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ATA Turf Times – Julie Holt, Content Director, TheTurfZone.com

Paul Floyd started working at The Country Club of Birmingham in 1989 and eight years later, became a 2nd Assistant. From there he was offered a position as a 1st Assistant at Mountain Brook Club in Birmingham. Five years later, he became a Golf Course Superintendent at Okefenokee Country Club in southeast Georgia.

Paul says, “I started working at The Country Club of Birmingham in my early 20’s. Along the way, I realized that I enjoyed working outside and loved working on a golf course. I never knew you could have a career working on a golf course! Imagine that! Afterwards, I worked during the day and went to school at night at Jefferson State in Birmingham and earned my Turf & Horticulture degree. My main two instructors both taught at Auburn University, so I felt like I received a great Turf degree!”

Paul had many mentors in the golf course community as he progressed in his profession. He credits Gary Bush (formerly at Mountain Brook Club) as a main influence, but others who he learned a lot from were Jeff Lee, CGCS, Les Williams, Jay Bradford, Kevin Cabaniss, Heath Puckett, CGCS, and Lee McLemore, CGCS. “These are a few of the people that took time and taught me things that I think about to this day. I also learned a lot from some of our sales representatives like Philip Hindman with Harrell’s Fertilizers among others.”

During his career, Paul has served as a Golf Course Superintendent, Facilities & Operations Manager, and a Sports Turf Manager. Upon leaving his last job with The City of Decatur, he felt he wanted a new challenge. “I really wanted to try something different from what I did before. I live in Decatur, but I am from Birmingham, so I started looking at some companies in Birmingham that I was most familiar with. One of those was The Birmingham Zoo.”

His position at the Zoo presented Paul with some new challenges. They were in the middle of a multi-million-dollar project that really interested him. “They hired me to be the Maintenance Manager, which includes facility maintenance, turf and landscape, and I am also in charge of their Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA) accreditation efforts for 2022. I am working with a lot of contractors and prioritizing projects. The Zoo is on its way up, and I am proud to be a part of their success.”

During his career Paul has learned a lot by watching how others supervised or spearheaded projects. “There is a lot more power in watching and learning than following advice from someone. You hear so many ‘words of wisdom’ in your career, but keep in mind, it is better to find someone you admire and watch how they lead their crews, or perform their job. Pattern yourself after those people, but be yourself. Use your personality and be a good person. People will respect you more, and you can live with yourself. Care about people and show them that you care. Family is always the most important. I used to tell myself, ‘There is nothing at any job that you can’t handle, so stay calm and get through it’. One thing Heath Puckett used to say to me is ‘Don’t expect what you don’t inspect’ and that is very true also.”

Paul considers himself fortunate. He started his career at The Country Club of Birmingham, then later got married at the Rose Garden at the Birmingham Botanical Gardens. Now he gets to work at the Birmingham Zoo. All three of these great institutions are in proximity, and Birmingham is Paul’s hometown. “I have spent the better part of my life in or around these great businesses, so it meant a lot to me to come back ‘home’ and be a part of the future for this great entertainment area. It is also a plus that I get to work around some fantastic people and animals at the zoo. I have a wonderful boss, and the animals make every day fun!”

Coming from the maintenance world, Paul said he never realized how many protocols are needed for work around animals. He has learned that you must be careful about transmitting diseases. Neither can you just jump in and fix things. There is a protocol that must be followed to enter an area at the Zoo, or to work around, or inside, the animal habitats. “Our zoo managers are highly intelligent about animal needs, and they have dedicated their lives to taking care of the animals, so you must take that into account when doing maintenance. Sometimes, we make enrichment items for the animals, or we aid the managers in making them, or we may have to do some repair work inside a habitat, so you must coordinate that with the zoo managers. It is very much a team effort to get work accomplished. Turf and Landscape are the easy part for me, but I have many future landscape projects coming that will enhance the look of the zoo. I would like for the zoo to also be an arboretum and be an extension of what you see at the Botanical Gardens.”

Like many in the turfgrass profession these days Paul finds the greatest challenge in his job comes with hiring employees. “It is tough these days to hire good people. I have a great crew now, but hiring those vacant positions gets tougher every day.” A different challenge comes from working with a lot of zoo managers, upper management and trying to get everybody on the same page.

Paul has been married to Gail Floyd for 26 years. They have three wonderful children, Bryan (21), Jackson (18) and Abby (17). They are all musical and artistic. Each of them is doing well at their schools. Their oldest child, Bryan, is a previous winner of the ATA’s Legacy Scholarship and Jackson Floyd is recipient of ATA’s 2021 Legacy Scholarship.

Paul loves to fish, even though he doesn’t have a lot of time for it. He also loves watching Auburn sports and college football in general, along with some NFL, college baseball/softball and college basketball.

Paul has been a strong supporter of the Alabama Turfgrass Association for many years. In addition to the ATA he is also a member of the Golf Course Superintendents Association of America, the Alabama GCSA, the Sports Turf Managers Association, the Association of Zoos and Aquariums and the Aquarium and Zoos Facility Association. Over the years he has received many awards, including the ATA President’s Award “Sports Complex of the Year” for Jack Allen Complex (Decatur). Paul says, “Seeing my kids achieve scholarships and bettering themselves in other ways is an honor for me. When I leave a job, looking back and knowing that I made a difference, organizationally and visually, is an honor for me. I like to make a difference.” Thank you, Paul, for making a difference in our industry!