Some words from Tom Durbin, New Richmond Superintendent

While preparing a press release for the new baseball and softball fields at New Richmond High School I asked Mr. Tom Durbin, the superintendent of New Richmond School District, for a quote. I just had to take this moment to share with you his thoughts of The Motz Group:
Here's what he had to say about The Motz Group:

"It was truly a pleasure to work with the Motz Group. Everybody I came into contact with was professional. I (felt) that each one was trying their best to meet our needs and to make sure that we knew they were doing their best work for us! The guys on the job made me feel welcome and answered every question I had with a thorough explanation even if I interrupted their process.
Because I had never seen how turf was installed I made it a practice to stop everyday to watch the process. During my experience of learning and watching the crew prepare the base for the turf, install the turf, and then do the finishing touches to finalize the product I was amazed at the sincere and genuine concern from the workers about making sure that every detail was absolutely perfect! I am very comfortable in our choice of the Motz Group for our baseball and softball turf infields."

Thomas D. Durbin, Superintendent
New Richmond Exempted Village School District

Here's a sneak peak of what the fields look like. More photos and that press release I mentioned is soon to follow...

Church Street ~ Newtown, Ohio

Did you know that the building that The Motz Group calls home is a historical landmark in Newtown, Ohio? Once the center of town life, the familiar red brick building on Newtown's Church Street sat vacant until The Motz Group decided to make it their home.

Mid 1800's - The building, constructed in 1853, originally housed the Universalist Church and the Flag Spring Lodge of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. The Odd Fellows group, recognized as the first international fraternal organization, was formed in England in 1819. Its primary purpse was to aid those in need.

Late 1800's - While the building's top floor originally served as a lodge hall and the church occupied the second floor, the ground floor filled a variety of needs. It held high school classes in the late 1800's, served as town hall for a time and briefly housed the town jail.

December of 2001 Upon completing major renovations, The Motz Group relocated its operations to the building's third floor and opened the lower floors as office space.

Today The Motz Group has grown and now occupies all floors of the beautiful building on Church Street.

Currently we are doing some exciting interior renovations - wallpaper, paint, lighting, furniture - stay tuned for more exciting changes both inside and outside!

Thank you Mark Heinlein!

Today, our Senior Vice President, Mark Heinlein celebrates 18 years of hard work and dedication to The Motz Group!

Thank you Zach Burns!

Today, our Sales & Marketing Director, Zach Burns celebrates two years of hard work and dedication to The Motz Group!

Big kickoff for NKU soccer complex - Event features some of nation's best teams, honors one of game's local legends

By Richard Skinner • Enquirer contributor • April 19, 2010

This weekend, the result of that meeting will be unveiled.
The meeting Basalyga attended that day two years ago was to advise him that NKU and Highland Heights had come to an agreement that the school would annex property for a state-of-the-art on-campus soccer facility.

This weekend, the first major event will be held in the $6.5 million complex when NKU hosts the John Toebben College Showcase on Friday and Saturday. The event will feature 10 teams, including NCAA Division I national powers Indiana, which has won six national championships, and Akron, which was last year's runner-up. There will be three games on Friday and two on Saturday.

Also participating are 2008 NCAA Division I runner-up Ohio State, 2009 Division I NCAA Tournament participant Butler, Cincinnat, Kentucky, Xavier, Wright State and NAIA power Rio Grande. Soccer is a fall sport, but teams can practice 24 days in the spring and play five competitive matches. Basalyga said he's been working on bringing a high caliber of teams to NKU since he learned the facility would be built and that the schools jumped at the opportunity.

"The best time to get big schools to play is in the spring, and when they found out how nice the facility was supposed to be and how big it is they wanted to play," said Basalyga, who has built NKU into an NCAA Division II national power. "We had already been playing UK, UC, Wright State and Ohio State in the spring and it wasn't hard getting Indiana and Akron when they found out about the facility and the event."

The new field is located adjacent to the Bank of Kentucky Center and has seating for 1,000 - with backs on all the chairs. There also are locker rooms and a fully equipped athletic training facility. The field has artificial turf, but Basalyga said it closely resembles grass and plays like grass.

"Notre Dame and Michigan are the only ones to have a facility like this, from what I understand," Basalyga said.

NKU athletic director Scott Eaton said the move to build the facility was made easy by to the parcel of land and the school's mission to do things first class.

