Groundskeeper Chats

• The importance of authenticity in branding 

• Andy's route to turf 

During the US Women's Open, the #WomenInTurf team had many things to be thankful for, including being together to celebrate pride. We sit down with our next #WomenInTurf panel featuring proud members of the pride community and turf industry to hear and learn from their stories. 

SGL's technical sales engineer, Matt Williams joined Meg to discuss grow light technology. Matt shares,

• The various use cases for grow light technology

Columbus Crew's Head Groundskeeper, Andrew Northeim, played an active role in the team's recent stadium build. Andrew joined us at SFMA to talk about the process and share his insight on how other SFM's can advocate for their position when ensuring that construction projects are building with best grounds cultural practices in mind.

John Clintsman is the Director of Grounds for Ensworth School in Tennessee and one of our 2022 Pioneers in the Field class members. Dr. Michael Goatley is a professor and turfgrass extension specialist with Virginia Tech and has served as one of John's mentors from early on his career. In this chat, the two talk about how they've learned from one another over the years and how important and great it is to have mentors turned friends in this industry.

At the core John Clintsman's sports turf journey is mentorship, so it was fitting for him to invite two of his mentors, Thomas Trotter and Michael Brownlee to join us for a chat about cultivating crew culture. The three gentlemen reflect on the importance of mentorship in our industry, how culture stems from the leader and how you can find a mentor and friend anywhere you look in sports turf.

Friends Pete Thibeault with Noble and Greenough Schools and Rick Perruzzi with the City of South Portland join us to discuss how they manage sports turf in their corner of the US. Nothing is black and white in sports turf but these two share how they plan out cultural best practices, season by season.

Abby McNeal leads the Denver Parks and Rec crew, a crew that touches over 200 fields throughout the city of Denver. Abby is no stranger to our #GroundskeeperChat series, as this chat will be her third appearance! Abby's expertise and willingness to share what's worked for her is what keeps us asking her to come back time and time again. Listen to this week's chat for Abby's strategies on how to attract and retain new employees.