The Landscape Professional November/December by National Association of Landscape Professionals

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Landscape PROFESSIONAL The official magazine of the National Association of Landscape Professionals

November/December 2020

For Lawn Care, Landscape Maintenance, Design-Build, Tree Care, Nursery, and Irrigation Professionals

Here’s Looking Toward

2021 PLUS:

What to Know about Working in the Winter Give Thanks: Expressing Gratitude to Employees White House Rose Garden Renovation: Bringing a Design into Reality

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OPEN THE DOOR TO POSSIBILITIES THAT DIDN’T EXIST BEFORE

&/30-- 50%": : BOARD OF DIRECTORS OFFICERS •

President Shayne Newman, LIC, YardApes President-Elect

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President-Elect Bob Grover, LIC, Paciﬁc Landscape Management

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Secretary/Treasurer Mike Bogan, LIC, LandCare

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Immediate Past President Andrew Ziehler, LIC, Ziehler Lawn and Tree Care

DIRECTORS-AT-LARGE • Bruce Allentuck, LIC, Allentuck Landscaping Co. •

Pam Dooley, Plants Creative Landscapes

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Maurice Dowell, LIC, Dowco Enterprises Inc.

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Lisa Fiore, Landscape Hub

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Paul Fraynd, LIC, Sun Valley Landscaping

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Ivan Giraldo, Clean Scapes LP

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Phil Key, Ruppert Landscape

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Roscoe Klausing, LIC, Klausing Group

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Joe Kujawa, Kujawa Enterprises Inc.

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Frank Mariani, LIC, Mariani Landscape

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William MacMurdo, Bayer Crop Science

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Joe Munie, LIC, Munie Greencare Professionals Inc.

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Tim Portland, LIC, Yellowstone Landscape

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Chris Senske, Senske Services

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Brandon Sheppard, Weed Man

THE EXTERIOR TECHNICIAN PROGRAM GOES ONLINE FIVE SPECIALTY AREAS TO CHOOSE FROM: SOFTSCAPE INSTALLATION, HARDSCAPE INSTALLATION, TURF MAINTENANCE, ORNAMENTAL MAINTENANCE, OR IRRIGATION.

National Association of Landscape Professionals landscapeprofessionals.org NALP is the national trade association representing the landscape industry that continuously strives for the highest level of professionalism through education, best practices and certiﬁcation. Jill Odom, Editor Lisa Stryker, Managing Editor Laurie Lankford, Advertising Rob Ghosh, Design Page Howard, Copy Editor Lindsey Getz, Contributing Writer 12500 Fair Lakes Circle, Suite 200 Fairfax, VA 22033 800-395-2522 | 703-736-9666 | Fax 703-736-9668 © 2020 The Landscape Professional is published bimonthly by the National Association of Landscape Professionals expressly as a member service.

National Association of Landscape Professionals 3

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Landscape PROFESSIONAL 26

Here’s Looking Toward 2021

34 DEPARTMENTS

14 Design/Build: What to Know about Working in the Winter

From the CEO: One Year In

Faces of the Industry: Karen Wilkinson

38 I am a Lawncare Professional: Carlito Suarez, Lawns By Carlito

INDUSTRY ISSUES 9

Year in Review: Budgets in a Year of Uncertainty

35 Safety Focus: Pay Close Attention to CFR 1926.1053

THE NALP EXPERIENCE 10 NALP Foundation News 11 Meet NALP’s Newest Trailblazer, Jeff Rossen 12 Are You Plugged into a NALP Network? 16 Safety Advice from the Best of the Best Award Winners 31 Meet Claire Goldman, Winner of the Woman Entrepreneur of the Year Award 34 Q+A with Jon Cundiff, NALP Lifetime Leadership Award

Give Thanks: Expressing Gratitude to Employees

White House Rose Garden Renovation: Bringing a Design into Reality

36 Newest Members and Newly Certiﬁed Professionals

Advertiser Index Bartlett Tree Experts .................................................................. 25 Bayer................................................................... Inside Back Cover Florasearch ............................................................................................3 NALP Landscape Industry Certiﬁed............................... 13

NALP All Access Pass................................................................21 NALP Insurance Programs .....................................................37 NALP Membership ..........................................................................5 Proven Winners ..........................................Inside Front Cover

4 The Landscape Professional // November/December 2020

STIHL ..................................................................................Back Cover Quartix ......................................................................................................... 7

MAXIMIZE YOUR MEMBERSHIP NALP Bookstore The NALP online bookstore gives you convenient access to industry resources on the topics most relevant to your everyday QHHGV (YDOXDWLQJ \RXU FRPSHQVDWLRQ DQG EHQHߔWV VWUXFWXUH" 'HYHORSLQJ WUDLQLQJ SURJUDPV IRU \RXU VWDII" 6WXG\LQJ IRU WKH /DQGVFDSH ,QGXVWU\ &HUWLILFDWLRQ H[DPV" :H KDYH DOO RI WKH resources you need at landscapeprofessionals.org/store