"Internally, the decision was made to use the land and money that was gained, and it turned out perfect for us," Eaton said. "It's really a community collaboration, trying to bring the community onto campus.

"It just takes us to a whole another level. Our student union and even our housing and out athletic facilities, it's done first class."

The event is being used as a fund raiser for the NKU men's soccer team, and proceeds will go toward travel and scholarship expenses.

The official opening of the facility will take place during the soccer season, on Sept. 12.

Basalyga said he's hopeful that several high school boys' soccer players participating in the adidas Blue Chip Showcase that will be held in Oxford Friday through Sunday will be able to attend.

"It gives them a chance to see soccer on a variety of levels: Division I, Division II and NAIA," he said.

Basalyga said it was important to name the event after Toebben, a leading advocate for soccer in Northern Kentucky who died in 2003. Toebben coached at various high schools and at Thomas More and NKU, where he led the Norse from 1990-2003, and also built the Town & Country Sports Complex in Wilder. Toebben also has an event named after him in the fall season.

"Moving it from the fall to the spring and making this as blown up as we can is a real tribute to John," Basalyga said. "He is soccer in this part of the state. He had a vision where soccer could be in this area and what he did at Town & Country and this facility we just built, I know he would look at this as a great event. What's going on here this weekend, he would be very, very happy and his family will be too."

It's not a bad result for that meeting Basalyga walked into two years ago, not knowing what it was about.

"We all flipped out when we were told what was going on," Basalyga said. "This is big time".

DEADLINE EXTENDED! Search for the Real Field of Dreams

You now have some additional time to submit your entry for the 2010 Search for the Real Field of Dreams National Contest.

Click HERE for an overview and background of the contest from the Synthetic Turf Council
For complete rules and to enter online, click HERE.
To download the rules & entry form in PDF format, click HERE.

NOMINATIONS MUST BE RECEIVED NO LATER THAN 5:00PM EASTERN ON JUNE 30, 2010.

Mt. Healthy to play on artificial turf ~ Community Press Article

Clinton-Massie awards construction contract

As seen on wnewsj.com

JOHN CROPPER Contributing Writer

The Clinton-Massie school board voted unanimously Monday evening to award a $442,000 construction contract to Cincinnati-based Motz Group, for construction of a new athletic turf field at the school.

The decision follows a year and a half long bidding process which began in October 2008. The Motz Group submitted the lowest bid for the project at $442,900. Construction is slated to begin on May 24 and is expected to be completed by Aug. 15.

In April 2009, the Cincinnati Bengals, the National Football League and the Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC) awarded the school district a $200,000 grant to be used toward construction of the new field. The Clinton-Massie Athletic Booster Association (Boosters) pledged to donate $250,000 in matching funds to complete the project.

“This has been a long process, and we’re excited to be moving forward,” said board member Jeff Borton.

The Boosters secured a $250,000 loan from National Bank & Trust to finance the project, and more than $150,000 of private donations have been collected since 2008. In addition to those donations, the board voted Monday to approve in-kind donations totalling $25,000 in supplies and services from local businesses, including $7,500 from Melvin Stone Company.

“We have worked diligently for the last two years in order to secure this loan for the district, and to find individual donors to the project,” said Boosters President John Curtsinger.

Curtsinger said private donations should increase substantially now that the contract for construction has been awarded.

Zach Burns, sales and marketing director for The Motz Group, said afterward: “We’re extremely excited to be teaming up with Clinton-Massie. We’ve been impressed by how dedicated the people in this district are.”

Earlier in the meeting the school board heard from Rob Sum, a senior project manager for Turner Construction. Sum said the demolition of the old elementary school was almost complete, however $45,000 in salaries were still owed by Dem-X, a demolition company, to local sub-contractors.

“We’ve spoken with them recently, and told them they need to have the money paid by March 31st,” Sum said.

“My one concern,” said Borton, “is that we take care of our local contractors. A lot of these workers are local, and we want to make sure they get paid.”

In other news at the meeting, four Clinton-Massie High School athletes were honored for their achievements during the 2009-10 seasons. Wrestlers Corby Running, Wyatt Running and Michael Stenger, and swimmer Margo Khalili were recognized with All Ohio Awards for competition at the state championship level.

The school board approved the hiring of five substitute teachers and four support staff members. They also approved the retirement of two teachers and the resignation of another.

