SFMA from Pam Sherratt's Point of View

Jan. 27, 2025
Looking down into a courtyard oasis with a bright blue pool and palm trees surrounded by a yellow building and mountains

Palm Springs, CA | January 13 - 16, 2025

The 2025 Sports Field Management Association (SFMA) Conference was a blast and valuable opportunity for our turfgrass science students, staff, and faculty who attended this winter. Pam Sherratt, an HCS Turfgrass Specialist, was among those who attended and luckily, we had the chance to get her perspective on the conference.

Check out some highlights from Pam's experience attending the conference...


WHAT WERE SOME HIGHLIGHTS OF SFMA?

Four Columbus undergrads (Reese, Jake, Tyler and Brian), one ATI 2-year student (Aidan) and HCS graduate student Brynn accompanied me & Dr. Tyler Carr to Palm Springs, CA for the SFMA Conference. We had a meal with Ohio State alumni from the industry and they made a ton of connections! Field managers like Danny Losito with the Carolina Panthers talked with them about internship opportunities. 

Aidan won the 2-year Dr. Fred Grau Scholarship. All the undergrads competed in the student quiz bowls, attended student receptions, the annual AGM meeting, welcome reception & banquet. As a treat at the end of the conference we did the world’s largest rotating tramway together. The tram travels 8,500 ft. up Mount San Jacinto!

HCS current students, staff and faculty sitting at a dinner table with HCS alumni!

What keeps you going back to SFMA each year?

The SFMA Conference is the best place to learn about new management techniques and technology in the industry that I can share with my students. From a student perspective, they get to learn the same and also make new connections that could help in their future career. It’s important for them to meet with industry personnel and students from turf programs all across the US.


Thank you and a big congrats to everyone who took the time to share their knowledge and learn from their peers at the 2025 SFMA Conference. We can't wait to see y'all next year in Fort Worth, TX, January 18 - 22, 2026!

Eager for more news from the 2025 SFMA Conference? You're in luck - check out the rest of the series here.