Virginia Turf
@vaturf, #vaturf
MATE 2018 Keynote Speaker Jeff McManus will detail the ways that people GROW ‐ Greatness, Resiliency, Opportunity and Wisdom For someone that spent almost 16 years in the turfgrass science program at Mississippi State, the most regular phrase I associate between a State person and an Ole Miss person comes at the end of the national anthem where MSU faithful wish their counterparts from Ole Miss a safe journey to a very warm place ; ) Today I temporarily break that tradition of cynicism by singing the praises of someone from the University of Mississippi that has a truly inspiring message for a green industry audience – that someone is Jeff McManus, the Director of Landscape Services at Ole Miss. Jeff is not only a master in managing the campus landscape (visiting the campus in Oxford should be on everyone’s to do list if you are anywhere near north Mississippi, and experiencing ANY event in The Grove is always worth a stop!), he is a master in managing and GROWing people. Jeff is our keynote speaker at the Mid‐Atlantic Turfgrass Exposition and Trade Show on Tuesday morning, January 30 and he will give us a taste of his new book “Growing Weeders Into Leaders” (described below). All segments of the turfgrass industry will benefit from Jeff’s practical and proven strategies in personnel management that he employs through a replicable training program (Landscape University) that Jeff has developed and uses to transform grounds staff into more than just hourly workers – they become leaders. Read more about Jeff at jeffmcmanusspeaking.com. Growing Weeders Into Leaders At some point in this postmodern life, individual greatness has lost its appeal for many of us. It has been commodified and relegated to those who are measured by shortest/longest times, impressive distances, highest heights, lowest lows, medals won, honors given…and again…Aristotle and Nike got it right…GREATNESS is what we can DO…every day…without recognition or reward, but for the satisfaction that comes from meeting the challenge, creating a team, and overcoming the odds. And that is what Growing Weeders into Leaders is about. Jeff is only a small part of a comprehensive educational programming and trade show effort at MATE 2018 in Fredericksburg. MATE also welcomes turfgrass scientists Brandon Horvath (Univ of Tennessee) and Gregg Munshaw (Univ. Kentucky) to our program along with the turfgrass faculty, staff, and grad students of Maryland and Virginia Tech AND many of your industry peers as well. Complete conference and trade show schedules are posted and registration is now open for MATE 2018 at the Virginia Turfgrass Council website, www.vaturf.org.
Virginia Cooperative Extension materials are available for public use, reprint, or citation without further permission, provided the use includes credit to the author and to Virginia Cooperative Extension, Virginia Tech, and Virginia State University. Issued in furtherance of Cooperative Extension work, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Virginia State University, and the U.S. Department of Agriculture cooperating. Edwin J. Jones, s Director, Virginia Cooperative Extension, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg; M. Ray McKinnie, Administrator, 1890 Extension Program, Virginia State University, Petersburg. Disclaimer: This information is for educational purposes only. Any commercial products named in this publication are for informational purposes only. Virginia Cooperative Extension does not endorse these products and does not intend discrimination against other products which also may be suitable.
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