His goal is turfing U.S.A.

• Position: Edel Grass America CEO Harry Oxford

With a name like "Duke" Oxford, it's no wonder the CEO of Charlotte-based Edel Grass America Inc. has had a long association with well-respected private schools and universities.

But Oxford, whose real name is Harry, doesn't make much of the nickname his mother gave him as a boy. "I guess she thought Duke sounded better than Harry."

He'd rather talk about his other nickname, The Sandman, acquired 10 years ago for all the playing fields he's covered with sand-filled artificial turf. In fact, Oxford was the first person in the country to promote and sell the European turf that never needs watering -- in essence, tough shag carpeting with loose sand between the fibers.

Edel Grass was formed last September as a subsidiary of Holland-based Edel Carpet, a 75-year-old company that has made and sold artificial turf in Europe since 1984. Oxford had been working out of Charlotte for other artificial-turf manufacturers since 1985.

His association with North Carolina goes back to his college days in the late 1950s. "Mars Hill College |then a junior college~ was recommended as a good place to get squared away," Oxford, 56, says. After transferring to George Washington University, he graduated with a bachelor's degree in physical education in '61. "I kind of looked at business, but that wasn't my cup of tea."

Except for three years in the Army...