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

This summer I celebrated 25 years with my company . It is a long time , but those years have gone fast as I have served in many different roles over that time , covering several different markets — from tree care to golf to landscape to outdoor power equipment to sports field management .

When I started in 1999 , we didn ’ t have a website , enewsletters , social media or podcasts . Back then , all photos for the magazine were print photos or slides that were scanned for us by a professional service . The job has evolved as has the technology with which to do that job , and there are always new challenges and new opportunities .

Because there were long stretches of my career where I edited multiple publications at the same time , I recently worked out that I have edited and produced more than 380 magazines over the past 25 years . Through it all , I am thankful to have been able to spend my career writing , editing and creating .

That said , finding inspiration every month can still be a challenge . As every SFMA president I have worked with can attest , writing a regular column can be daunting .

But inspiration comes from a variety of places — industry events , ideas / suggestions from colleagues , news and information from my sources , examples from other creative minds , and even from home . Heck ,

the seed of a story idea or content concept will often come to me while I ’ m mowing my lawn .

Most of all , inspiration for what I do comes from industry professionals . Conversations with practitioners keep me abreast of what is going on in the industry and the challenges being faced . The members of the SFMA Editorial Committee help to drive the direction of this magazine . Conversations with SFMA HQ and the SFMA Board also inform my direction . I am also extremely appreciative of Adam Thoms , Ph . D ., and Chase Straw , Ph . D ., for their technical advice these past several years .

Most of all , my regular conversations with Alpha Jones , CSFM , help keep me grounded and focused . Alpha is willing to let me ramble and bounce ideas off him . His insight and wisdom have been extremely valuable to the current and future direction of the magazine .

It is easy to get bogged down in the day-to-day grind and focus solely on the next daily task at hand . My advice is to build those industry relationships and find folks who can be your sounding board . Or go be that listening ear for others . Most of all , no matter how long you have been in the industry or in your role , be sure to realize that you don ’ t have all the answers . If you are open to different perspectives , you never know where you will find inspiration . SFM

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SportsField Management | September 2024 sportsfieldmanagementonline . com