DECEMBER 2024 GREETING FROM MASFMA PRESIDENT
Dear Mid-Atlantic SFMA,
Well, my time as your Mid-Atlantic SFMA President has come to an end. Never in my career did I ever think I would be a president of any organization. I want to thank our membership and sponsors. You all make this organization one of the top chapters in the country. I am proud of the things we have accomplished while I was President including having Secretary of Ag., Kevin Atticks and some of his staff attend our Spring Education Event and being part of the Chain of Custody Bill that was passed thanks to the hard work of members of the board like Rob Navolis and Nicole Sherry.
We have a great group of leaders getting ready to lead this organization and I am proud to introduce Clint Steele as your new President. I have known Clint since he was a turfgrass student and worked under me as a student employee. It has been a pleasure to see him grow from where he was to where he is now! His support team of CJ Lauer (Vice President), Rob Navolis (Secretary) and John Turnour (Treasurer) are some of the most professional and knowledgeable people I know. Your Board of Directors are Kaleb Lewis representing College/University, Dave Brown K-12, Frederick Johnson Parks and Recreation, Mike Boekholder commercial, and Geoffrey Rinehart Education. This organization will be in good hands for a while!
On the other end of the spectrum, I am sad to say Kim Pietsch resigned as the Executive Director of the Mid-Atlantic SFMA effective the end of this year. I can’t thank Kim enough! She picked up and continued where Melissa left off. I wish her all the best in her future adventures. With that being said, the executive board held interviews for a new Executive Director, and I am glad to introduce our new Executive Director team of Dr. Kevin Mathias and his wife Karen Mathias! Dr. Mathias is a retired Turfgrass professor from the University of Maryland. His knowledge and his reputation should help our organization grow membership. His wife is a retired federal contractor. Her experience designing, developing, testing and maintaining the electronic presence of several Department of Defense websites should help keep our website and social media sites up and running well.
Don't forget that now is the time to renew your membership, so please LOG IN ONLINE and pay your dues for the 2025 calendar year. Thank you all again for making the Mid-Atlantic SFMA one of the top Sports Field Management Association chapters in America! We have other chapters looking to us for advice. I will still be serving on the board as past president, and if anyone needs to get in touch with me, please feel free to reach out. Thank you all for everything! It has been an honor to serve you as your MASFMA President the past 2 years! God bless you all!
Jason Bowers, CSFM
