PROFILE
Definitely get involved in the STMA on the national and chapter levels . Just offer yourself up to a committee , and you won ’ t have to be elected in — unless you want to sit on the board . You ’ ll connect and create relationships with the movers and shakers in the industry . Getting involved with the STMA will create your own professional legacy . Do it .
SFM : How do you think the profession and industry will change in the next 10 years , and what would you most like to see in terms of industry advancement in the future ?
I learned perspective . What is really important in your life ? I learned mental health care has to be a priority , not just a notion , for us all . I learned that tough times never last , but tough people do .
SFM : How has STMA benefitted you during your career , and what is your advice to other sports field managers when it comes to the importance of service to , and involvement in , the industry ?
Kurcab : I worked about 10 years as a professional field manager before we had the Sports Turf Managers Association . It was a lonely , barren existence , professionally speaking . I figure I have made about 1,500 or more new friends through the STMA over the years . The STMA membership , with its culture of open-book sharing of information , has been my best professional resource . I have thousands of friends that I can call anytime and pick their brains , and they can do the same with me . What confidence this brings . Such a welcoming group !
Kurcab : Water . Both the quantity and quality of fresh water will become perhaps the most critical issue moving forward . The sports field manager ’ s role as environmental steward will only increase . Field quality standards will only grow . What is a good surface today will not be acceptable in the years ahead — a thankfully continuing trend . Automation will grow , and technical advances will continue on the fast track . We will always be an information-driven industry . Our national love of sports means there ’ s always work for a talented sports field manager .
I ’ d like to see a major growth in female field managers , more outreach to teach girls that this is a great lifestyle completely within your means . I ’ d like to see horticulture and turfgrass science included in the concept of S . T . E . M curriculums , where it belongs . I want to see our great university turfgrass programs flooded with young students in a well-coordinated outreach program into schools . In my experiences , once a young person sees the real deal of sports field management , they want in . I ’ d like to see more and more field managers gaining the self-care skills to manage the stress and create happiness in their work and lives . We are in the business of fun — act like it and be joyful ! If you have to work 80 hours / week to get a professional job done , something is out of balance . Take your job seriously , but not yourself . I speak from experience . SFM sportsfieldmanagementonline . com July 2021 | SportsField Management
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