News        from ABAC

Michael D. Chason Director of Public Relations ABAC 30 -- 2802 Moore Highway Tifton, GA 31793-2601 Phone 229-391-5055 Fax 229-391-5056 mchason@abac.edu

IMMEDIATE FEBRUARY 16, 2006

William Ray

ABAC STUDENT ON THE FIELD AT SUPER BOWL

TIFTON— William Ray didn’t just watch the Super Bowl on television. He was there. In person. On the field.

Ray, a sports turf management major at Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College, took advantage of the career opportunity of a lifetime to gain a spot on the sidelines of Super Bowl XL in Detroit.

A native of West Chester, PA., who now lives in Valdosta, Ray entered a nationwide competition among two and four year institution turf programs and was selected as the Toro Super Bowl Student. Students from over 100 institutions participated in this competition.

Dr. Ed Seagle, ABAC Professor of Environmental Horticulture, said, “This is the first time in the four year history of this contest that a two-year institution has been the recipient which means a first for ABAC.”

“I was interning at the Alltel Stadium in Jacksonville when Mark Clay, turf manager for Alltel Stadium, told me about the opportunity,” Ray said.

Ray applied for the competition upon Clay’s suggestion. After completing the 500 - word essay and getting references from Clay, Seagle, and George Toma, NFL consultant and sports turf authority, he was notified that he was chosen as the winner.

“My wife, Wendy, and I were walking through Wal-Mart when I got the call that I was chosen,” Ray said. “ I wasn’t expecting it because Dec. 1 was the notification date, and it was Dec. 19. It was a nice early Christmas present.” Ray was notified by Thyra Nelson, Toro’s head of Human Resources, and Dale Getz, sales representative for the company.

Ray spent the week leading up to Super Bowl XL in Detroit learning all he could alongside Toma, who has provided consultation and field approval for all 40 Super Bowls.

“I was the low man on the totem pole, but I went everywhere I was needed,” Ray said. “It was great to participate in something like this. Most of the groundskeepers have been working with the Super Bowl for 10 – 12 years.”

All expenses were paid for by the Toro Company, including a spending allowance for Ray while in Detroit. Toro also paid for Ray to attend the Sports Turf Managers Association’s national meeting in Orlando in January as the company’s student representative.

“William is a well-focused, well-deserving, and motivated student and if this is any indication, he will make a name for himself in this industry,” Seagle said.

Before attending ABAC, Ray served six years in the army, including a stint in Iraq. He and his wife, Wendy, live in Valdosta.

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