Earlier this year, SFMA in partnerships with its charity, The SAFE Foundation, Project EverGreen and Exmark Manufacturing, joined forces for the third annual “Our Winning Green Space” contest.
Municipal parks and recreation departments, public works departments and non-profit agencies could enter the contest to have a chance at winning a top-of-the-line Exmark commercial mower package including Lazer Z X-Series zero-turn and Commercial 30 walk-behind mowers – valued at approximately $15,000 – as well as a playing field or park renovation project.
Logan Horne was announced the winner. Horne and the Louisa County (Va.) School District, which is located in central Virginia at the crossroads between Richmond, Fredericksburg and Charlottesville, will receive an Exmark Lazer Z X-Series mower package to help maintain the school district’s athletic fields and grounds helping to create safer playing fields, as well as an athletic field renovation.
The “Our Winning Green Spaces” contest is sponsored by Project EverGreen in partnership with Exmark Manufacturing, the Sports Turf Managers Association (SFMA) and The Foundation for Safer Athletic Fields for Everyone (SAFE).
Horne returned to his hometown of Mineral, Virginia, to teach turf management at Louisa County H.S. and oversee the care and maintenance of the district’s athletic fields and grounds. The school district includes a high school, middle school and five elementary schools, and the grounds and fields are used by both students and residents for athletic competitions and recreation.
A professional turf manager by trade, Horne manages four athletic fields, about 15 acres of landscape, 2.4 miles of walking trails and a bee-keeping area. The students actively participate in the maintenance and have come up with new ideas to enhance the grounds including building and installing benches, clearing trails and helping to build an outdoor classroom. His love of turf and managing sports fields drives him to recruit at least one high school turf student a year to go into a career in sports turf management.
Learn more about Project Evergreen on their website.
