Georgia Sports Turf Managers Association
- Certified Sports Field Manager
- Associates Degree in Environmental Horticulture
- 20 years of Turf Managenment experience
Mark Holder - Vice President
- 20 years experience in recreation and parks including Parks Coordinator since 2005
- STMA member since 2007 and member of The Annual Conference Education Committee from 2007-2010
- 7th District Chair Person for Georgia Recreation and Parks Association (GRPA) Facilities and Grounds Section from 2008-2009
Michael Hurd, SCPS - Commercial Vice President
- 24 years MLB Sports Turf Management experience (Yankees, Pirates, reds, and Cleveland)
- Consultant for over 20 minor league projects
- 1993, 1994, and 1995 Gulf Coast League Groundskeeper of the Year
- 1996, 1997, 1998 Florida State League of the Year Presidents Accommodation Award
- 1993 STMA/Beam Clay National Baseball Diamod of the Year
- Former Board Memeber for the Florida Turfgrass Association
George Bernardon, CSFM - Secretary
- 35 years experience in the Green Industry
- Responsible for new business development and management of attained business, including landscape, sports turf, and grounds maintenance
- Certifications: Certified Sports Field Manager, Turfgrass Professional, Playground Safety Inspector, Integrated Pest Management, Landscape Professional, and Accredited Rainwater Harvester
- AA in Ornamental Horticulture, BS and MS in Business Management
Jon Dewitt, CSFM - School/College Rep
- Assistant Director of Facilities Sports Turf Manager at Georgia Tech
- BA English - University of Alabama Birmingham
- 18 years Turf Experience - 5 at Briarwood Christinan School, 7 at Weslyan School, at GA Tech since 2007
Dusty Sweat - Treasurer
- 13 years experience in the Green Industry (Golf, Commercial Landscape, Sports Turf, and Sales/Distribution)
- STMA Member since 2007
- BS in Landscape and Grounds Management, Minors in Turfgrass Management and Horticulture
- Active in 6 national Green Industry trade organizations and 3 local organizations
- Responsible for sales/distribution of products to commercial end-users in 6 Southeast states
Because a few men believed that sports turf could be improved through the sharing of knowledge and the exchange of ideas, the Sports Turf Managers Association was officially formed in 1981.
The key leaders in the STMA's infancy were Harry "Pops" Gill (deceased), Milwaukee County Stadium; Dr. William Daniel (deceased), Professor Emeritus, Purdue University; Dick Ericson, Minneapolis Metrodome, and George Toma (NFL).
After sharing the office, executive secretary and conference facilities of the National Institute of Parks & Grounds Management in Appleton, Wisconsin, for three years, the sixty STMA members decided to venture into independence in November 1984.
The Board of Directors, led by their newly elected President, David Frey, appointed the Association's first Executive Director, Dr. Kent W. Kurtz, Professor of Turfgrass & Ornamental Horticulture at California State Polytechnic University in Pomona. In 1985, the Association incorporated as a not-for-profit corporation and began a quarterly newsletter. STMA established a national office in Upland, California, during the spring of 1987. The first national conference in 1986 was held in conjunction with that of the Golf Course Superintendents Association of America, as were the annual meetings in 1987 and 1988.
