Spring Is Here!

Hello MTA Members,

Spring is here, and the smell of freshly cut grass is in the air! I know everyone is excited to see things turning green and the trees blooming and leafing out. Hopefully there are a few less rain days mixed in to allow for spending time outdoors. Just how clean can the shop and equipment get anyway?

MTA is very excited to be looking at new and varied educational opportunities for our members, and we appreciate everyone’s ideas. If there is a topic of interest that you feel would apply to our membership base, please contact any board member or Ms. Linda Wells. Keeping our attendance up at events and retaining membership is critical. We want to enhance the educational offerings so that members look to the MTA for current, as well as innovative, turf and sports field management practices.

Upcoming events include:

June 25th – The Yard Dog Classic

• Mississippi State Golf Course. This is a big fund-raising event for MTA. Fun on the golf course, good food, great prizes, and a cool hat! This is one you don’t want to miss!

• Many come in the night before and gather up for a nice meal together!

August 20th – Research Field Day

• North Farm at Mississippi State University. This is a great educational event. Breakout sessions for topics related to sod, lawns, sports field, and golf turf management will be offered. There is always an informative session to attend.

• See the latest in research related to new grasses currently being evaluated for an eventual release into the turf industry.

• Also, please come to see demonstrations of the latest and greatest in turf management equipment. The vendors, who we so value and appreciate, will have some demonstrations going on, helping everyone in the industry to see first-hand what these tools can do to improve the product you are providing to your facility or customer.

• Come in the night before and enjoy!

October 1st – 3rd – 2019 Deep South Turf Expo

The Big Show! This event just keeps getting bigger and bigger! Partnering up with other surrounding industry organizations has allowed MTA to take on a leadership role in promoting education and science for this region of the country. It has grown into a true green industry show that vendors and industry professionals are very excited to attend. Tradeshow exhibits, entertainment, golf, access to great food and other fun-filled events are all included. Continuing education and re-certification credits are available as well. It is great to see this show quickly become a successful and important event.

Again, thanks to all that support MTA, including Ms. Linda Wells, Drs. Jay McCurdy and Barry Stewart, those serving on the board, and especially our vendor partners.

Hoping everyone is off to a great start this spring!

Al Osteen

MTA President, Al Osteen

MTA Board of Directors

Left to right — Rob Webb, Dr. Barry Stewart, Wayne Philley, Reuben Wedgeworth, Justin Lanford, Linda Wells, Jeremy Tate, Al Osteen, David Jumper. Not pictured: Dr. Jay McCurdy, Paul Battle, Keair Edwards, David Leon