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

The worst part of SFMA Conference was going home .

But I don ’ t mean that in an “ I ’ m sad it ’ s over ” way . And it ’ s not that I lament leaving Daytona ’ s sandy shores behind . No , I mean that getting home was a bit rough .

While on board my connecting flight from Atlanta to Chicago , the cabin grew increasingly warm . The captain assured everyone that they were working on getting the air conditioning functioning . As we cruised at altitude , it grew even warmer . Eventually the air vents began to hiss — but they weren ’ t blowing refreshingly cool air .

Instead , we were informed that the cabin decompression system had kicked in and , as a result , we were making an emergency landing in Cincinnati . I was just pleased to land safely — even though we found out from the gate agents that there were no other flights out of Cincinnati that night ( to anywhere ).

We soon received word that an emergency plane would come to pick us up , and we eventually departed in the early hours of the next day .

So , yes , the worst part of my week at conference was getting back home . The rest of the week up to that point , however , was amazing .

I hear from so many people in the industry that the thing they look forward to most about conference is seeing familiar faces and catching up with peers . They couldn ’ t be more right .

Everything about the conference was once again stellar — from the education sessions to the keynote to the exhibition hall and beyond . But nothing can top seeing familiar faces and meeting new people .

From the cornhole tournament to the SAFE Night of Bowling to the luncheons , dinners and networking receptions , the contacts made and stories shared were once again the highlight for me . The momentum of those conversations has carried on in the weeks that have followed , and are always a boost for the year to come .

Most of all , I enjoyed visiting with all 10 of our 2023 Rising Star winners and seeing their excitement at receiving the awards . You can read more about that , and the rest of what this year ’ s conference had to offer , in our conference recap beginning on page 18 .

If you haven ’ t attended conference or if you aren ’ t even an SFMA member , I highly recommend that you look into changing that . And I look forward to seeing you all in Palm Springs in 2025 . SFM

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SportsField Management | March 2024 sportsfieldmanagementonline . com