A Visit from Doug Gallant, Cincinnati Reds Head Groundskeeper

Doug Gallant, head groundskeeper for the Cincinnati Reds, paid a friendly visit to Joe Motz and The Motz Group on Tuesday March 30th. He presented us with a bag of Great American Ball Park Grass Seed Mix by Scotts personalized with his endorsement to be sold in all the regional "big box" stores and hardware stores around town. Maybe you've heard him on the local radio stations as well?

"For me it's very gratifying to be fortunate enough to be in a position to have a positive impact on people's lives and careers" says Joe Motz, president of The Motz Group. "Doug interned with us in the summers while attending The Ohio State University. Upon graduation he worked with us for six years before teaming up with The Cincinnati Reds as their head groundskeeper."

Doug was named to his current position as Head Groundskeeper for the Reds in January 2001. He oversees all aspects of the daily playing field maintenance. He attended Wilmington College, where he played baseball for two seasons for former Reds star Brooks Lawrence. He later transferred to Ohio State and graduated in 1994 with a degree in turfgrass management.

"We had many herculean efforts together through that period building major league ball parks around the country from Land Shark Stadium (then Pro Player Stadium) to Great American Ballpark. Now that his mug shot is promoted all over town we'll be able to say we know him when... Congratulations Doug!"

New Signage!

Cody Schindler & Brian Wissel show off our new signage that was recently put up at our Edwards Road "shop".

The Motz Group Names Travis Rowlette as Project Assistant

Cincinnati, Ohio – March 12, 2010 – The Motz Group has hired Travis Rowlette as Project Assistant.

Travis comes to The Motz Group with more than five years experience in the commercial and residential construction industry. He has worked internally with document control as well as externally in the field. His primary responsibilities at The Motz Group will be to assemble bid documents, submittal packages and close-out binders, attend pre-construction and progress meetings and assist with production of drawings.

Travis will be graduating in May 2010 from Northern Kentucky University with a Bachelors Degree in Construction Management.

The Motz Group specializes in the design and construction of Synthetic and Natural Turf Systems for high school, college and professional teams.

For more information, contact Ryan Margraf at 513-533-6452 or rmargraf@themotzgroup.com

Backspin: Zach Burns, Lebanon 1995

11:39 AM Wednesday, March 24, 2010

Zach Burns was a stellar student-athlete at Lebanon High School in the early 1990s.

His career has taken him back to the playing field, as he works as a sales and marketing representative for the Motz Group, installing field turf to football stadiums in the area.

Varsity days

Burns was an All-Mid-Miami League performer in both football and baseball during his playing days at Lebanon from 1991-95.

A linebacker on the football team and a first baseman on the baseball team, Burns’ high school career was shortened by knee surgery his senior season.

“That was a disappointment, because we had a really good baseball team my senior year and I had to miss it to get my knee scoped and get ready for college football,” Burns said.
Burns said the highlight of his high school days was playing for John Reed, the now legendary football coach at Coldwater High School.

“I can’t say enough about what it meant to play under coach Reed,” Burns said. “I still draw back on the lessons he taught me about life and the level of integrity he instilled in his players.”
Burns played football for four years at Brown University, earning All-Ivy League status two times at tight end and was the first Brown football player ever to be named first team All-American his senior year.

“I was fortunate enough to play in an advanced offense while at Brown,” Burns said. “Our coach, Mark Whipple — who is now the offensive coordinator at the University of Miami — installed a pass-happy spread offense. We scored 30-35 points a game and I was able to catch 60 balls in a season in that offense.”

After his senior season, Brown was invited to play in the Blue-Gray Game, an annual college all-star showcase.

“I got to throw my hat in the ring with Big 10 and SEC players, so that was fun,” Burns said. “The whole college football scene was a great experience.”

Today

Burns graduated from Brown in 1999 with a degree in organizational behavior and management.
After working with Dakin Insurance in Lebanon for a few years, he took a spot as sales and marketing representative with the Motz Group.

“I get to talk to football coaches and athletic directors all the time,” Burns said. “That’s my comfort area, and I feel very fortunate to still be involved in athletics in some way.”
Burns has also been involved as a coach, serving as a varsity assistant baseball coach at Lebanon and a junior high football coach earlier this decade.