Trailblazer Mentoring Program Are you interested in being paired with a seasoned professional ZKR KDV H[SHULHQFHG WKH XSV DQG GRZQV RI UXQQLQJ D EXVLQHVV" 1RZ \RX FDQ /HDUQLQJ IURP H[SHULHQFHG LQGXVWU\ SURIHVVLRQDOV who have built and run successful landscape and lawn care companies - that’s what the Trailblazer program is all about. If you are an NALP contractor member and would like to learn more about this program, visit landscapeprofessionals.org/trailblazers

NALP Networks The opportunity to connect with and learn from your peers is one RI WKH EHVW EHQHߔWV RI PHPEHUVKLS LQ 1$/3 7DNH DGYDQWDJH RI RXU QHWZRUNV :RPHQ LQ /DQGVFDSH 1HWZRUN <RXQJ Professionals Network, and Latino Landscape Network - to share LGHDV DQG H[SDQG \RXU FRQQHFWLRQV LQ WKH LQGXVWU\ 7R OHDUQ PRUH visit landscapeprofessionals.org/networks

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LETTER FROM THE CEO

One Year In…My Thanks to You Green Industry AS I BEGAN THIS COLUMN, IT DAWNED ON ME THAT MY one-year anniversary of working for this great industry is almost over. As I reflect on that, I am very grateful for all the wonderful people I have had a chance to get to know in my first year. I am also grateful to the leaders in this industry who have stepped forward to help lead and shape NALP to assist our members and the industry as a whole as we navigated through COVID-19. This has really been a team effort this year and I want to take a moment to recognize some of the great work that got done this year. One of the first things I learned in this industry is that a lot of you enjoy seeing other lawn or landscape facilities. However, with no in-person meetings this year we had to figure out a new way to get you the learning and sights you craved. The solution was something we call On Tour. On Tour is a videotaped segment that shares insights into how a company lays out their facilities, but it also features the unique ways they run their businesses. Producing an On Tour segment takes quite a bit of time from an owner and their team and it also asks them to share some of their secrets, so getting worthy participants was a concern. With that said, I am so grateful to both Krisjan Berzins and Jeff Rossen for allowing us to do an in-depth dive into their businesses. If you haven’t had a chance to catch an On Tour yet, just go to our website and check them out. When COVID swept into all our lives in March, it forced us at NALP to put everything on hold

6 The Landscape Professional //November/December 2020

diversity and inclusion efforts demonstrated their commitment to making NALP a better association to serve this industry.

Hosting our own Annual Meeting will allow NALP to move locations, reaching members where they are as opposed to making them come to the same and focus on keeping the indus- location each year. Establishing try working. Led by Andrew Bray a Diversity and Inclusion Council that is empowered to help guide and his team, NALP was able NALP in its diversity and incluto get the lawn and landscapes sion efforts helps position NALP industry included on the Department of Homeland Security to make real impact in our industry and hopefully provide CISA essential businesses list. This enabled us to leverage this a new source of labor for our industry. national recognition with the There are so many more state governments and ensure people I would like to thank for that we could keep all our their support in this first year industry working. I would be rebut let me thank two groups in miss if I did not thank our partparticular: The NALP Executive ners at the state associations, as well as our members in those Committee who provided me states, who lobbied vigorously to with guidance and wisdom. Andrew, Jeff, Shayne and Bob, ensure that our industry would thank you for your support and be able to continue providing your leadership. And finally, I beautiful lawns and landscapes want to thank the NALP team: that have helped America cope Carol, Andrew, Heather, Lisa, with COVID. I also want to thank the NALP Corey, Scott, Stacia, Bob, Cheryl, Jenn, Tony, Margo, Melissa, Pam, Board for their leadership this Laurie, Amy, Nitesh, Jill, Page, year. They took on some tough issues and made hard decisions Sharon, Tracey, Valerie, Kristen, Courtney, Kayla and Jennifer. that positioned NALP to better You’re a great team and I am serve this industry. Specifically, lucky to work with you. their decision to begin hosting our own NALP Annual Meeting in 2022, as well as their decision to take more of a Britt Wood, CEO leadership role in our industry’s

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MEMBER SPOTLIGHT

Faces of the Industry – Karen Wilkinson By Jill Odom

KAREN WILKINSON SAYS ENTERING THE LANDSCAPE INDUSTRY was the greatest leap of faith she could have made for her career. She says when she was presented with the opportunity to become a leader, she was very hesitant and frankly, scared. “I found a passion and a great sense fulﬁllment that makes each day unique,” she says. “I’ll never forget the moment I was doing a landscape audit on a retirement center we maintained. As I was approached by a husband and wife who were residents of the center, I braced myself for what I thought was going to be a list of items they deemed deﬁcient. To my surprise, they shared what the landscape grounds meant to them, the joy it brought and how meaningful it was. They were able to clearly express the feeling the landscape gave them. That was my lightbulb moment and I was hooked!” Wilkinson has been in the industry for three decades now. She started out working for a small landscape company that went from 35 employees in1990 to over 350 by 2005. “I was able to serve in multiple roles, learning the business from the ground up thatt included whatt itt takes to grow a

