The Ohio State University

Dave Saltman is the 2007 recipient of the "Buckeye Sports Turf Award for Excellence on a Global scale". This annual award is given to an individual that has made a major contribution to the advancement of the sports turf industry worldwide. Previous winners include Martyn Jones from the National Turf Foundation and Mike O'Keeffe from The Ohio State International Internship Program.

Dave Saltman started his career as a Landscape Gardener and designer, including building award winning gardens at the Chelsea Flower Show, London, before being invited to relay the turf at Queens Park Rangers's Loftus Road stadium in 1988. Since then he has been involved in construction, renovation and the maintainance of all grass sports, including many Premier, League and non league winter sports grounds in the U.K.

A former "Soccer Groundsman of the Year" and lecturer for the Football Association, Dave decided to use the power of the internet to share advice, knowledge and experience. In 2001 he launched Pitchcare.com and five years on, the website has over 25,000 members, creating in excess of a million page impressions monthly. Pitchcare has members in 112 countries sharing knowledge, experience and techniques to improve all natural turf surfaces.

During the last three years he has also been the Head Groundsman and then Project Manager for the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff, Wales and currently holds a similar position at Wolverhampton Wanderers Football Club.