He is now focused on coaching youth sports for his son, Jackson, 7. He and wife, Jennifer, also have a daughter, Lillie, 1

Quotable

“It’s great coming back home to the community we’ve enjoyed and grown to love. Seeing our kids grow up and play sports in the same place we did as a kid, it’s an honor for me and Jennifer.” — Zach Burns

— Scott Hayes, staff writer

Click HERE to see the original article posted on Western-star.com

Seasongood Pavilion

The Motz Group has just completed a turf installation at Eden Park's Seasongood Pavilion in Cincinnati, Ohio. Seasongood Pavilion is a popular summer spot for concerts and events in Cincinnati’s Eden Park.

The installation includes a post industrial closed cell foam pad with roughly 2000 square feet of a synthetic turf. Envirofill, produced by USGreentech, was the infill used for this gorgeous installation.

“The recent installation of landscape turf (‘Garden Party Premium’ turf) by The Motz Group is an attractive addition to Eden Park’s Seasongood Pavilion. The Pavilion’s seating is set in a natural bowl shaded by scattered trees” says Steve Schuckman of The Cincinnati Parks Board. “We rebuilt stepped seating terraces of porous concrete within this bowl shape. At the front of the seating area just below the stage, two turf panels were installed in areas which are heavily shaded. The turf panels provide a green relief to the concrete seating, walkways and stage, and they provide a place for people to enjoy performances from blankets and lawn chairs on a grass-like surface. They have the added benefit of staying green even though they are in a shaded and heavily used site where grass could not easily be maintained. The turf panels themselves will be easy to maintain and their maintenance will also be gentler on the environment.”

The Motz Group specializes in the design and construction of Synthetic and Natural Turf Systems for park and recreational venues as well as high school, college and professional sports teams.

If you’d like more information about turf design or construction call Zach burns at 513-533-6452 or email Zach at zburns@themotzgroup.com

Sekisui Visit ~ March 16, 2010

Front:

Sekisui Products President Minoru Miyashita,

Sekisui Chemical Co. Managing Executive Officer Yuji Enatsu,

The Motz Group President Joe Motz,

Sekisui Products Manger Peter Tkacz

Back:

The Motz Group Senior VP Mark Heinlein,

USGreentech Director of Sales & Marketing Adam Coleman

USGreentech and The Motz Group were honored to host Yuji Enatsu - Managing Executive Officer, Sekisui Chemical Co. along with Minoru Miyashita - President of Sekisui Products and Peter Tkacz - Products Manager, Sekisui Products. Based in Tokyo, Sekisui Chemical has a substantial international footprint that includes over 246 divisions. As a worldwide leader in foam technology, Sekisui-Alveo is bringing to market a unique, cross-linked polyolefin foam shock pad for the synthetic sports turf market. USGreentech and The Motz Group have partnered with Sekisui to offer the Alveo Sports Layer in the North American market. It's an ideal compliment to our Envirofill and together create a high performance system unlike any other on the market.

Happy Birthday TMG!

Today, March 17, 2010 The Motz Group turns 33 years old! To celebrate we want to share some photographs through the years...

1977

1978

1989

1991

2003

2009

2010

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TMG!

Here's to at least another 33 more successful years!!

Search for the Real Field of Dreams™

The Motz Group is excited to extend a special opportunity to our synthetic field owners!

The Synthetic Turf Council is holding its annual Search for the Real Field of Dreams™ contest, and The Motz Group wants its partner schools to be rewarded. This contest aims to discover why your synthetic turf field, and the story behind it, is the best in America. Participating schools with the best story to tell may win up to $2,500 for your athletic department.

The 2009 contest saw four schools with The Motz Group’s 24/7® synthetic turf system recognized as national finalists. Oak Hills High School, Walton-Verona High School, Wyoming High School, and Zanesville High School all received national recognition on the Synthetic Turf Council’s website for their compelling field of dreams story. The Motz Group takes great pride in the accomplishments and unique stories of our partner schools. Click here to read their stories.

To enter the competition, simply enroll online or by mail by March 31, 2010. Winning fields will be announced on April 30, 2010.

Founded in 2003, the Synthetic Turf Council is a non-profit organization dedicated to serving as a resource for trustworthy information about synthetic turf. The Motz Group is proud to be an active member in the STC where we are recognized as a Certified System Builder. Our involvement is not just limited to membership as our President, Joe Motz, recently completed his second term as Chairman of the Board of Directors.

Once you enroll your field for the contest, please take a moment to visit STC’s website for additional, independent third-party information about health and safety issues involving synthetic turf.

