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Advocacy manual created for Sports Turf members

April 22, 2013  - By

The Sports Turf Managers Association (STMA) has released to members only a 20-page Advocacy Manual designed to assist sports field managers with community and state government public policy advocacy efforts, both proactive and reactive.

The online toolkit was requested by association membership to address potential regulations and initiatives affecting issues those who manage sports fields and approaches this issue with a common sense approach to identifying issues, creating relationships with lawmakers, building coalitions, establishing meeting protocols with lawmakers, and communicating with the press.

“STMA’s mission centers around educating and enriching our membership,” said STMA CEO Kimberly Heck. “Our members-only Advocacy Manual, as with so many of our most successful initiatives, arose out of a very specific need, one articulated to us by our membership. We are excited to now offer this resource for those STMA members who might be looking for some guidance in this area.”

The STMA Advocacy Manual states that advocacy is “…any action taken to influence public policy. It can take many different forms, but the end goal is always to persuade lawmakers to take actions that are beneficial to your group or organization. Letter writing, phone calls, in-person visits, media relations, public awareness campaigns, giving public testimony, conducting and sharing research, and lobbying are all forms of political advocacy.”

Sections of the manual include:

  • Effective Proactive Advocacy
  • Identifying Advocacy Priorities
  • Communicating with Lawmakers – Phone calls, letters and emails
  • Communicating with Lawmakers – Meetings
  • Anatomy of a Lawmaker Meeting
  • Communicating with Lawmakers – More ways to build relationships
  • Working with Alliances and Coalitions
  • Communicating with the Media
  • Social Media and Advocacy
  • Hiring a Lobbyist

The STMA Advocacy Manual is located under the Environmental Stewardship tab in the Knowledge Center (Members Only) section of the STMA website.

To help sports field managers stay in compliance with their state’s requirements, STMA also has produced a comprehensive list of Environmental Regulations that Affect Sports Fields, which also is located in the Members Only Knowledge Center section under the Environmental Stewardship tab of the STMA website. The list includes state and federal laws and regulations covering pesticide and fertilizer licensing and certification, pesticide and fertilizer use, school integrated pest management, integrated pest management, and water use and quality topics.  These specific areas were researched and included for their applicability to the management of sports fields.

 

 

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