John Kmitta Associate Publisher / Editorial Brand Director jkmitta @ epgacceleration . com 763-383-4405

Someone recently pointed out to me that if Back to the Future were being made now , Marty would travel back to 1995 . That made me wonder if my kids ( now teenagers ) would feel as fish out of water in 1995 as Marty did making the trip from 1985 to 1955 . Perhaps — especially from a technology standpoint .

2025 sounds futuristic to those of us who were around in the ‘ 80s and ‘ 90s . As a kid , even the year 2000 sounded far away , and yet another quarter century has passed since Y2K . ( Side note : Ten-year-old me would be extremely disappointed to find out that I do not yet have a flying car .)

We often start the new year by pondering what the upcoming 12 months will bring . But what about the next 30 years ? Where will we be from a technological standpoint in 2055 ? How will the world around us impact our lives ? From a sports field management perspective , how will the profession change in the years to come ? How will the evolution of sports ( and sports business ) impact the industry ? These are big questions , yet they are questions the SFMA attempts to strategically plan for .

The position of SFMA president changes every year , yet the president of the association and the board of directors not only work to address the issues and initiatives of the current year but they also plan for the challenges of future generations of sports field managers .

In this issue , we are pleased to introduce to you new SFMA President , Adam Thoms , Ph . D . As Associate Professor , Commercial Turfgrass at Iowa State University , Adam is one of only a few academics to lead the association as president , bringing with him an emphasis on industry education .

I have known Adam since I first took charge of SportsField Management magazine at the end of 2019 . In addition to his work on the SFMA Board , Adam served as technical editor of the magazine for several years . His insight has been invaluable to shaping the magazine and my understanding of many topics . I am extremely appreciative of his support and guidance .

For many , a key benefit of SFMA is being able to reach out to others in the association . When Adam found out that ISU was on my daughter ’ s short list for college visits , he provided us with information about the university and welcomed us to Ames . When my daughter ultimately chose to attend ISU , she was also lucky enough to work for Adam at the ISU turf research farm .

Adam has always been accessible and responsive , and I look forward to working with him in 2025 . He has a lot on his plate in the year to come ( which we discuss in the profile article in this issue ); but as we look to the future , I am confident that SFMA is in good hands . SFM

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SportsField Management | February 2025 sportsfieldmanagementonline . com