TurfNet has launched two new recognition programs to honor worthy individuals within the turf maintenance field.
Rising Stars of Turf will recognize movers and shakers on the upswing of their careers in turf maintenance or allied fields. Early-career superintendents, assistants, equipment technicians, interns, students, sports turf managers and even salespeople are eligible for consideration. There are no specific criteria for selection and no formal nomination or application process, although suggestions for consideration can be emailed to John Reitman or posted on Twitter using @TurfNet with the hashtag #RisingStarsofTurf.
Presenting sponsors for Rising Stars of Turf are EarthWorks and DryJect.
All Stars of Turf will recognize established superintendents, equipment technicians, career assistants, salespeople, architects, consultants or educators who have distinguished themselves over a period of years in areas such as innovation, creativity, mentoring and staff development, communication, course construction/projects, budget management, community service or otherwise contributing to the good of the industry and/or their communities.
As with Rising Stars, suggestions for consideration as an All Star of Turf can be emailed to John Reitman or posted on Twitter using @TurfNet with the hashtag #AllStarsofTurf.
The All Stars of Turf program is presented by Foley Company and Air2G2 by Foley.
Sponsors of both programs will help identify suitable candidates and select winners.
Recipients will be announced monthly and featured on TurfNet.com and social media.
"In years past as we evaluated nominations for our Superintendent of the Year and Technician of the Year awards, we would invariably comment on the number of worthy individuals and the difficulty of selecting just one," said Peter McCormick, founder of TurfNet. "These new programs will enable us to recognize a greater number and wider variety of people who are either just ramping up their careers or have contributed in their own way to the betterment of our industry over a matter of years. These awards will be loosely structured, sometimes spontaneous and always fun... much in the manner in which we have operated TurfNet over the years."
The Superintendent of the Year and Technician of the Year awards were retired last year after 20-year runs.
