President’s Message

Valuable Connections

Member Spotlight is my favorite article in our Blade magazine. It’s a great way to “meet” and learn more about fellow members. Along with finding out what brought a colleague to our industry, the equipment and technology they recommend to make our jobs easier, and what they forecast for the future of sports turf, I like to find out what they believe to be the biggest benefit of NESTMA membership. Although members in the spotlight may use different words, every response has the same value message: connecting with colleagues, building relationships, and discovering resources.

Our job at NESTMA is to make sure that our members reach the peers, mentors, and resources they need to grow professionally and prepare for the future. When our association members gather, new friendships are forged, great ideas are exchanged, and career-building happens.

Our March 8 Awards Meeting and Lunch at New England Regional Turfgrass Conference in Providence is a perfect example of NESTMA in action. This year’s meeting will be particularly valuable, as our industrious BMPs committee – led by Vickie Wallace and Ben Polimer – will introduce the newly created document for New England’s sports turf. This new publication promises to be an invaluable resource. We are grateful to all who volunteered to make this possible.

We will also honor two of our own for their professional achievement: Sports Turf Manager of the Year, Ed Olsen of the Town of Needham, MA; and Commercial Partner of the Year, Ed Downing of Read Custom Soils. I cannot say enough about these two people. They are hard-working, knowledgeable, generous professionals who have given back so much to our industry!

Sign up now to join us on March 8 in Providence. You’ll be very glad that you did.

Chris McGinty

NESTMA President