Pioneer’s three Earth-friendly paints, Brite Stripe Ultra-Friendly, StarLine Ultra-Friendly, and Game Day Ultra-Friendly are completely free of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and include more readily biodegradable components than ever before. These paints are the only athletic field marking paints to have received the prestigious EPA “Design for the Environment” (DfE) designation.

Pioneer employees will include facts about the EPA DfE program and their Ultra Friendly paints throughout the day while conversing with customers. Employees will also celebrate Earth Day with special employee events at the company’s Cleveland, Ohio headquarters.

The EPA’s Design for the Environment program works in partnership with industry, environmental groups, and academia to reduce risk to people and the environment by finding ways to prevent pollution. When you see the DfE logo on a product it means that the DfE scientific review team has screened each ingredient for potential human health and environmental effects and that the product contains only those ingredients that pose the least concern among chemicals in their class.

Are you or your organization doing anything in recognition of Earth Day?

4/7 – 4/8
Maine Park & Rec Show
Samoset Resort
Rockport, ME

4/8 – 4/9
Minnesota Athletic Directors Convention
St. Cloud Civic Center
St. Cloud, MN
For more information, visit http://www.mniaaa.net

4/11 – 4/12
Missouri Athletic Directors Conference
Tantara Resort
Osage Beach, MO
For more information, visit http://www.miaaamo.org

4/16 – 4/17
Maryland Athletic Directors Conference
Princess Royal Hotel
Ocean City, MD
For more information, visit http://www.msada-md.org

4/21 – 4/22
Kentucky Athletic Directors Association
Holiday Inn
Louisville, KY
For more information, visit http://www.digitalsports.com/kentucky/khsada

We hope to see you at one of these events!

As a direct result of the field crew’s hard work, two schools were honored with scholarships to give to a deserving student;

Lebanon High School in Lebanon, Indiana and

Reed Point School District in Reed Point, Montana.

All 57 fields displayed the originality and creativity that Pioneer was looking for.  Each recipient will be awarded a certificate of recognition and a Field of Excellence banner. In addition to the two scholarship winning athletic fields, the other winners are:

SEE PHOTOS OF ALL THE FIELDS >

• Antonian College Preparatory High School – San Antonio, TX
• Black River High School – Sullivan, OH
• Bonneville Senior High – Ogden, UT
• Brown County High School – Mt Sterling, IL
• Charlotte Public Schools – Charlotte, MI
• City of Bloomfield Parks & Rec Dept. – Bloomfield, NM
• City of Chesterfield – Chesterfield, MO
• City of West Sacramento – West Sacramento, CA
• Constantine Public Schools – Constantine, MI
• Coshocton City Schools – Coshocton, OH
• Daniel High School – Central, SC
• El Camino High School – Sacramento, CA
• Fayetteville Junior High School – Fayetteville, TN
• Fremont Community Schools – Fremont, IN
• Galva-Holstein Community School Dist – Holstein, IA
• Grove City College Soccer – Grove City, PA
• Greenville High School – Greenville, TN
• Greenwood School District – Millerstown, PA
• Heritage High School – Leesburg, VA
• Hopewell-Loudon BOE – Bascom, OH
• Howland Local Schools – Warren, OH
• Johnsburg High School – Johnsburg, IL
• Kanab High School – Kanab, UT
• Lake County Captains – Eastlake, OH
• Laurel School – Shaker Hts, OH
• Lebanon Valley College – Annville, PA
• Legacy High School – North Las Vegas, NV
• Maryland SoccerPlex – Boyds, MD
• Massillon Perry Local Schools – Massillon, OH
• Millerport High School – Millerport, OH
• Minerva High School – Minerva, OH
• Noble & Greenough School – Dedham, MA
• Nova Southeastern University – Davie, FL
• Olmsted Falls City School District- Olmsted Falls, OH
• Perry Central High School – Leopold, IN
• Polk County High School – Benton, TN
• Reicher Catholic High School – Waco, TX
• Revere Local Schools – Bath, OH
• River Dell Regional School District – Oradell, NJ
• Searcy Public Schools – Searcy, AR
• Sheffield Lake City School District – Sheffield Village, OH
• Smith Center Jr.-Sr. High School – Smith Center, KS
• South Bend C.S.C. – South Bend, IN
• Southern Maine Community College – South Portland, ME
• St. Joseph Public Schools – St. Joseph, MI
• Stetson University – Deland, FL
• Sweet Home Central School District – Amherst, NY
• TMI The Episcopal School of Texas – San Antonio, TX
• Trenton Public Schools – Trenton, MI
• Tualatin Hills Park and Recreation Dist – Beaverton, OR
• Tuslaw High School – North Lawrence, OH
• United Local School – Hanoverton, OH
• West Virginia Power – Charleston, WV
• Westlake High School – Westlake, OH
• Windham Raymon School District – Windham, ME
• Winterset High School – Winterset, IA

SEE PHOTOS OF ALL THE FIELDS >

Pioneer understands that excellence in athletic field maintenance goes unrecognized and often, unappreciated. The Field of Excellence® award program honors outstanding athletic fields and the hard working field crews who diligently maintain them. The Field of Excellence award program was established in 1998 and has honored hundreds of fields since its creation.

