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

Nine years ago , my family and I adopted a puppy from a local shelter . She was only 13 weeks old , covered in black fur and was the runt of her litter . The shelter listed the puppies in her litter as “ lab / terrier mix .” As she grew , we assumed she had some pit bull in her ( hence the “ terrier ” part ), but the lab portion was questionable .

No matter what she ’ s made of , she has been the best dog I ’ ve ever had and has been great with our kids – growing up right alongside them . But we were always curious about her breed , and finally decided to ask our vet about DNA testing . We decided to have her tested , and we recently received the results . It turns out that our beloved lab / terrier is nearly 50 % American Pit Bull Terrier , 30 % Doberman Pinscher and much smaller percentages of Chow Chow , German Shepherd , American Bulldog , Labrador Retriever and even some Chihuahua . We were surprised at the results , but excited to finally know more about our dog .

I share this story for a few reasons : 1 ) I love talking to others about my dog and asking them about theirs ; 2 ) it is the big news in my household this month ; and 3 ) because it serves as a handy analogy for the point I wanted to make this month about it never being too late to learn something new .

This issue of SportsField Management is our annual SFMA Conference & Exhibition preview . The industry ’ s premier event will be held January 13-16 , 2025 , in Palm Springs , California , and this year ’ s theme is “ Oasis of Knowledge .”

As such , SFMA is inviting everyone in the industry to go west to the California desert to reconnect with industry friends and colleagues , make new connections , and , ultimately , to quench one ’ s thirst for knowledge .

The SFMA Conference features multiple education tracks , as well as forums , a general session , keynote and even the Seminar On Wheels . Those who attend will no doubt learn something that can help with their day-to-day operations , personal and professional enrichment , and long-term growth .

As professionals , it might be easy to think that you are set in your knowledge base and you are already well equipped to do your job . After all , it ’ s easy to stick with the status quo and be content with what you already know .

Instead , I invite you to look through the conference preview in the pages that follow , find an education track ( or tracks ) that interests you and register for the 2025 SFMA Conference ( if you haven ’ t done so already ). It may be daunting , but you might be surprised at what you learn . SFM

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SportsField Management | November 2024 sportsfieldmanagementonline . com