March Greeting from MASTMA President

Dear MASTMA Members,

Wow, what an amazing MASTMA Spring Education Event at Camden Yards last week - it was great seeing so many of you in-person! Many thanks to our esteemed educational speakers, John Emerson Jr., Dr. Eric Ervin, and Dr. Brian Kunkel, who all hail from the University of Delaware (my alma mater). It was inspiring hearing from the newly elected Maryland Turfgrass Council President, Brandon Sands regarding the Council’s interest in partnering with MASTMA with future endeavors – stay tuned for further communications. The 2021 MASTMA DMV MVP Award winner was acknowledged and celebrated – congratulations, Wheaton Regional Park (Field 2)! The MASTMA brand and logo initiative to assimilate with the Sports Field Management Association (SFMA) was also launched and I am pleased to announce that there was already a logo submitted. Check it out on our Twitter feed @MidAtlanticSTMA and/or see the picture below. Last, but certainly not least, Richard Reinhard, Lead Lobbyist with Z+C, LLC, the firm MASTMA hired to represent our industry for the 2022 Maryland State Session, explained our progress establishing a seat at the legislative table by utilizing the MASTMA Best Management Practices (BMP) Manual. Thus far, there have been four bills of which MASTMA took an official position by submitting testimony before the Maryland Senate and House Standing Committees, 11 bills that are being monitoring throughout the remainder of the legislative session, and 50 bills that have been reviewed during a weekly bill report meeting. It’s been an exciting process! If you are interested in being involved in these efforts, please reach out to our MASTMA Outreach Committee Chair, Robert Navolis at [email protected].

While our membership is strong, we need to keep our momentum going! Consider encouraging your fellow teammates or staff members to become a part of MASTMA – click to join. Your MASTMA Board of Directors is here to serve you, so don’t be shy and connect with us. As always, MASTMA is so appreciative of our sponsors; they are here to support us, and their products and/or services are second to none! I look forward to seeing you soon at our upcoming MASTMA Summer Field Day on June 23rd at Dunkirk Regional Park in Calvert County. Register here.

Sincerely,

Nicole Sherry
President, MASTMA
[email protected]