When Logan Horne heard about the “Our Winning Green Space” contest he decided to enter, but never thought he had a chance of winning. He thought wrong.

Horne and the Louisa County (Va.) School District, which is located in central Virginia at the crossroads between Richmond, Fredericksburg and Charlottesville, will receive an Exmark Lazer Z X-Series mower package to help maintain the school district’s athletic fields and grounds helping to create safer playing fields, as well as an athletic field renovation.

The “Our Winning Green Space” contest is sponsored by Project EverGreen in partnership with Exmark Manufacturing, the Sports Turf Managers Association (STMA) and The Foundation for Safer Athletic Fields for Everyone (SAFE).

Horne returned to his hometown of Mineral, Virginia, to teach turf management at Louisa County H.S. and oversee the care and maintenance of the district’s athletic fields and grounds. The school district includes a high school, middle school and five elementary schools, and the grounds and fields are used by both students and residents for athletic competitions and recreation.

A professional turf manager by trade, Horne manages four athletic fields, about 15 acres of landscape, 2.4 miles of walking trails and a bee-keeping area. The students actively participate in the maintenance and have come up with new ideas to enhance the grounds including building and installing benches, clearing trails and helping to build an outdoor classroom. His love of turf and managing sports fields drives him to recruit at least one high school turf student a year to go into a career in sports turf management.

“Turf management is a unique program. Some kids would rather work outside and it’s a great career opportunity,” says Horne. “The kids love it. We have a very proud school and a lot of passion.”

“Louisa residents and the neighborhood are the real winners,” says Cindy Code, executive director of Project Evergreen. “Healthy and safe sports fields breathe new life into the environment and functions as the lungs of the community. Project EverGreen and our partners at STMA and Exmark were impressed with the quality of the application and the passion of Horne.”

The scope of the playing field renovation project is currently being reviewed.

“We thank Project EverGreen and its partners for making this project possible,” adds Horne. “It will leave a lasting footprint on our community for a lifetime.”

Since 2008, Project EverGreen’s community-based renovation projects have revitalized more than 1 million sq. ft. of athletic and recreational greens spaces in numerous cities across the United States.