SARA LECHLIDER
AWARDED DR. HENRY W. INDYK SCHOLARSHIP and agronomy intern for Helena Chemical Company, covering a sales territory from Champaign to Donovan, Illinois. She says, “Because of my prior experience, I’ll be spending less time in the field and more time selling to growers. I’m looking forward to that and I’am very excited to do it.”
Sara Lechlider has been awarded the four-year Dr. Henry W. Indyk Scholarship, which is administrated by Te Lawn Institute (TLI). She was awarded the one-year scholarship in 2017. Sara is the daughter of Doug and Robin Lechlider, Laytonsville Landscaping, Inc., Laytonsville, Maryland. A student at Purdue University, she will
be starting her junior year this fall, with double majors in Agribusiness Management and Turfgrass Management.
Ryan Musselman, Sara’s fall semester 2017 professor for Agribusiness Industry View and her Academic Advisor, wrote his letter of recommendation at the end of the first semester of her sophomore year. He reported, “Miss Lechlider has excelled in the classroom earning a 3.60 cumulative GPA with 66 credits earned towards her degree.” Musselman further noted that Sara, “… actively seeks opportunities to develop herself as a leader. Recently she has added a global perspective as she studied abroad in Italy, joined the Passport program to host students studying abroad at Purdue, and chose to participate in Issues 360 to learn how to communicate agriculture’s story to many different viewpoints.” And Musselman added, ““Sara is motivated, driven and seeks areas where not only she can grow, but also where she can help others grow.”
Sara reported becoming an Issues 360 Class VI Fellow taught her that, “It’s important to have a two-way conversation to engage with the consumer, rather than delivering a preset message.” Sara’s study trip to Italy centered around food preparation, marketing, and the cultural differences in food. She says, “An eye-opening part of the trip was learning how much more they embraced organic agriculture.”
From May through August of 2018, Sara interned at Willard Agri-Services, where she scouted fields for weed and pest pressure and worked with the company’s sales representatives to determine the appropriate chemical plan for growers. She’ll spend the summer of 2019 as a sales
54
While the sales field is still a strong interest for Sara, over the last year, she’s changed her focus. “I am directly majoring in Turfgrass Science, while also pursuing an additional major in Agribusiness Management, in hopes to take over our family turf farm and continue to produce a high quality turfgrass while incorporating advanced precision agriculture into our operation.”
In addressing, “How do you see the turfgrass industry changing in the future?” Sara reported, in her 19 years, “I have witnessed technology completely transform my family’s turfgrass operation.” Referring to harvesting, she wrote, “In just approximately ten years, I have observed a team requirement dwindle down to a one-man operation, with assistance through technological advancements. Tis important restructuring of resources in a small operation is crucial and opens opportunities for many other tasks to be completed.”
Anticipating even more genetic development in drought- tolerant turfgrass varieties, Sara noted they will aid turfgrass producers, “… in the conservation of water as well as the conservation of resources on operations …” And further reported, “Incredible technologies are about to enter our industry and better it by reallocating resources, conserving resources and making processes increasingly more efficient.”
In her second essay, Sara wrote, “Te turfgrass industry has shaped me to be the perfectionist that I am today. Our industry is filled with minute differences that have a huge impact and importance on outcomes.” She wrote about those differences in terms of turfgrass varieties and their performance. She addressed the requirement of close examination of the turfgrass crop to detect diseases. She wrote, “A perfect cut and perfect stripes are essential in the green industry for aesthetic purposes. I feel that because I grew up around these processes, I too, have been one to never be satisfied with an average product.” She closed with, ““Te turfgrass industry has given me a competition and achiever mentality, and a desire to have the best ‘product’ or outcome every single time.”
st TPI Turf News May/June 2019
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76