8 The Landscape Professional //November/December 2020

business and a clear understanding of the importance of relationship building with team members and clients,” she says. At the start of her career, Wilkinson says she was fortunate to have a strong female leader who was her coach, mentor and became one of her closest friends. “She invested the time to challenge me and pushed me out of my comfort zone,” Wilkinson says. “She saw qualities and potential in me that I hadn’t yet realized. The life lessons she taught me set me up to be the leader I am today.” Now, Wilkinson is the regional vice president of the Northwest for LandCare. In the next ﬁve years, she wants to continue to expand her skills and those of who she works with. She especially wants to increase the number of women that have a rewarding career in the landscape industry. “I cannot express clearly enough how much I owe Mike Bogan (CEO of LandCare) for changing the direction of my career and stretching my own preconceived limitations, I got very comfortable with the idea of being uncomfortable!” Wilkinson says. “He continues to coach and mentor me to think in new ways and to continually raise my bar. He is our strongest advocate to help, support and dedicate time and resources to WIN – Women’s Initiative Network at LandCare.” Wilkinson says WIN exists to help women personally and professionally grow and achieve their goals. She wants there to be a line at the women’s restroom at landscape meetings and conventions. “Currently, there is no line,” she says. “This needs to end now. It’s my mission to get more women excited to be in the landscape industry and create that waiting line for the restroom at future meetings!” She says over the past 30 years, the industry has made progress towards diversity, but it’s not enough. “Three decades ago, I endured inappropriate comments and behavior,” Wilkinson says. “I’ve dealt with pay

inequities. Early in my career my boss told me that men needed to make more money because they ‘have’ to work – while women ‘choose’ to work. It’s frustrating to be told that women are emotional, but males are passionate when their behavior is the same. One of the hardest obstacles to overcome has been being heard. In meetings, I can bring up an idea or suggestion to have it politely discarded and a male team member will say the same thing and it’s found to be brilliant.” Some of the challenges were self-inflicted. “When my four sons were young, it was difficult trying to find the balance,” Wilkinson says. “I put unrealistic expectations on myself.” “I used to think it was just me, but while working with other women in our industry, I found I wasn’t alone,” she adds. “We need to be more confident that what we bring to the table is important and should be valued. I want part of my legacy to be that I helped our future generations of women in the landscape industry be as successful as they can while also educating both males and females in the opportunities we have to change our own subconscious and/or conscious biases.” Wilkinson encourages other females considering a career in the green industry to find a company that embraces the value of diversity and aligns with their values. “Surround yourself with strong women and mentors,” she says. “Don’t hesitate to speak up – have confidence that your opinion is important and valued. Remember to help other women along that way. If you want to stand out in an industry – then the landscape profession is for you!” As for her favorite part of working in the industry, Wilkinson says she loves how landscaping can change how people feel. She is passionate about getting to know people and understanding how to positively impact them, whether it’s a client or employee. “At the end of the day, how we make people feel is what they will remember,” Wilkinson says. “I also love that our industry changes people’s lives. I get so much satisfaction and fulfillment seeing team members continual learning and progressing in their careers.” TLP

Year in Review: Budgets in a Year of Uncertainty By Jill Odom Note: This article was written Sept. 11 WHEN COVID-19 HIT, NORMAL went out the window and, naturally, impacted the budgets of lawn and landscape companies that had expected business as usual for 2020. The situation has been extremely fluid as various governing bodies having rolled out different orders in response to the latest information about the virus and how to contain it. Now with the year coming to a close, several companies share how they’ve faired and how they’re planning for 2021. ADJUSTING BUDGETS COVID-19 affected both company revenues and expenses as certain clientele were impacted more than others and landscape businesses had unanticipated expenses with COVIDrelated PPE. Some of the other unexpected costs were due to increased prices on regular business purchases and labor inefficiencies as crews adjusted to following COVID safety practices For David J. Frank Landscape Contracting, based in Germantown, Wisconsin, they decided not to do a full re-cast of their budget. “We want to recognize the disparities and challenge the team to absorb the costs and changes necessary to protect the health and welfare of our team members, customers and vendors, then address other ways to try to counteract the cost impacts of COVID-19,” says John Joestgen, LIC, COO of David J. Frank. Joestgen says they’re in a healthy financial position so they’ve been able to weather the hit from the increased COVID-related costs. As time has gone on, he says they are back at full force revenue-wise and costs seem to be consistent over the past few months, including a leveling of COVID-related costs. David J. Frank serves a whole range of customers including commercial, institutional, retail, HOA and single-family residential. Likewise, Frederick, Maryland-based LandCare serves a diverse client base,

