PORTLAND, Ore. --- Portland Athletics' Fields Manager Kevin White has been awarded the 2016 Field of the Year Award for his maintenance and care of Merlo Field, announced the Sports Turf Managers Association (STMA) a few weeks ago.
 
"The Field of the Year Award is highly esteemed, and I am both extremely proud and humbled to have received it for the second time in my career," said White. "The first time was in 2013 while I was working at Seattle University."
 
White received a B.S. in Turfgrass Management from Cal Poly Pomona and has been working in the industry for 15 years, eight years in golf and now seven years in Sports Turf. He came to the University of Portland in July of 2015 after spending the previous six years at Seattle U.
 
STMA is a professional association for 2,600 men and women who manage sports fields worldwide who are critical to the safety of athletes and coaches. Since 1981, the association and its 34 local chapters have been providing education, information and sharing practical knowledge in the art and science of sports field management.
 
A panel of 11 judges independently scored entries based on playability, appearance of surfaces, utilization of innovative solutions, effective use of budget and implementation of a comprehensive agronomic program and the winning fields will be featured in a 2017 issue of SportsTurf Magazine.
 
Since 1992, STMA's Field of the Year Award is presented to members who manage baseball, football, soccer, softball and other sporting playing surfaces at the professional, collegiate, schools (K-12) and parks and recreation level. The 2016 winners are listed below:
 
Professional
* Baseball – Smokies Stadium at Tennessee Smokies (Kodak, Tenn.): Anthony DeFeo, Certified Sports Field Manager (CSFM), Head Groundskeeper
* Soccer – Toyota Park at Chicago Fire (Bridgeview, Ill.): Joel White, Turf Manager
* Sporting Grounds – Infinity Park at City of Glendale (Glendale, Colo.): Noel Harryman, CSFM, Manager
Turf Operations
 
College and University
* Baseball – Pacer Field at Marywood University (Scranton, Pa.): Rob Galdieri, Sports Turf Manager
* Football – Spartan Stadium at Michigan State University (East Lansing, Mich.): Amy Fouty, CSFM,
 
Athletic Turf Manager
* Soccer – Merlo Field at University of Portland (Portland, Ore.): Kevin White, Athletic Field Manager
* Softball – Pacer Field at Marywood University (Scranton, Pa.): Rob Galdieri, Sports Turf Manager
* Sporting Grounds – 5/3 Bank Stadium at Kennesaw State (Kennesaw, Ga.): Shane Hohlbein, CSFM,
 
Sports Turf Manager: Schools and Parks
* Baseball – The Nest at Clover School District (Clover, S.C.): Will Rogers, CSFM, Sports Turf Manager
* Football – Carson Stadium at Christ Church Episcopal School (Greenville, S.C.): Brian Dossett, CSFM,
 
Head Sports Field Manager
* Soccer – White River Soccer Complex at Noblesville High School (Noblesville, Ind.): Joshua Weigel, Grounds Superintendent
* Softball – Champs Field at Gulfport SportsPlex (Gulfport, Miss.): Ken Edwards, CSFM, Sports Turf
 
Manager
* Sporting Grounds – Raiders Stadium at Atlee High School (Mechanicsville, Va.): Marc Moran, CSFM, Agriculture/Horticulture Instructor