Happy 20th, Paul Zwaska

Paul Zwaska recently celebrated his 20th anniversary of work here at Beacon Athletics. We salute that milestone as we do all notable moments, with appreciation and celebration.

But with Paul’s anniversary especially, it caused me to reflect on my own recent 2-year anniversary since becoming involved as owner of Beacon, and Paul’s role in that. Simply put, one of the main reasons my partners and I purchased Beacon was its position as an unquestioned leader in baseball field maintenance. That established leadership role gave us confidence in the underlying values of Beacon and its potential to grow and thrive. In the course of the past 2 years, I’ve come to fully understand and appreciate Paul’s driving role in that.

As the former owners stated on Paul’s anniversary, “The hiring of Paul set in motion Beacon’s transition to becoming an industry leader in education, service and product innovation.”

Now that I’ve gotten to know Paul over the past couple of years, I completely understand that sentiment. Paul brought major league expertise to Beacon, which is key to so many of our product innovations. But equally important, he brought a passion for sharing his knowledge, and raising the level of professionalism among his compatriots.

Whether through his creation of Groundskeeper University, industry seminars, blogs & articles, or hands-on mentoring, Paul has influenced thousands of professionals and volunteers.

And in typical fashion, when I spoke to Paul about our plan to recognize his 20th, he had this to say: “I certainly didn’t do all that on my own. It was all the great people I’ve worked with side by side at Beacon over the past 20 years. That team is what has made Beacon what it is today”.

So Paul, on your 20th anniversary at Beacon, thank you for your contributions to Beacon Athletics, to your teammates, and to all the dedicated baseball groundskeepers you’ve influenced. You have truly raised the game.

— John Maher, Owner and CEO, Beacon Athletics

John Maher

John is the Owner & CEO of Beacon Athletics. He has overseen the growth and expansion of Beacon's commitment to the ballfields industry through better products & services for groundskeepers, coaches, field managers, and facility planners as well as unmatched resources through timely articles, information and training at Groundskeeper University.