Groundskeeper Chats

• Ag teacher turned turf professional 

We continue with our Routes to Turf series by hearing cohost's Weston Appelfeller's turf origin story and how he ended up in the position he holds today. Appelfeller grew up dreaming of one day becoming a baseball umpire. Once he discovered that the turf industry was another route to being close to the game he loved, he dove in head first. Tune in for the rest of the story which includes gigs in Columbus, Boston, Austin and plenty of pivotal moments along the way.

From bunkers in Idaho to growing grass on plastic in Colorado, Jess Lenihan joins us this week to share her Route to Turf story. Jess is the Sod Farm Manager for Green Valley Turf Co in Platteville Colorado. Similar to many turf stories, once Jess was exposed to the industry at an early age, she was all in.

Ben Hartman, Director of Field Operations for the Wichita Wind Surge, joins Meg for our next Groundskeeper Chat series: Routes to Turf! Hartman's story is unique because he represents the small percentage of the industry that knew about sports turf as a young kid! Listen along for how Hartman has made mentorship, advocacy and branding a priority in his career!

Sports Turf Specialist at the University of Michigan, Jason DeMink, CSFM joins us to talk about visibility for our industry. DeMink has been with the University of Michigan for 17 seasons and oversees football, baseball and softball. He joins Meg and Weston to share his passion for growing the profession

Director of Grounds for Real Salt Lake and Utah Royals FC, Dan Farnes, joins us to talk about helping our industry step into the spotlight during global events. Farnes does an excellent job of showcasing the job in a relatable, authentic and intriguing via social media. We dive into his thoughts behind social media and media relations and much more in Dan's episode.

Senior Marketing Manager for The Toro Company, Paula Sliefert's debut #GroundskeeperChat features everything that's great about our industry: passion, innovation and camaraderie.  Paula, Meg, Weston and Chris put their heads together to brainstorm ideas on how commercial partners can support the sports field managers who are bound to see an uptick in projects and stress as major events like the World Cup are brought to our facilities. While capitalizing on the extra attention our industry will receive in order to grow our work force, professionalize our jobs and much more. Listen along for a jam-packed hour of what feels like only the tip of the iceberg. 

Catch up with Groundskeeper Chat Hosts Meg Kruger and Weston Appelfeller as they give you the sneak peek into our next series: Capitalizing on Culture. The pair discuss the highlights from recent episodes, the guests they chatted with and their take on upcoming events happening in our industry. Like, subscribe and share Groundskeeper Chats with friends, co-workers or strangers on the street! Thank you for the support! 

Another installment of our Groundskeeper Chat Rush Hour live from our booth at the SFMA conference in Daytona Beach! Tune in for turf origin stories and the most exciting things to emerge from the conference. Thank you to everyone who hopped on the mic with us and made SFMA another special week for the Pioneer and Groundskeeper Chat teams!

Closing out our Daytona Episodes the same way we closed out the show, with a jam-packed, speed dating, Rush Hour with The Women in Turf Team. We caught up with some OG favorites and met new friends. Tune in for turf origin stories and the most exciting things to emerge from the conference. Thank you to everyone who hopped on the mic with us and made SFMA another special week for the Pioneer and Groundskeeper Chat teams!