Immediate Past President : Jimmy Simpson , CSFM

President-Elect : James Bergdoll , CSFM

Secretary-Treasurer : Sun Roesslein , CSFM

Vice-President Commercial : Jeremy Bohonko

Professional Facilities : Nicole Sherry

Academic : Adam Thoms , Ph . D .

Higher Education : Clark Cox , CSFM

Parks & Recreation : Brad Thedens , CSFM

Schools K-12 : Jeremy Driscoll Commercial : Paula Sliefert

At-Large Elected : Scott Thompson , CSFM

At-Large Appointed : Alpha Jones , CSFM

STMA OFFICE P . O . Box 1673 Lawrence , KS 66044 Phone : 800-323-3875 Email : STMAinfo @ STMA . org www . STMA . org

STMA EDITORIAL COMMITTEE Chair : Brad Thedens , CSFM Technical Editor : Adam Thoms , Ph . D .

Rebecca Auchter , CSFM ; TJ Brewer , CSFM ; Joe Churchill ; Arthur Eddy ; Charles Goode ; Eric Harshman ; John Kmitta ; Cody McKee ; Kelly Rensel , CSFM ; Eric Roberts , CSFM ; David Schwandt ; Chase Straw , Ph . D .

Howdy STMA members ! As I write this , I just returned from Iowa , where I had the privilege of working the MLB at Field of Dreams game . As someone who was born and raised in Iowa , I ’ ve always had an inborn fondness for the Field of Dreams movie and the positive light that it put on the state in which I grew up ( cue the “ Is this Heaven ? No , it ’ s Iowa ” reference ). Combine that with my background in athletic field maintenance ( specifically baseball ), and the movie really is a combination of things I ’ m passionate about .

For three days , I got to work with a fantastic group of individuals whose sole purpose was to put on a historic event that resulted in the first MLB regular season game to be played in the state of Iowa . While the game was pretty spectacular in its own right ( it ended with a walk off home run ), I found myself consumed with the pageantry and atmosphere of the event even more so than the game . Things such as hosting a Little League game on the movie site , Kevin Costner having a catch with his son , the players entering the field through rows of corn in the outfield , and the oasis of a pristine baseball field surrounded by a sea of corn . All of these things will be etched into my memory for the rest of my life !

Former University of Tennessee Director of Sports Surfaces and Past President of the STMA , Bob Campbell , used to say that , as sports field managers , we are in the business of creating memories for people . I always understood what he meant by that statement , but it wasn ’ t until this event that I truly appreciated the meaning behind it . From the professional athletes to the Little League players to the father / son combination that attended their first game together , they will all have lifelong memories that were created at the Field of Dreams game .

It ’ s easy to get caught up in the everyday grind and stress of our jobs , but my challenge to all of you is this — focus on the positives , the opportunities and the memories that we are all helping to create on a daily basis .

Poet Arthur O ’ Shaughnessy summarized this the best when he stated : “ We are the music makers , And we are the dreamers of dreams .” STMA members , keep making music , keep dreaming dreams , and , above all , keep helping make memories ! SFM

Nick McKenna , CSFM

Nick McKenna , CSFM STMA President nmckenna @ athletics . tamu . edu sportsfieldmanagementonline . com September | SportsField Management

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