Expanding Horizons Tomas family attendance at the winter conferences and summer conventions continued because, as Ike says, “Every time, what we learned more than paid for the costs of attending. We always scheduled our family vacations around them and we’d do something special on the way up or back. Our sons grew up in TPI. Tere are pictures of Ryan on the dance floor in Spokane back in 1978. Tey made some lifelong friends with those whose families were doing the same thing. Some are still involved in the sod business, and some are not, but they keep in touch.”

During this time, Ike’s involvement was growing as well. He started serving on the Board in 1980-1981, as ASPA was transitioning into a new decade of growth and development. Ike was serving as secretary/treasurer in 1983, when Doug Fender was named the new executive director.

Te idea of international travel specifically developed to unite and inform sod producers world-wide came to fruition during his presidency. Ike, Trisha, Mike, and his wife, Dorisan, and son Chris, all participated in ASPA’s first International Study Tour in October of 1986, a 15- day, 20,000-mile trip to New Zealand and Australia. Seventy-four people from 31 firms, 20 states and one Canadian province took part. Ike reports touring the sod farms of the hosts at multiple stops was enlightening and it seeded relationships that grew into life-long networking connections—and friendships.

Ike notes a highlight of that trip was the tour of Bill Casimaty’s StrathAyr Farm in Melbourne, Australia. “It was the first time we’d seen a fax machine and we were amazed by it. Once back, we put them in all our farms right away. Tey helped us exchange timely information and quickly transfer documents. For us, not having to use the mail and wait several days was another game changer. Te fax machine was certainly a precursor to the computer in incorporating technology within the business side of sod production.”

Tour attendees also learned about washed sod and observed the process of producing it. “We ended up getting involved in that a few years later, which helped propel us into the sports turf market,” says Ike. “Ten, because of the relationship with StrathAyr, we were invited to join an international sports turf team of ASPA members more specialized in sports turf. We met once a year in locations all around the world to discuss issues and tour each other’s operations. Tat was in addition to, and outside of, ASPA, but would not have occurred without it.”

Always giving back to the industry and ASPA, after wrapping up his board stint, Ike volunteered in many other areas, including serving as ASPA’s representative on the National Turfgrass Evaluation Program (NTEP) committee for several years.

TPI Turf News November/December 2016

In 1994, in response to ASPA’s growing international membership and visibility, ASPA changed its name to Turfgrass Producers International (TPI). “Tat was another major step for the association and the International Study Tours helped reinforce it,” notes Ike. “Trisha and I took part in several, including one to South Africa. Ryan participated in the 1998 New Zealand and Australia tour on his own.”

Changing Hats Teir sod business grew tremendously through the years. In 1998, Tomas Bros. Grass participated in a roll up of four companies, operating under the name of Turfgrass America. During this process, three of the brothers went their separate ways, while Ike stayed involved as CEO. Mike went into ranching full time. Emory got out of the turf business, but went back into sod in 2001, partnering with his wife Sandy, daughter Traci, and son Seth, as Tomas Turfgrass in Texas. By the early 2000s, Turf America had expanded to 10,000 acres in sod farms from Arizona to California, Florida, Georgia, Tennessee and Texas.

The Thomas Family pose on the sod fields over the years. Photos courtesey of the Thomas Family.

In 2001, after overseeing the startup of several of the farms, Ryan took advantage of the American Airlines “around the world pass” which allowed for unlimited air travel in the same direction for a year. Ike says, “Ryan went west. His plan was to stay and work at sod farms in different countries and, because of the TPI networking connections we’d established and the friends he’d made over the years, it all came together. He started in New Zealand and then on to Australia for a few months, actually working his was way all around the world. It was an incredible experience, giving him the opportunity to learn so much from so many different people.”

Typically, Ike and his family were involved in other business endeavors as well, including real estate developments. In 2003, they started a new venture. Ike and sons Justin and Ryan, as well as brother Mike, his son and daughter, Chris and Rissa, opened a silica sand mine and processing plant near Granbury. “Justin had just graduated from Texas A&M and agreed to manage that operation as a ‘summer job,’ before he returned to obtain his masters,” reports Ike. “Well, that turned into an eight-year-long ‘summer job’ until we sold the operations division in 2011.” Te Tomas family remains involved in various aspects of the silica sand business.

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