but CEO Mike Bogan, LIC, says many of their customers in the hospitality sector and a large group in the retail sector have been significantly impacted by the response to COVID-19. He says they reduced contract service for many of these customers. “Across our entire commercial portfolio, we have seen a reduction in discretionary enhancement spend, Bogan says. “Our budgets have been adjusted for the reduced revenue, and we are cautiously watching consumer behaviors to determine how long their reduced spending will continue.” Bogan says they saw a rapid revenue decline in March as clients reacted to the shutdown and its impact to their revenue stream, but things have stabilized for LandCare since mid-April. Dennis Barriball, owner of Hemlock Landscapes, based in Chagrin Falls, Ohio, says they build their budget and sales plan in October, so they were well into working their sales plan when the coronavirus issue arose. “When we shut down for the mandatory time in March, we took what we call a ‘hard look’ at our budget,” Barriball says. “Based upon our discussion, we built three budget scenarios; worst case, break-even; an acceptable net profit budget (green); and a best-case scenario (dark green) but still shy of our original profit goal.” Barriball’s company’s main customer base is high net worth and dual-income professionals. They provide residential maintenance and design/build services. He says they quickly passed the breakeven budget scenario as the year has continued on and they started shooting for their green scenario. “We are currently closing in on achieving that profit target and are working ahead to dark green profit,” he says. “That being said, we haven’t had to level out budget-wise as we have a firm grip on a daily/weekly basis of cash flow, revenue booked and gross margin.” ADAPTING TO PANDEMIC LIFE Joestgen says they anticipated sales efforts might be negatively impacted when they were required to work from home, but their IT department reacted

quickly. He says accommodations were made, resulting in proposals and closing to be at or slightly above prior year numbers. “I am pleasantly surprised at how successful virtual meetings have been in lieu of the previous face-to-face group meetings,” he says. “I suspect we will continue to use virtual meetings in some applications after the pandemic has subsided.” The company did experience a drop in spring color installations and some interiorscape clients reduced services to minimize non-employees in their office buildings, but these have rebounded now. Bogan says he stopped having expectations when he realized they couldn’t plan the changes 30 days ahead. “We are working hard to communicate with each client and serve them in accordance with their needs, but I have no ‘expectations,’” he says. “How will our clients react to each policy change and stimulus package, or are they even impacted at all? It’s different for every customer, so broad-based reactions on our part would be inappropriate.” PLANNING FOR 2021 Joestgen says they’re hopeful the COVID variable will have little to no impact on their 2021 budget. “We will continue to monitor the number of cases and deaths in the state, monitor recommendations of the CDC and local governing authorities, witness whether a vaccine is made available and its effectiveness, etc.,” he says. Barriball says it is business as usual with their budgeting. They build from the profit line up using zero-based budgeting. He says they will be looking at the advantages and disadvantages of bringing irrigation in-house. “We fully expect aspects of the pandemic to be with us into 2021, as well as the economic impact of so many businesses being deeply affected,” Bogan says. “Of course, behaviors are changing, too, and as people learn to work, shop and dine differently, the use of the spaces we maintain will evolve. We expect consumer spending to be tight in the commercial segments and our planning will reflect that.” TLP National Association of Landscape Professionals 9

THE NALP EXPERIENCE

NALP Foundation’s Mission to Support Industry Research, Education, and Scholarships

NALP Foundation Board of Directors

FOR MORE THAN TWO DECADES, NALP’S FOUNDATION HAS BEEN COMMITTED to supporting the education of future landscape industry professionals. Through the generous support of its donors and Ambassadors, more than $1.4 million has been awarded in academic scholarships to college landscape and horticulture students. Recently, the Foundation was also tasked with raising money for workforce development and industry growth programs under the Industry Growth Initiative. That project has shifted back to the Association so that the Foundation can focus their efforts on supporting and funding industry research and education. This year, the Foundation is developing new research projects including an industry diversity and inclusion study and research that measures the beneﬁts of healthy landscapes. The Board is also working on the development of a new program to support industry career education at the high school level including scholarships and competitive events. These projects will be funded through support from generous industry donors and grants. NALP is pleased to work with the 2021-2022 Foundation Board of Directors, a talented group who provide critical insights and strategic guidance for these programs which are critical to the future of the industry. For more information about the Foundation, visit, www.landscapeprofessionals.org/foundation. TLP

EXECUTIVE OFFICERS Marty Grunder, Grunder Landscape Co. President Frank Mariani, LIC, Mariani Landscape Immediate Past-President Teddy Russell, Russell Landscape President-Elect Will Pereira, BrightView Landscape Development Secretary-Treasurer DIRECTORS Stephen Ariens, Ariens Company Steve Bromell, Pro Cutters Lawnscapes, Inc. Dan Carrothers, FMC Corporation

Meet New NALP Foundation Board Member, Steve Bromell

Ed Castro, Ed Castro Landscape, Inc.

