If you attend the Kansas Turf Conference this year December 1-3 in Topeka, you will notice several new features.
First of all, the Kansas Nursery & Landscape Association will be joining up with us for our conference this year, offering additional sessions in Basic and Advanced Nursery & Landscape, as well as having more vendors at the trade show in this area. We are excited for the possibilities this can bring to the dynamics of our conference.
Exhibitor Bingo
Each attendee will receive a KTF Exhibitor Bingo card in their registration packet. Join the fun by visiting participating exhibitor booths each day during the trade show hours and turning in your completed card at the KTF booth. A raffle drawing will be held both Tuesday and Wednesday for a great prize. You must be present to win.
Trade Show Educational Events
Each afternoon the trade show will “kick-off” with a 15-minute presentation. On December 1, Dr. Brandon Horvath, one of our featured out-of-state speakers from the University of Tennessee, will talk on “The History and Development of Mowing Technology. On December 2, Chery Boyer and Jared Hoyle will talk on “How to Use Social Media in the Green Industry.” You won’t want to miss these talks!
There will be an interactive exhibit on turf and landscape weeds, diseases and insects. You can complete the activity once (either Tues. or Wed.) to earn 0.5 hr of credit in 3A & 3B. Be sure to stop by that booth!
Building a Pitcher’s Mound
The Sports Turf Management session on Dec. 2 at the Kansas Turf Conference will be presented by Ewing Irrigation Products. It is part of an initiative to educate coaches, sports turf managers and volunteers on how to maintain the safest, most playable baseball fields possible. At this event, you will have the opportunity to network and learn tips from two former top NFL/MLB groundskeepers. The breakout will be focusing on the proper construction (material selection, preparation tips, etc.) of building a pitching mound from the ground up.
Troy Smith is Ewing Irrigation’s National Sports Field Product manager based out of Phoenix, AZ. Prior to joining Ewing Troy maintained both cool-season and warm-season turf at the highest levels for organizations such as the Milwaukee Brewers, Denver Broncos and the Arizona Cardinals. Troy earned his B.S. in Landscape Horticulture/Turfgrass Management from Colorado State University, and was president of the Sport Turf Managers Association (STMA) in 1999.
Luke Yoder is a member of Ewing’s national sport field team and is currently based out of Southern California. Luke comes from a very decorated sports field management career acting as a head groundskeeper in both major and minor league baseball. For the past 12 MLB seasons, Luke has been the head groundskeeper as well as director of field and landscape maintenance for the San Diego Padres. In addition to his responsibilities as head groundskeeper at Petco Park, Luke also worked with all of the team’s minor league affiliates as well as the team.
We have a great educational program lined up this year, along with an improved layout for our trade show. Pesticide recertification credits will be available, as well as educations credits fo GCSAA and International Society of Arboriculture.
CLICK HERE FOR THE FULL PROGRAM
http://www.k-state.edu/turf/events/2015TurfConferenceWEB.wpd.pdf
REGISTER HERE!
Mark the dates to attend—December 1, 2 & 3. You should receive your conference program in the mail soon.
