkansas.gov 501-225-1598 Mark Brown Nabholz • 501-749-7459 rmbrown2@ualr.edu Rodney Fisher Life Member, Founding Member Agra Turf, Inc. • 501-268-7036 agrarod@yahoo.com Ron Fisher Agra Turf, Inc. • 501-268-7036 agraron@yahoo.com Steve Ibbotson Conway Parks & Rec. • 501-328-4173 Steve.ibbotson@cityofconway.org Josh Landreth Ace of Blades • 479-530-7001 aceofblades@cox.net Mark Mowrey, Director Emeritus Oaklawn • 501-538-1600 bntgrns@yahoo.com
Specialty Distribution
Rodney Fisher PO Box 9168 Searcy, AR 72145 www.agrainc.com
Cell: 501 230-7303 Business: 501 268-7036 Ext: 107 Fax: 501 268-0606
Email: agrarod@yahoo.com
4 • A R K A N S A S T U R F G R A S S • Spring 2022
Guy Oyler Jerry Pate Turf & Irrigation goyler@jerrypate.com • 501-317-5980 Rodger Pevehouse Life Member Michael Rush Rush Lawn Care • 501-279-8980 mrush@rushlawn.com Ricky Self Cypress Creek r.self@yahoo.com • 501-605-8000