STEVE BROMELL, SERVES AS THE OPERATIONS MANAGER FOR Pro Cutters Lawnscapes, Inc., a commercial landscape maintenance, right of way mowing, and vegetation management company. He oversees daily operations, ensuring the company continues to grow and that they exceed expectations with excellence. PCL has clients including county governments, businesses, departments of transportation, and utility companies. An alumnus of Tuck School of Business for High Performing Minority Businesses, Bromell has led the company to consistent growth since its inception in 2010. A graduate of 2015 Georgia Mentor Protege program, 2016-17 Georgia Power Mentoring Program and 2017 Southern Company Gas Mentoring Program, Pro Cutters has won multiple awards, including the 2016 NMSDC National Supplier of the Year, 2018 Small Business Education Champion for Rockdale County, 2019 NMSDC Regional Supplier of the Year and 2017 SBA Minority Business Champion to name a few. Bromell was also featured in an issue of The Atlanta Tribune 2017 celebrating minority businesses as Business Owner of The Year along with his business partner and wife, Shawn. They have been married 19 years and have 3 children. When he is not running the business, Bromell takes time to mentor young men and people in need through a program called Men of Distinction. Bromell is involved with multiple community initiatives to bring about change. He served 8 years in the U.S. Army and Bromell believes his commitment to excellence and strong faith are the keys to his success. TLP

Michael Hommel, Designs By Sundown

10 The Landscape Professional //November/December 2020

Paul Fraynd, LIC, Sun Valley Landscaping Bob Grover, LIC, Paciﬁc Landscape Management

Bob Jones, Ruppert Landscape Chris Joyce, Joyce Landscaping Joe Ketter, SiteOne Miles Kuperus Jr., LIC, Farmside Landscape and Design Mark Schmidt, Landscape Stewardship Institute Don Winsett, Davey Tree Britt Wood, National Association of Landscape Professionals

Meet NALP’s Newest Trailblazer, Jeff Rossen

JEFF ROSSEN, PRESIDENT AND CEO of Rossen Landscape, based in Great Falls, Virginia, has joined the NALP Trailblazers, a group of landscape industry experts who are nominated by their peers for their contributions to the industry. Trailblazers mentor others in the industry through the program. Rossen started his ﬁrst business, Atlantic Landworks, after graduating from high school. After earning his degree at Virginia Tech, he worked at one of the country’s largest landscaping companies as a foreman before heading up the maintenance division. In 2003, he launched Rossen Landscape. He believes in creating an environment where people want to work to attract top talent. Rossen says some of his areas of expertise include organic growth, high-end residential construction and maintenance, along with process development and implementation.

By Jill Odom

WHY DID YOU DECIDE TO BECOME A TRAILBLAZER? I’ve had a lot of people help me along the way and I want to help the next generation of up and comers get there. WHO ARE SOME OF YOUR INDUSTRY MENTORS? Barry Schneider from Surrounds Landscaping and Frank Mariani from Mariani Landscape. WHAT DO YOU HOPE TO SHARE WITH FELLOW NALP MEMBERS AS A TRAILBLAZER? My passion for the game of business, my years of experience, and save them from making some of the mistakes I made. WHAT’S ONE OF THE MISTAKES YOU LEARNED FROM? Thinking you need to be friends with everyone that works for you and align in that way. I always wanted to just work with people that I liked and wanted to be friends with. And as it turns out, as the business grows, you don’t have to want to be friends with everybody that works in the company. You got to work with people who get the job done. As a young guy it’s natural you want to work with people you gravitate towards, but at the end of the day that doesn’t always equate to success.

WHY SHOULD NALP MEMBERS SIGN UP TO WORK WITH A TRAILBLAZER? It’s a beneﬁt that comes with their membership so it’s a no brainer with that regard. It’s basically like having a consultant with no charge working one-on-one with you. WHY SHOULD MORE EXPERIENCED MEMBERS CONSIDER BEING A TRAILBLAZER? If they want the reward of helping others or the feeling of giving back and contributing, they should do it. TLP

National Association of Landscape Professionals 11

THE NALP EXPERIENCE

Are You Plugged into a NALP Network? By Jill Odom THE NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF LANDSCAPE Professionals has several networks available for those who are looking to connect with others in the industry.

elists for the session “A Forward Focus: Recruiting, Retaining, and Empowering Women in the Landscape Industry.” For those interested in getting involved, consider joining the WILN Facebook group, WILN LinkedIn group, or signing up for the WILN news and events and participating in the virtual networking series. The WILN Facebook group currently has over 600 members and is extremely active. Thoughtful engagement via posts and comments is encouraged. We also support members who prefer to listen and learn. While the majority of members are women, men are also welcome to join.

