Jay Warnick - World Class Athletic Surfaces

This week in seminar Jay Warnick came to speak with us. He is one of the best of the best in horticulture, and especially in the sports turf industry. He came here when it was still Ricks College and was a communications major and decided to change to horticulture after realizing his interest in sports turf. He has worked with many professional sports teams such as the Seattle Seahawks and the Baltimore Ravens. Currently, he works for a paint company called World Class Athletic Surfaces. They manufacture stencils of team logos, field marking paints and grass dyes. Their paint is better for the players and the grass itself.

Jay Warnick focused on the 3 C's he wished he would've known more about when he was in college. They are communication, commitment and curiosity.

Communication is the key, he said, business. The role of managers is to communicate and convey information to the team. He said that it is no longer a world where managers sit in the office and never speak to workers in the fields they manage. Not only does communication include speach but writing as well. He said that we need to be able to write up a well thought out memo to tell our superiors our opinion or to write proposals for improvement.

Next, commitment which means engaging oneself. We must commit FULLY to the job at hand, not immediately start looking for the next job or the next best thing. If you commit, he said, you will move up the ranks naturally because it will show your dedication to the company. When you do something you love, you have the natural energy to do it.

Finally, he talked about curiosity, which is the desire to learn or know about anything. Learning doesn't stop with the degree. We must always be looking for new things to learn or improve on. This will make us much better employees.

If you would like to contact Jay Warnick, his email address is jay@worldclasspaints.com.