FIELD OF THE YEAR PROFESSIONAL BASEBALL
SFM : Who were your mentors in the industry and / or what is the best piece of advice you have received ? Hooten : There are so many people who have helped me get through this industry from the beginning . I could never do justice to all those who mentored me through the process , but there are several who have made me the person I am today : Jake Tyler , Heather Nabozny and Thomas Trotter during my internship years ; Billy Ball for teaching me how to be a true groundskeeper ; Dennis Conerton for giving me my first shot at being a head groundskeeper ; Jim Jarecki and Scott Lane for bringing me to the West Michigan Whitecaps ; as well as Steve Lord and Brad Fry with Advanced Turf Solutions and Josh Teitsma with SiteOne Landscape Supply for answering off the wall questions and “ Turf Question of The Week .”
The best pieces of advice I have received are “ Aerify , aerify , aerify ;” “ Grass ; it ’ s a living , breathing organism ;” “ Control the controllables ;” and “ To be great is to be misunderstood ” ( Ralph Waldo Emerson ).
Parking Lots • Landscaped Areas • Playing Surfaces
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Call 800-776-7690 or visit billygoat . com sportsfieldmanagementonline . com March 2024 | SportsField Management
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