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3/17
Massachusetts AD Convention
Sheraton Hyannis
Hyannis, MA
Pioneer Team @ event: Matt Tobin, Evan Steele
For more information, visit http://www.mssada.com

3/20
Michigan AD Convention
Grand Traverse Resort
Traverse City, MI
Pioneer Team @ event: Craig O’Berry, Chris Danis
For more information, visit http://www.miaaa.com

3/22 – 3/23
Indiana AD Convention
Marriott East Hotel
Indianapolis, IN
Pioneer Team @ event: Tom Fron, Jeff Dahlke
For more information visit http://www.iiaaa.org

3/22
North Carolina AD Convention
Grove Park Inn
Ashville, NC
Pioneer Team @ event: Randy Grimes
For more information visit http://www.ncada.info

3/24
Pennsylvania AD Convention
Hershey Lodge
Hershey, PA
Pioneer Team @ event: Tom Haley, Jim Pike
For more information, visit http://www.psada.org

3/24
Virginia AD Convention
Waterside Marriott
Norfolk, VA
Pioneer Team @ event: Charlie Conner
For more information visit http://www.viaaa.org

3/25
Connecticut AD Convention
Rocky Hill Marriott
North Haven, CT
Pioneer Team @ event: Tom Cataldi, Bill McCabe
For more information, visit http://www.caadinc.org

3/26
Kansas AD Convention
Grand Prairie Hotel
Hutchinson, KS
Pioneer Team @ event: Bobby Bobbitt
For more information visit http://www.kiaaa.org

3/28
Iowa AD Convention
Des Moines Hotel
Des Moines, IA
Pioneer Team @ event: Bob Larkins
For more information visit http://www.public.iastate.edu/~hhp_info

3/30
New Jersey Building & Grounds
Taj Mahal
Atlantic City, NJ
Pioneer Team @ event: Jim Pike, Steve Every
For more information visit http://www.njsbga.org

1. Our aerosol cans are recyclable
2. Our plastic pails are recyclable
3. The Brite Stripe UF pail is made up of 25% post-consumer content
4. The StarLine container is recyclable

Our buckets are high density polyethylene (#2) plastic and are recyclable through most curbside recycling programs.

The StarLine paint box is recyclable corrugated cardboard. The Starline paint bladder is a low density polyethylene (#4) plastic. These plastics are not often recycled through curbside programs, but some communities will accept it.

Pioneer’s aerosol cans are made of steel. Post-consumer steel cans are in demand because steel furnaces require recycled steel to make new steel. It’s important that aerosol cans are completely empty before they are recycled.

For a list of recycling centers in your area that accept aerosol cans and other recyclables, visit www.earth911.org.

StarLine Ultra-Friendly

StarLine Ultra Friendly is a zero-VOC, EPA certified “Design for the Environment” bag-in-a-box paint that is a companion to Pioneer’s Star Liner athletic field striper. StarLine Ultra Friendly is the world’s second EPA certified field marking paint. Pioneer introduced Brite Stripe Ultra Friendly, the world’s first EPA certified field marking paint, in January 2009.

“It’s important to our company that we continue to introduce additional Earth friendly paints that help relieve environmental stress and improve field surface health,” said Doug Schattinger, President of Pioneer Athletics. “The introduction of StarLine Ultra Friendly is further proof of our commitment to this standard.”

Brite Striper 3000-SP

The introduction of Pioneer’s Brite Striper 3000 SP brings self-propelled power, versatility, and affordability to their already popular airless sprayer. This new model features a breakthrough belt-and-chain drive system. Driven by a 5.5 horse power Honda engine, users will be able to drive the unit smoothly over rough fields due to the large pneumatic tires and floating spray box.

“The Brite Striper 3000 SP is the direct result of Pioneer listening to the feedback given by our customers,” said Mr. Schattinger. “The desire to have a self-propelled airless striper was high on the lists of many customers, so we made it a priority to offer such a product.”

FieldCrewzer Synthetic Turf Maintenance

Pioneer’s new Field Crewzer features a robust counter-rotating brush that lifts surface debris into a hopper while evenly returning infill back into the field. The Field Crewzer’s components are powered independently by a Honda GX 240 engine, as opposed to depending on a power take off (PTO) system. The entire unit can be pulled by any golf cart or utility vehicle.

“Standard care procedures for synthetic turf athletic fields have evolved tremendously in recent years, including the need to remove foreign debris and litter on a regular basis,” said Mr. Schattinger. “Our new Field Crewzer affectively accomplishes this task without the need for a large tractor or vehicle to pull or power the sweeper.”