WOMEN IN LANDSCAPE NETWORK The Women in Landscape Network (WILN), powered by Bayer, was created in 2019 to connect, empower, and advocate for women in the landscape industry. NALP is committed to amplifying the voices of women leaders and driving the change necessary to recruit and maintain female professionals. WILN is currently hosting the NALP WILN Virtual Networking Series, which is free to both NALP members and non-members. The series covers a number of timely, relevant topics in a variety of formats. Some of the upcoming topics include: Body Images - Building Each Other Up, Creating a Climate of Change and Balancing Femininity and Strength. Registration links are available in the WILN Facebook group, WILN LinkedIn group, or notiﬁcation via email for those who have opted in to WILN news and events. The NALP Women in Landscape Network also recently partnered with SiteOne on their annual Women in the Green Industry Conference. Members of the WILN Advisory Board served as pan12 The Landscape Professional //November/December 2020

YOUNG PROFESSIONALS NETWORK For landscape or lawn care professionals who are under 40, the Young Professionals Network serves as a way for up-and-comers to connect and share their passion for the industry. While 2020 has been a strange year, NALP’s Young Professionals Network has continued to move their initiatives forward. The network has focused on career advancement, professional development, and peer-to-peer connections by utilizing social media platforms, engaging young professionals in daily conversations, and most excitingly, starting the podcast, Growing in The Green Industry. The podcast has provided eye-opening stories and discussion topics to not only young professionals in the landscaping industry but young professionals overall. Some of the previous podcast guests include Mike Bogan, Marty Grunder and Cole Weller. Topics have ranged from how to recruit and retain employees to the nature of working in a family business. The podcast is great for those who want to learn more about how young professionals think, work and play. The network is continuing to grow and has big plans for the future.

LATINO LANDSCAPE NETWORK (FORMERLY NHLA) The Latino Landscape Network (formerly NHLA), powered by the National Association of Landscape Professionals, was launched this past fall and is overseen by an Advisory Board of former Board of Directors members of the National Hispanic Landscape Alliance. NHLA became part of NALP in the spring of 2020, and our association is dedicated to providing a strong voice and more resources for this critical sector of the industry. With a goal of carrying on the mission to empower the nearly 500,000 Latino landscape professionals in the U.S., the leadership team adopted the network model as a way to reach a wide audience and build a nationwide coalition of Latino landscape professionals at all levels of their careers. The Network Advisory Board is focused on three areas; advocating for the nearly 500,000 Latino-landscape professionals with elected ofﬁcials at the local, state and federal levels; providing new education, training and resources to help Latino-owned businesses and employees; and providing networking and mentoring opportunities to help empower Latino landscapers. We encourage NALP members and non-members to join the conversation through the Latino Landscape Network Facebook Group and other social platforms and stay tuned for news and updates about new tools and resources in the coming year. TLP

CLICK ON THE CONNECT NAVIGATION TAB ON OUR WEBSITE TO FIND OUT MORE AND JOIN ONE OR MORE OF THE NALP NETWORKS.

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Design/Build: What to Know about Working in the Winter By Jill Odom WHILE IT CAN BE TEMPTING TO settle your company down for a long winter’s nap if you don’t offer snow removal services, winter is prime time to be selling, designing and, sometimes, even installing landscapes. “Selling there’s never a time not to sell in my opinion,” says Barry Burkholder, co-owner of Burkholder Landscape based in Malvern, Pennsylvania. “As far as installing, it really depends on the climate. If the grounds going to freeze and it’s going to get cold, if that’s going to be a challenge, if you’re going to have to drive back and forth 20 times instead of ﬁve, you’re losing money.” BUILDING A BACKLOG One of the main beneﬁts of selling and designing in the winter is it allows you to build a healthy backlog for the spring. “It’s all about having backlog,” Burkholder says. “When we have a good

In the wintertime, most of the projects companies can work on are hardscape related. Photos: Borst Landscape & Design

strong quarter one or even sometimes a quarter four when we’re closing work for the next year, it’s a comfortable feeling knowing that we have a lot of work to put in the ground so when we’re fired back up we’re going to hit the ground at top speed.” Chappy Manzer, owner of Manzer’s Landscape Design and Development, Inc. based in Peekskill, New York, likes selling in the winter because it starts the whole design process two to three months earlier than normal. He says it allows them to plan their time more efficiently. “We find it’s a perfect time to sell because it’s a little slower so our designers can take their time a little more,” Burkholder says. “We pitch it to the clients who want to hold off until next year. We say, ‘Hey why don’t we do it in the late fall/winter?’ because we can really spend a little more and give them a little more love and take our time through the process because there isn’t quite as much going on as in the heat of the season.” Burkholder says for them a healthy backlog is two to three months’ worth of work. “All winter long we are selling outdoor landscapes, design/build-wise primarily,” says Mark Borst, LIC, president and owner of Borst Landscape & Design based in Allendale, New Jersey. “Really the main focus is to make sure that we get the workload for spring

“All winter long we are selling outdoor landscapes, design/build-wise primarily. Really the main focus is to make sure that we get the workload for spring lined up so that way we don’t have any shortfalls in the spring.” - Mark Borst, LIC, president and owner of Borst Landscape & Design

