Member Spotlight

ATA Board Member Mark Brown

We sat down with Mark Brown, who serves as a Board Member, to talk about his contribution to ATA, his career, and turfgrass in the time of COVID-19.

Arkansas Turfgrass: How long have you served on the board, and what have been your priorities in that position?

Mark Brown: I am going into my third year now. One of the big things that we’ve focused on over the last few years is trying to grow the association here in the state. Arkansas has quite a few turfgrass professionals — golf course, lawn care, sod producers and sports fields. We’re just trying to get more of them to come to our shows and get actively involved. So we’ve gotta let everybody know that the turfgrass association is a benefit to them, there’s a lot of things we can get out of it.

AT: That involvement support seems important now more than ever during the COVID-19 pandemic. What do you think is the general attitude among turfgrass professionals in the state right now while they’re having to work so differently, especially in the spring?

MB: It’s definitely a change for them from what they’re accustomed to. I’ve talked to some of them and they’re really itching to get back out there and get everything back to somewhat normal, but they understand some things are going to change. The turf industry is, not to say that it hasn’t really been affected, but it’s probably taken a little bit less of a hit than other things. Still, it has its challenges of finding enough work, getting enough work for everyone. I do know a lot of the golf courses are busy, which is good. But the lawn care guys, this hit at a time of the year where they’re starting to get rolling.

AT: How did you get interested in a turfgrass career and get started in the industry?

MB: I originally, I lived in Austin, Texas and was working down there. I wasn’t in the turf industry then, but I started playing golf and I really liked it. So I thought it could be a good career for me. My original plan was to go into golf course design, or golf course architecture. That was really what I wanted to do. I got into that, and then I found the maintenance side of it, and being out there every day on a completed golf course, that shifted my focus to doing that.

From there I enrolled in school at the University of Arkansas, got my turf degree in Turfgrass Science and went to work. While I was in school I worked on the sports fields for the university at Baum Stadium and at Razorback Stadium. When I got out of school, that’s when I entered the golf course industry. I was an assistant golf course superintendent a couple of places, including the Alotian Club here in Little Rock. From there I transitioned back into sports fields, I was a sports turf manager at Dickey- Stevens, the minor league baseball stadium here in Little Rock. I did that for a few years and then went a little bit different direction and worked for the University of Arkansas Research and Extension, where I worked as an agent in the Central Arkansas area helping out the lawn care guys, golf course guys with any problems, plant diseases, weed control, things like that. But then an opportunity came back and I got back into golf courses as a golf course superintendent, so I’ve done a little bit of everything. After golf course superintendent, then I was a director of campus grounds for the University of Arkansas Little Rock, so I was over all the sports and intramural fields, campuswide. I’ve seen a little bit of everything that the turf industry has to offer.

AT: What has been the biggest challenge in your career in turfgrass?

MB: What I’ve experienced, and probably everybody else has experienced, is finding good help, good labor, good people you can depend on that are willing to work these days. If you can’t find those folks, what happens is that you end up working too many hours. Your home life suffers, your free time suffers. The biggest challenge has to be getting those laborers, and also handling the lack of budgets.

AT: How can turfgrass professionals maintain a work/life balance?

MB: Know that you can’t do everything in one day. We all want our golf course, our sports fields, our lawns to look the absolute best, so you have to manage your expectations and the expectations of your customers — whether it’s your members at the club or your city council or your customers that you’re maintaining their lawn. You can’t do it all, so you have to draw a hard line and say, “I’m really going to focus on this today,” and once it comes time, then you’ve got to leave it there. Go home, get away from it, escape it a little bit, and try to come back the next day fresh. It’s a whole lot easier said than done to have that mentality.

AT: Any final advice for ATA members?

MB: It’s a challenging profession. I don’t know how numbers are of people getting into it, but I used to tell everybody when I was working with the extension service — always try to get guys to get more education, get more training. Not only for the business owners on the business aspect of it, but enroll your employees in a class, give them something to shoot for, give them some training, give them a little bit more, and maybe you can get a little bit better guys, you can keep guys a little bit longer if you can give them selfworth and a personal investment in the industry.

When I was an assistant, my first superintendent I worked for, he was pretty tough, but I learned a lot from him and I got on that path, so find someone that can teach you. If you’re a young person coming into it, try to stay in places. I have moved around a few places, so longevity is key to — the younger guys may not be looking towards retirement obviously, but it is something you’ve got to look for. And the longer you stay at places, the better you sock away money, and build your retirement, things like that, that gets guys some financial training and make sure you’ve got all that in line as well as the turf knowledge as well. It all helps for sure.

To hear our full interview with Mark, visit www.theturfzone.com