STMA names 2016 Field of the Year Award winners

Sports Turf Managers Association (STMA) named its 2016 “Field of the Year Award” winners.

Since 1992, STMA’s Field of the Year Award is presented to members who manage baseball, football, soccer, softball and other sporting playing surfaces at the professional, collegiate, schools (K-12) and parks and recreation level. The 2016 winners are listed below:

Professional

Baseball
Smokies Stadium at Tennessee Smokies (Kodak, Tenn.): Anthony DeFeo, Certified Sports Field Manager (CSFM), Head Groundskeeper

Soccer
Toyota Park at Chicago Fire (Bridgeview, Ill.): Joel White, Turf Manager

Sporting Grounds
Infinity Park at City of Glendale (Glendale, Colo.): Noel Harryman, CSFM, Manager Turf Operations

College and University

Baseball
Pacer Field at Marywood University (Scranton, Pa.): Rob Galdieri, Sports Turf Manager

Football
Spartan Stadium at Michigan State University (East Lansing, Mich.): Amy Fouty, CSFM, Athletic Turf Manager

Soccer
Merlo Field at University of Portland (Portland, Ore.): Kevin White, Athletic Field Manager

Softball
Pacer Field at Marywood University (Scranton, Pa.): Rob Galdieri, Sports Turf Manager

Sporting Grounds
5/3 Bank Stadium at Kennesaw State (Kennesaw, Ga.): Shane Hohlbein, CSFM, Sports Turf Manager

Schools and Parks

Baseball
The Nest at Clover School District (Clover, S.C.): Will Rogers, CSFM, Sports Turf Manager

Football
Carson Stadium at Christ Church Episcopal School (Greenville, S.C.): Brian Dossett, CSFM, Head Sports Field Manager

Soccer
White River Soccer Complex at Noblesville High School (Noblesville, Ind.): Joshua Weigel, Grounds Superintendent

Softball
Champs Field at Gulfport SportsPlex (Gulfport, Miss.): Ken Edwards, CSFM, Sports Turf Manager

Sporting Grounds
Raiders Stadium at Atlee High School (Mechanicsville, Va.): Marc Moran, CSFM, Agriculture/Horticulture Instructor

“Through the ‘Field of the Year Program,’ the members of our Awards Committee independently select the most superior natural grass playing surfaces that exemplify both safety and playability,” says Kim Heck, CAE, CEO of STMA. “We are excited by the significant number of applicants, which made for difficult decisions but shows the size, scope and continued innovation of the sports turf industry.”

Moran has now received this prestigious honor four times (2006, 2009, 2010), each in a different sporting category. Three-time winners include Harryman (2012, 2013), Rogers (2014, 2015) and Weigel (2012, 2014). “Field of the Year Award” winners for the second time include Fouty (2013), White (2013) and Hohlbein (2015).

A panel of 11 judges independently scored entries based on playability, appearance of surfaces, utilization of innovative solutions, effective use of budget and implementation of a comprehensive agronomic program. Judges may not award a field in each category. Winning fields will be featured in a 2017 issue of SportsTurf Magazine, the official monthly publication of STMA.

Awards will be presented at the 28th annual STMA Conference & Exhibition in Orlando, Fla. Jan. 24-27, 2017. Nearly 1,200 leaders in the sports turf industry will meet at Disney’s Colorado Springs Hotel for four days of cutting-edge educational seminars, exhibitor demonstrations and networking opportunities.