How did you get into the sports turf industry? I worked with the Mahoning Valley Scrappers since I was fourteen. I started there as a bat boy and worked my way up to Assistant Clubhouse Manager. The former head groundskeeper, Ryan, was looking for an intern to help him for a spring season when I…
Category: Interview With An Installer
Interview With An Installer: Jason Jacobs
How did you get into the sports turf industry? Taking care of baseball fields is something I’ve done since I was fifteen. I worked for my hometown, taking care of about ten fields. Originally I went to school and got a degree in Sports Administration as kind of a fall back plan. Afterwards, I interned…
Interview With An Installer: Travis Beatty
How did you get into the sports turf industry? My dad has worked with Grant (McKnight) on and off since before I was born. When he started Natural Sand Company and then DuraEdge my dad started working there again. I started working at the plant bagging product. Then I began working on the construction side…
Interview With An Installer: Cameron Toone
How did you get into the sports turf industry? I started out on the residential landscaping side of things. Through working in landscaping, I was introduced to a local sod company and another company in sports turf. What really got me started was job shadowing them to start learning that world. I eventually worked my…
Interview With An Installer: Mike Viersma
How did you get into the sports turf industry? I worked in my family’s construction company to begin my career. In time, we started building ballfields and saw a need in specialized sports care work. Did you have any mentors in the industry? Definitely my parents, Bob and Theresa Viersma. They always encouraged me…
Interview With An Installer: Mike Robinson
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. …
Interview With An Installer: Steve Trosen
How did you get into the sports turf industry? Coming from an extensive landscaping background it led me to pursue a career in a similar field. Out of high school I worked for a landscaping company that was a sister company to my family’s tree service business, soon after that transitioning to my first job…
Interview With An Installer: Mack Jaehnig
How did you get into the sports turf industry? I’ve really been landscaping my entire life. When I was growing up, my stepdad maintained community gardens around Pittsburgh. I would help out and that was really how it started. After getting out of high school, I moved to California and started working in the golf…
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