Do you have any questions about any of these new products? Or have any ideas for other new products?

]]> http://pioneerathletics.com/blog/2010/01/15/pioneer-unveils-new-paint-and-equipment-at-2010-stma-annual-conference-and-exhibition/feed/ 0 http://pioneerathletics.com/blog/2010/01/11/pioneer-will-be-at-the-stma-show-in-orlando/ http://pioneerathletics.com/blog/2010/01/11/pioneer-will-be-at-the-stma-show-in-orlando/#comments Mon, 11 Jan 2010 20:37:56 +0000 rgiven http://pioneerathletics.com/blog/?p=216 Pioneer Athletics will be at the Sports Turf Manager’s Association Annual Conference and Exhibition on January 12-16, 2010. If you will be at the convention, please stop by and see us in booth #319. We have three exciting new products that will be introduced at the show in addition to some of our other traditional products. For more information on the conference, visit www.stma.org.

College Football’s bowl season starts this Saturday and runs through the BCS National Championship Game on January 7, 2010. Pioneer Athletics is proud to be the official supplier of paints, stripers, stencils and groomers for nine of these nationally televised games.

“College football’s bowl season affords the field crews of each respective stadium the opportunity to show off their talents,” said Doug Schattinger, President of Pioneer Athletics. “Pioneer is proud to assist these hard working crews by providing them with the highest quality equipment and field marking paints that visibly stand out on your television screen.”

Pioneer’s products will appear at the following bowl games:

• R&L Carriers New Orleans Bowl
  12/20/09 Louisiana Superdome, New Orleans, LA
• Little Caesar’s Pizza Bowl
  12/26/09 Ford Field, Detroit MI
• Gaylord Hotels Music City Bowl
  12/27/09 LP Field, Nashville, TN
• Outback Bowl
  1/1/10 Raymond James Stadium, Tampa, FL
• Rose Bowl Game by Citi
  1/1/10 Rose Bowl Stadium, Pasadena, CA
• Allstate Sugar Bowl
  1/1/10 Louisiana Superdome, New Orleans, LA
• AutoZone Liberty Bowl
  1/2/10 Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium, Memphis, TN
• Valero Alamo Bowl
  1/2/10  Alamodome in San Antonio, TX
• Citi BCS National Championship
  1/7/10 Rose Bowl Stadium, Pasadena, CA

Pioneer will also be on display January 9, 2010 at the U.S. Army All American Bowl at the Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas. This annual game features high school football’s brightest stars and will be nationally televised on NBC.

The baseball home of Westerville South High School was featured in Sports Turf magazine’s October 2009 issue for winning the 2008 Sports Turf Managers Association Parks/School Baseball Field of the Year.

Westerville South uses a Pioneer Athletics field striping machine at J.W. Sadler Field.

To read the feature article on Sadler Field, visit www.SportsTurfOnline.com.

In 2009, the field crew at the Louisiana Superdome will have to convert the markings on their synthetic turf field on eighteen different occasions in order to host the New Orleans Saints, Tulane Wave, Allstate Sugar Bowl, R&L Carriers New Orleans Bowl, State Farm Bayou Classic, and the Louisiana high school state football championships. Six of these conversions have to be completed in less than twelve hours. With the use of Pioneer Athletics’ GameLine® removable synthetic turf paint and Blitz™ removal system, this tight timeline is not a challenge for the crew.

To date in 2009, the Superdome has already twice hosted a Saturday Tulane University home football game, followed by a Sunday New Orleans Saints game. Pioneer’s paint and removal system allows the field crew to completely remove all paint without any visible markings in only two hours. This includes removal of paint in both endzones, the logo on the 50 yard line, the 25 yard line league or conference logos, as well as the appropriate college or NFL hash marks.

“Before we started to use Pioneer’s GameLine® paint and removal system, it took a large crew multiple hours of scrubbing on their hands and knees to remove all of the paint”, said Randy Philipson, Director of Engineering & Operations at the Louisiana Superdome. “Now, our streamlined crew is able to remove all of the paint after a game in only two hours, with absolutely no ghosting. The simple three-step removal process saves us time and a lot of energy.”

Removal begins when Blitz GameLine® solution is applied with a backpack sprayer. Almost immediately, the paint’s bond with the synthetic grass blades will begin to separate. A second field worker then agitates the treated paint with a Blitz Remover machine, but something as simple as a deck brush can get the job done. Finally, any last remnants of paint are removed by spraying the turf with water from a basic garden hose. This process is so effortless that a smaller crew, such as a high school field crew of two, can finish the entire job in four to six hours. The Superdome is scheduled to encounter these quick field turnarounds four more times this season, including college football’s bowl season.

Watch a video of the GameLine removal process >