Hastings: Terry Brown named Groundskeeper of the Year
(Hastings, NE) - Terry Brown, 63, Parks Maintenance Superintendent for the City of Hastings, was honored Jan. 8 during the Nebraska Turf Conference in La Vista organized by the Nebraska Sports Field Management Association as 2024 Groundskeeper of the Year. The award was a surprise for Brown, who tries to attend the conference every year. He is familiar with a lot of other people in the organization, including others who were honored with other awards at the same conference. “I feel very blessed that I was in that group of people to get the awards,” he said. Brown and the Hastings Parks staff hosted about 50 Nebraska Sports Field Management Association members at the Bill Smith Softball Complex in the fall of 2023. The softball complex, which opened in July 1995, is one of the community’s gems, Brown said. “People, when they come here, they really enjoy their stay in the City of Hastings and participating on the fields we have out there,” he said.
Brown, who grew up in Lexington, came to Hastings to attend Central Community College-
Hastings on a basketball scholarship.He worked 12 years at CCC in a groundskeeper role, before joining the City of Hastings; working for a year in the gas department before taking on maintenance I worker for the Hastings Parks and Rec Department about 30 years ago.
He and his wife, Sharon have twin sons – Matthew and Marcus – who both live in Los Alamos, New Mexico; and a daughter, Sara, who lives in Hastings. As Parks Maintenance Superintendent, Brown oversees a crew of 13 employees that maintain 20 parks in the City of Hastings.
Parks and Recreation Department Director Jeff Hassenstab said Brown is integral to the department for his experience and his dedication to Hastings parks. “Terry does a great job overseeing parks in the City of Hastings,” Hassenstab said. “He and the entire parks staff do a great job making sure our facilities are as beautiful and as functional as possible. We are very of proud of Terry for being named Groundskeeper of the Year. He certainly deserves it.”