BETWEEN THE LINES Section Name • continued
JOHN G R O SS F I EL D Groundskeeping Team Receives Field of Distinction Award
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AFMO’s annual Field of Distinction award recipients for 2023 are East Pennsboro Area School District, John Gross Field in Enola, PA and Muncy Bank Ballpark at Historic Bowman Field, the home of the Williamsport Crosscutters. Both facilities deserve recognition for their outstanding record of providing safe, playable conditions for their users. Both fields are also successful examples of an increasingly common arrangement: they are maintained by teams of outside contractors. In the Summer installment of Between the Lines, we took a look at Historic Bowman Field, maintained by BrightView Landscapes. John Gross Field at George R. Saxton Jr. Memorial Stadium is under the care of a groundskeeping team from Aramark. We talked with Grounds Project Manager Keith Evans of Aramark about his experience working with the school district. Aramark is a facilities services provider to client organizations in education, healthcare, business, and leisure. It operates in North America and internationally and is headquartered in Philadelphia, PA. According to their website, Aramark assembles service teams which bring “passion, experience, and local knowledge” to meet the needs of their client organizations. Keith Evans certainly brings that promise to life on the groundskeeping team at East Pennsboro. He is passionate
Keystone Athletic Field Managers Organization 1451 Peter’s Mountain Road Dauphin, PA 17018-9504 www.KAFMO.org • Email: KAFMO@aol.com
24 Pennsylvania Turfgrass • Fall 2023
about his work, has been working in turf management for over 25 years, and has been an active member of KAFMO since its inception. He is on the KAFMO Board of Directors and is currently serving as Board Secretary.
Professional Networks Evans understands the value of a professional network. “KAFMO has played a huge role in my career,” he says. “I’ve attended every conference since it was established. The education sessions and the ability to network is priceless. They are constantly providing the latest updates in the industry and staying on top of where the industry is going as technology advances. The nice part about KAFMO is someone with the same issues is just a phone call away.” The same might be said of his Aramark connections. When asked about the pros and cons of the contract service model for turf management, for example, Keith responded in positive terms. “I can tell you that working with a company like Aramark gives school districts access to a vast community of expertise and resources due to the company’s scale.”
Contact: Linda Kulp, Executive Secretary Phone: 717-497-4154 kulp1451@gmail.com
Contact: Dan Douglas, President Phone: 610-375-8469 x 212 KAFMO@aol.com