14 The Landscape Professional //November/December 2020

lined up so that way we don’t have any shortfalls in the spring.” Borst says they tend to carry over about 15 percent of their work from the previous year and over the winter they’ll sell another 20 percent, bringing them into the spring with 30 to 35 percent of their work sold for the year. Borst says typically the landscape they’re dealing with in the wintertime is a full master plan for a property that is new or being renovated. They try to get them in the planning phase in the late fall or early winter so they are ready to start in the spring. “In New Jersey, we have a huge permit process that we have to go through each town,” Borst says. “So, most of our projects involve engineering plans with engineering companies. A project from design to start could take about four months, maybe ﬁve months in some situations.” RETAINING EMPLOYEES Another beneﬁt of performing winter work is to provide steady employment to more workers. “It allows us to have our employees have normal lives during the winter,” Manzer says. “Because we’re in the Northeast, a lot of times guys will get laid off for a certain number of weeks. It allows us to keep better employees working.” Manzer says working in the winter helps with employee morale and loyalty. He says since they started winter work, they’re able to keep 40 to 50 percent of their staff now. Burkholder says they are able to keep their sales and design teams on over the winter as well. “This winter we employed as many people we could through the winter because it was a very mild winter and we could keep going all the way through,” Borst says. Yet Borst’s company encountered the problem of a lot of their install crews are H-2B workers whose visas expire mid-December and do not come back until springtime. MIND MOTHER NATURE Depending on where you are located geographically and the whims of the weather that particular year will determine if you can go about installing any of the work you sell over the winter. Located in northern New Jersey,

Borst says it’s pretty iffy for them when it comes to installs in the winter due to frost. However, last year he says they didn’t have to deal with frost in the ground and were installing landscapes throughout the winter and were even able to start planting on a few projects. “So last winter was different than most,” Borst says. “But as far as what types of landscapes, probably in the wintertime we’re doing hardscape projects that work out pretty well. What we try to do if we have a project we want to go through the winter, we’ll try to get all the footings in place before the frost goes into the ground that way once the footings are in place we can start building all winter long.” In Pennsylvania, Burkholder says they can’t work through the whole winter as things will start to get too cold and too wet, but they can install hardscape projects as long as the ground isn’t frozen. “Our philosophy is because we also do snow, we shut down mid-December unless it’s a really odd mild winter,” Burkholder says. “We’re not geared up to install landscapes in the wintertime.” Manzer says the winter weather makes it difficult to do concrete work, but pavers and segmental walls are easier to install. “Our weather is so unpredictable here,” Manzer says. “It can be zero degrees one day and the next day it’s up in the 30s or 40s. The weather plays a big part because if you get freezing cold temperatures and then everything thaws out it could mess up the final project, with settling and stuff like that. I think if it’s really, really cold it’s hard on the guys because they don’t move as quickly.” He says if it’s extremely cold they won’t work because they don’t want to risk their staff getting frostbite. SLOWER WORK The weather can also slow down projects so be sure to temper clients’ expectations if you do decide to move forward with a winter install. “In our area, we find that winter for us is very unproductive to do projects so as far as staying on track timewise,” Borst says. “We find the winter adds a lot of labor to the project. Normally if someone wants to go through the winter we actually charge more.” He estimates it takes them 10 percent longer to complete a project in the

winter due to the weather and getting things unfrozen with heat blankets or tents. Manzer says it takes them 20 to 25 percent longer to complete winter projects. Manzer says even though it hasn’t snowed as much in recent years, it has rained frequently enough to prevent them from working on jobsites in the winter. “We’re typically a 40-inch market for snow,” Manzer says. “If it snows it’s not even really worth doing stuff because it’s more of a waste of time. It cuts down the productivity of the guys.” Burkholder agrees that when it’s cold out things slow down, and he estimates it can slow their work down by 20 to 30 percent. In other regions, the snow and the cold may be less of an issue but the winter rain can still affect productivity. Burkholder says they don’t typically offer discounts for winter work, but if they don’t have as much design work as they’d like they do discount their design fees. “Discounting to be busy in the wintertime, along with the challenges that are inevitably going to happen if you’re trying to work in the wintertime is probably a really bad idea because then you’re losing more money,” Burkholder says. “I would really never discount the actual installation costs, no matter how cold it is.” TLP

Selling and designing landscapes can continue all year long. Photo: (Above) Burkholder Landscape

National Association of Landscape Professionals 15

THE NALP EXPERIENCE HAVING A SAFE COMPANY DOES NOT ONLY MEAN FEWER accidents and lower insurance and workers’ comp costs. Being a safe organization helps retain and attract the right people to your company. “No one wants to come to work and have the risk of being injured,” says Paul Lutz, director of safety and ﬂeet operations for Aspen Grove Landscape Group, LLC. “Landscaping can be extremely hazardous at times, and people and their families expect that we keep them safe from harm. It is very important to know you are valued and your number one need in life is taken care of, while in the line of duty: your health and safety.” Aspen Grove Landscape Group had ﬁve of its companies earn the Best of the Best Safety Award this year. Q James River Grounds Management, Inc. – Glen Allen, Virginia Q James River Grounds Management – Midlothian, Virginia Q Reliable Property Services (corporate) – St. Paul, Minnesota Q Reliable Property Services – Waunakee, Wisconsin Q The Landscape Partners – Fort Worth, Texas

