How did you get into the sports turf industry?

I got into the green care industry in 1981, the year my son was born.  When I started my career I ran some lawn care companies.    But after doing that for a while and going to educational classes, I got bored and wanted something new.  That’s when I started to do sports tracks and fields.  I feel like it fits my personality more and I’ve enjoyed doing it.

 

Did you have any mentors in the industry?

Yes, Doug Halterman, who was VP of Leisure Lawn Company I worked for.  He gave me a great education and introduced me to Joe Motz.  I sat down with Joe at an Ohio Turfgrass foundation conference and learned more in about an hour than I had in prior ten years working myself.  Joe runs the Motz Group which builds World Cup soccer fields.  His original company did the Joe Robbie (Now Hard Rock) Stadium in Miami.  I could have sat there for a day and soaked in all the knowledge.

 

What are your favorite parts of your job?

My favorite part, which I don’t get to do as much now, would be doing the actual work on the fields.  When you come to a field and see you’ve got your work cut out for you, then leaving it afterwards and saying wow, I did that.  It’s a genuinely gratifying experience.  There’s not many lines of work where you get to see results happen that quickly. 

 

What are the biggest challenges in your line of work?

The biggest challenge would probably be working with other peoples budgets. Very rarely do I feel they have enough budget to do what I feel they need to get done.  It’s nice when I get called in the very beginning of a project and I can help develop a budget beforehand that is more realistic.  However, we’ve become pretty good at making the proverbial silk purse.  At the end of the day, we leave a job feeling like we did the best job for the customer that we can. 

 

What are some of your favorite activities outside of work?

Besides playing with my grandkids, it would be woodworking.  I make small furniture mostly for myself, friends and family.  I am no artist, but I do enjoy making things with my hands.  I mostly just do it for fun and to relax.  

 

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About DuraEdge Products

Based in Grove City, PA, DuraEdge Products specializes in the production of top-quality products and services for the baseball and softball industry to provide long-term soil solutions, and to cover all the bases for safe and playable infields for the Sports Turf Industry across the United States and abroad.