Pam Sherratt (sitting in passenger seat of Gator) - Toro, Deere and Jacobsen - no favouritism being shown then!
the industry but not very often”. The mix of tasks and a largely outdoor work schedule offers job appeal, she says. “Our days are very structured. We come in at 5.15am and all our jobs are up on a board, spread evenly among the squad. We can get anything, any morning; mowing the green, raking the bunkers or setting up the course. Head greenkeeper Gordon McKie ensures there’s lots of variety and I love working outside. The job is challenging and interesting - I never come in and do the same thing every day.”
So what’s her next rung on the
career ladder? “I’m very motivated and am always looking for opportunities. I’m looking to achieve superintendent status in five or ten years.”
Does she have any guidance for other young people wanting to come into the industry? “Gain your education first, then try to enrole on the Ohio State Turf Programme.”
IN addition to its extensive internship programme, Ohio State University runs an entire department dedicated to horticulture and crop science. Working within this department is sports turf specialist Pam Sherratt and a further eight female colleagues - surely a state of affairs almost unheard of in UK groundskeeping and turf maintenance. For Pam too, there’s never a dull moment but in a different sphere of industry activity, as she explains; “The majority of my work is in ‘Extension’ - this is the English equivalent of consultancy but the client does not pay (land-grant universities such as Ohio offer this to state residents). “I conduct about 30 in-state visits a year to sports stadiums and make recommendations. I also write for
many scientific publications and magazines, manage a website and teach a BSc class each year in Sports Turf Management.” Pam’s career is testament to the
greater opportunities the US industry offers beyond the more traditional roles at club level. She’s not about to stop with what she’s got either. “I’ve just started my PhD so I hope to get a faculty position here at OSU or at another university in the States.” Pam’s level of dedication to her role as a sports turf specialist, she believes, stems from her deep enjoyment of the sector. “I get to go out into the industry a lot and meet people. Every single day is different and I have the benefit of managing my own time. My travels around the US include taking in five or six national talks a year. So far I have been to 25 states but I still have plenty more I want to see.”
GIVEN such high levels of enthusiasm for, and commitment to, the turfgrass profession, why are more women not becoming involved in a sector that clearly presents them with a stimulating and rewarding environment? Pam Sherratt, who also believes women are not sufficiently represented in the industry at present, can answer that question. “I think it stems right from school. Women are not encouraged or even made aware of the opportunities in turf management.” “There may be some women that
are frightened off by the possibility of using heavy equipment or doing hard physical labour but the same could be said for many men!” But her final
reason is perhaps Elizabeth Crowley
most telling of all: “We need to do a better job of educating careers advisors.” Furthermore, Pam suggests that women should assume a higher profile in the industry. “We need good role models,” she believes. “I know three women in my region of the USA alone that are head groundskeepers at large stadiums - Abby McNeal at the Chicago Fire MLS Stadium, Heather Nabozny at the Detroit Tigers MLB Stadium and Amy Fouty at Michigan State.”
The enthusiasm for their jobs and
careers that Karen Carter, Elizabeth Crawley and Pam Sherratt so clearly demonstrate should surely act as the inspirational force for other women considering a move into the industry. Perhaps in this sense, they themselves are the role
models.
The eight strong team at Ohio State University with
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