This-N-That
A Tip Of The Hat And Tips For Success
Congratulations to the Cleveland Metroparks Purchasing Division for being selected for the Excellence in Procurement award from the National Procurement Institute. This is the fourth consecutive year that the department has won this award. To read more about it or for tips on how to achieve this milestone, read Ron Ciancutti’s column, “A Step Ahead” beginning on Page 62.
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PlayCore Unleashes On Dog Parks
To ensure a dog park is meaningful to the community, as well as to pet owners, a variety of planning and design considerations should be taken into account. Unleashed: Off-leash Dog Park Design Trends and Planning Tips helps make the process easier by providing guidelines on location and context, promoting usage and community interest, planning and implementation strategies, as well as marketing and programming. Case studies of successful dog parks are also included. Community representatives who are interested in building a dog park are encouraged to log on to http://www.playcore.com/unleashed-dog-park-design.html to request a copy of the book or link to dog park product sites to design your own perfect dog park!
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Field Notes
BSN SPORTS , a direct marketer and distributor of sporting goods to the school and league markets, has completed the acquisition of Westside Team Sports, LLC based in Santa Monica, Calif. Westside Team Sports (WTS), privately owned and operated since 2010, is a distributor of team apparel and equipment in southern California. Prior to this acquisition WTS was a member of the SPORTS INC. buying group.
Zero Turn Manufacturer Country Clipper awarded two distributors—Boettcher Supply and Conniff Sales, Inc. as its Country Clipper 2014 Co-Distributors of the Year. Boettcher Supply operates in Beloit, Kan., and serves dealers in Colorado, Nebraska, Kansas, and Missouri. Conniff Sales is located in Richmond, Ind., and currently serves dealers in Michigan, Indiana, Ohio, Kentucky, and Tennessee.
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Word On The Web
On “Put People First,” July 4 Week-Ender blog post:
Loves Being A Fighter
The “Put People First” article is fantastic. It really hit home with me. I’m a fighter for the good fight and sometimes get on people’s nerves by trying to do right by all people. This article confirmed that I’m doing what I’m supposed to be doing.
Thank you,
Comilla
Richland County Recreation Commission
South Carolina
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Kaivac Earns Patent for Smart Towel System
Hamilton, Ohio—Kaivac has been awarded its 13th patent from the U.S. Patent Office. The latest patent is for the company's Smart Towel System, which was introduced about 5 years ago. The microfiber cleaning cloth can be folded into four quadrants on one side and then flipped over and folded into four more quadrants, allowing for a fresh quadrant to be used for cleaning surfaces.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, “studies have shown that, in situations where the cleaning procedure failed to eliminate contamination from [one] surface and the [cleaning] cloth is used to wipe another surface, the contamination is transferred to that surface.”
It is for this reason that the Smart Towel System was created. For more information, visit www.kaivac.com .
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First Edition Of Model Aquatic Health Code Available
The 1 st edition of the Model Aquatic Health Code is now available from the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC). It is the nation's first voluntary guideline based on scientific research and best practices to improve health and safety at aquatic facilities. It can be used by state and local governments to create a pool code that will help reduce risk for outbreaks, drownings, and injuries. To read the Model Aquatic Health Code, visit http://www.cdc.gov/healthywater/swimming/pools/mahc/ .
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Park Foundation Secures $1 Million Gift For Greenhouse
The Montgomery Parks Foundation, an independent non-profit organization providing fundraising and support to Montgomery Parks has secured $1 million from a private donor to help construct a new growing greenhouse at Brookside Gardens in Wheaton, MD. The greenhouse is part of the multi-phase Master Plan adopted in 2005 that will enhance the offerings at the public garden which opened in 1969. Brookside Gardens is a facility within the Montgomery County Department of Parks and part of the Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission.
The greenhouse is a $3,274,600 project and is also funded by $1,200,000 from the state and $1,074,600 from the county. The donation comprises almost 30 percent of the cost to construct the greenhouse.
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Iron Horse Trail Extension A Long-awaited Event (photo below)
The East Bay Regional Park District in California celebrated the opening of the Iron Horse Trail extension, which extends 1.8 miles to fill a break that ran through Pleasanton. The trail begins in Martinez and connects 9 communities along the way. The extension unveiled closes a gap in the 32 miles running from Concord to Santa Rita Road.
The trail expansion is part of the East Bay Green Transport Initiative, and it was funded in part by a U.S. Department of Transportation’s Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery II grant (TIGER II), with additional funding by the Caltrans’s Environmental Enhancement and Mitigation Program, the Alameda County Transportation Commission, the voter-approved 2008 Measure WW, and the City of Pleasanton. The total cost of the project was $5.3 million.
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Cartegraph To Manage Central Park Operations
Cartegraph, a provider of work, asset, resource, and request management technology for local governments, has added New York City’s Central Park to its roster of public-sector clients. Central Park Conservancy, the private, not-for-profit organization that manages Central Park, has chosen Cartegraph technology to manage day-to-day operations performed against the park’s diverse inventory of assets, including monuments, water features, trees, pavement segments, and water distribution and storm water networks. The conservancy also has plans to use the vendor for managing event operations and vendor licenses. Central Park comprises 843 acres and hosts approximately 40 million visitors annually, making it the most frequently visited urban park in the United States.
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COXREELS Rolls Out New Catalog
COXREELS introduces its newest 60-page catalog showcasing refined features and helpful selecting tools for the most comprehensive and innovative industrial-grade reel line. With the help of a user-friendly index system and easy to navigate layout, this catalog makes it easy to find the right reel for your application and discover the many accessories and add-ons for each series. To acquire a copy, call (800) 269-7335, email: info@coxreels.com or simply download a PDF at www.coxreels.com .
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Calendar
December
6-10 American Sports Builders Association Annual Technical Meeting, Ponte Vedra, Fla.—Sawgrass Marriott; www.sportsbuilders.org
2015
January
5-Feb. 20 UMass Winter School for Turf Managers, Amherst, Mass.—University of Massachusetts; academicprograms@contined.umass.edu
4-5 WESTERN Nursery and Landscape Association Annual Meeting and Trade Show, Kansas City, Mo.—Crown Center Exhibit Hall; www.wnla.org
6-8 Northern New England Recreation and Parks Conference, Bartlett, NH--Attitash Grand Summit Resort; www.northernnewenglands.com
12-16 Mid-America Pool & Spa Show, Schaumburg, Ill.-- Schaumburg Convention Center; www.midamericashow.com
13-16 Sports Turf Managers Association Conference and Exhibition, Denver, Colo. www.stma.org
14-16 Indiana Park & Recreation Association State Conference, Michigan City, Ind.—Blue Chip Casino; www.inpra.org
22-24 Illinois Park and Recreation Association Soaring to New Heights Annual Conference, Chicago, Ill.—Hyatt Regency, www.il-pra.org
26-29 New England Regional Turfgrass Conference & Show, Providence, R.I.--Rhode Island Convention Center; (401) 848-0004, www.turfshow.com
27-30 Kansas Recreation and Park Association Conference and Trade Show, Topeka, Kan.— Kansas Expocentre; wwwkrpa.org