Sports Field Management Association announced that the students of the Atlee High School Turf Science Program in Mechanicsville, Va., have won the association’s "Stars and Stripes" contest for the second straight year.
The competition allows SFMA members to craft and submit Fourth of July-themed field designs with mowing equipment or paint for eligibility to win a complimentary registration to the 2024 SFMA Annual Conference in Daytona Beach, Florida. Additionally, a poster of the winning field will be displayed at the conference. Entries were submitted on Facebook in July and the public had the opportunity to vote and ultimately name the winning design.
Atlee High School’s design was submitted by Marc Moran and depicted a brilliant red, white and blue theme in the end zones of the school’s football field. Moran has run the Turf Science Program at Atlee High School since 2001 and under his supervision it also won the SFMA High School/Parks Softball Field of the Year Award in 2009.
Second place went to Jason Cooke and his crew with the Portland Sea Dogs, while John Frankenfield and the Town of Erie took third place for their patriotic design at the Ball Park at Erie in Erie, Colorado. Overall there were 26 entries and thousands of votes cast online for the winners.
“This creative, summer tradition always turns out some really fun and patriotic designs,” says Laura Simmons, CEO of SFMA. “The students at Atlee High School did a phenomenal job and it's wonderful to see young people being exposed to the profession under the tutelage of someone as talented and respected as Mr. Moran.”