Best of luck and please feel free to contact us at 513-533-6452 with any questions.

2010 Joe Motz Buckeye Sports Turf Student of the Year

Congratulations Robbie Dworkin, recipient of

The 2010 Joe Motz Buckeye Sports Turf

Student of the Year!

At the sports turf short course last week, the recipient of the "2010 Joe Motz Buckeye Sports Turf Student of the Year" was announced. The award is given in honor of sports turf entrepreneur Joe Motz, who graduated from Ohio State in 1977 and went on to build a very successful sports turf construction company, The Motz Group. In addition to his business success, Joe plays an active role in the green industry and serves in many capacities at The Ohio State University. He supports this award with a plaque and monetary gift for the student.


The recipient in 2010 was Robbie Dworkin (left), who received his award from Zach Burns of The Motz Group. Robbie is a turfgrass science major at The Ohio State University who expects to graduate later this year. His work experience has been at Columbus Crew Stadium, The Cincinnati Reds, The OTF Turfgrass Research Facility, and OSU Athletics. He is currently the Turf Club President.

Robbie is the epitome of "going the extra yard”, whether it’s helping out in class, working extra time to get the job done, or gathering up the students to raise money for the turf club. When he was working at Columbus Crew Stadium, he came after work to help with a night class when the students were renovating a local high school baseball field. When he was interning at the Cincinnati Reds and the team was out of town, he took time to come back to Columbus and help build a sand-based field at the research plots. He didn’t expect payment or gratitude, that's just the kind of person he is. We have no doubt that Robbie will go on to be a revered and successful sports turf manager and he’ll get involved with the industry and the industry associations. In addition, he’ll have a “pay-it-forward” attitude with students and young professionals. In essence, Robbie loves the sports turf industry and is one of the most hard working, humble and therefore deserving people we know.

Previous recipients of the Joe Motz sports turf award include:

2009 ~ Joe Kirschner (Cincinnati Reds) & Jeff Boll (Loyola Marymount University in LA, California)


2008 ~ Chris Fox (Columbus Crew)


2007 ~ Russell Horn (Cleveland Browns)


2006 ~ Wes Appelfeller (Boston Red Sox)


2005 ~ Erica Titus (Nottingham Equestrian Center, Michigan) and Rodney Bockrath (OSU Intramural Sports)

Snow Removal Tips

It's no secret that we've been hit pretty hard with Snow this winter!

Below are a few tips from The Motz Group Operations Manager Paul Schinner for removing snow from your turf field:
1. Use rubber edged plow
2. Turf tires only
3. Never spin tires on the turf
4. No sharp turns!
5. Use a tractor bucket with a pipe slit to fit over the edge

Contact Paul Schinner at 513-533-6452 for your snow removal needs!!

The Motz Group Names Dan Veil as Sales & Marketing Assistant

Cincinnati, Ohio- February 3, 2010- The Motz Group announces Dan Veil as Sales and Marketing Assistant. Dan will specifically coordinate the Synthetic Maintenance Program (SMP) for The Motz Group. In addition to his role with SMP, Dan will assist with marketing campaigns, search for and aide in the procurement process, accompany the Sales and Marketing Division on prospect visits and trade shows, as well as liaison between the office and the field installation teams.

Dan previously worked part-time with The Motz Group since July of 2007, when he worked on multiple installation crews across the region, and gained extensive knowledge on the installation and maintenance processes. Dan graduated from Miami University in Oxford, Ohio with a Bachelor of Science degree in History.

The Motz Group specializes in the design and construction of Synthetic and Natural Turf Systems for high school, college and professional teams.

For more information, contact Zach Burns at 513- 533-6452.

The Motz Group Hires Erin Richards as Office Coordinator

Cincinnati, Ohio – February 3, 2010 – Erin Richards has been hired as Office Coordinator for The Motz Group. Erin will work in the realm of client relations, maintaining social media websites, internal company communications, bid processes and logistics, among other office responsibilities. Additionally, she will assist in the development of marketing activities including programs both on site and at client related functions.

Erin brings over fifteen years of experience including office management, training coordination, sales, marketing, personal & professional assistance. She is a graduate of The Ohio State University with a Bachelors of Science degree.

The Motz Group specializes in the design and construction of Synthetic and Natural Turf Systems for high school, college and professional teams.

For more information, contact Zach Burns at 513-533-6452.