Safety Advice from the Best of the Best Award Winners By Jill Odom

16 The Landscape Professional //November/December 2020

“These safety accolades provide an overwhelming sense of pride for the men and women of Aspen Grove,” Lutz says. “All the Aspen Grove Landscape teams have worked very hard to make safety the top influencer in all aspects of their operations. Personally, it is not the accolades or the prestige, it is about sleeping at night and knowing you did the right thing.” The Best of the Best Safety Award is presented to landscaping companies who have maintained the Overall Safety Achievement award – Gold level status for three consecutive years. Lutz along with the other Best of the Best Safety Award winners for 2020 share some of the practices they implement to operate as safe companies year after year. MOST EFFECTIVE SAFETY POLICIES Robert Salas II, president of Pacific Federal Management, based in Tamon, Guam, says they create a culture of safety starting with onboarding. “To further instill the culture of safety in the company we created a safety committee comprised of team members from all levels of the organization including field staff,” Salas says. “The safety committee is tasked with preparing together safety information and material for dissemination to the groups and brainstorming potential safety issues and solutions.” Chris Testa, president of United

Right-of-Way, based in Phoenix, Arizona, says training is paramount for them. “Often people are hired based on experience levels,” Testa says. “We expect a person in the field to demonstrate their knowledge of equipment including vehicles and hand tools before they are just put on or assigned to lead a crew. If a new hire is considered entry-level, we work with that individual in steps to train them properly.” Lutz says all of their safety policies are equally important but two, in particular, pave the way. One is a strict policy on incident reporting. “This policy is plain and simple: you cannot over report, only under report,” Lutz says. “Our safety culture provides a positive environment in which to report unplanned events. This has enabled us to lower our exposure to these unplanned events by focusing resources on managing the event at the lowest level and preventing the chance of reoccurrence. Simply, we want to know what we do not know and we want to fix it!” Testa says they also document everything including “near misses” and potential hazards. “When an incident does occur, the office is to be notified immediately and a check list is followed,” Testa says. “We have a written statement/report for the individual, the crew and immediate supervisor for each to complete. Those are reviewed by management, and then discussed. If an employee simply writes down ‘I was not paying attention’ that is addressed, and we dig deeper and compare notes and speak to the employees involved so we all learn.” Lutz says the second policy is the implementation of the five life safety rules, which are the top five things that could get someone hurt. These are cell phones, not wearing a seatbelt, unsafe driving, not using ROPS and tampering with intrinsic safeties on a machine. “Our most effective policy is we have monthly meetings every month and we have a booklet that we go through that has a different thing to talk about safety for landscaping,” says Larry Craig, safety and quality control manager for Curby’s Lawn & Garden based in Olathe, Kansas. Likewise, Tony Gile, general manager for Alliance Landscape Company, based in Fort Worth, Texas, says their weekly Tuesday morning safety meeting is their most productive policy. Every week they cover a safety topic or open discussion

on potential safety issues. Mahoney Associates, based in Southampton, New York, uses constant re-enforcement of company policies and procedures to help ensure team members are properly informed and trained when executing their daily tasks, according to owner and president, Donald Mahoney Jr. IMPLEMENTING YOUR SAFETY PLAN EVERY DAY Making sure your crews are following safe practices every day can be a challenge, but these Best of the Best Award winners use a number of methods to ensure safety is top of mind each day. Gile says getting everyone involved and getting everyone to buy in to the safety culture is what ensures they are safe every day. “We rely a lot on each team member looking out for the other,” Testa says. “That applies not only to the good, but also to the bad, meaning if a crew member is behaving in an unsafe manner, we expect someone to speak up and step up to lend a hand. If someone on that crew helps another out, we want to also hear about it. This could be verbal or a comment card.” Lutz says Aspen Grove places a high level of trust in their teams. They verify that the proper precautions and safety measures are being taken by site audits, daily checklist procedures and compliance visits, but he says verification is not the secret ingredient. “The secret to safety is having leadership empowered to be safe,” Lutz says. “Most of the safety incidents come back to a management failure of some kind, but we want our team to go home as safe and healthy as they arrived to work that day. This is cultivated by empowering our leadership and management levels by giving them the resources needed to accomplish safety.” Salas says they have supervisors and leadmen trained on OSHA standards and they are responsible for conducting daily toolbox briefings that are specific to the jobsite and project. “PFM also implements a monetary award and company-wide recognition system where ‘good catches’ are reported and used to develop future training efforts,” Salas says. “Everyone has a chance to submit a ‘good catch’ at any time, which creates a culture geared towards identifying and not hiding problems. The incentive system is created to

empower all personnel to take part and contribute to the safety program on a daily basis.” Crystal Arlington, LIC, president of Affiliated Grounds Maintenance based in Lake City, Pennsylvania, says they have morning meetings and also request feedback from their customers, employees and foremen. She says she taps into sources like NALP for literature, books and current trainings. They also conduct a fair amount of video and hands-on training for safety. “Always oversee hands-on training with a piece of equipment or vehicle or when somebody is backing up something for the first time,” Arlington says. “They should always have somebody there training them first.” Craig says their crews check all the lights are working on their trucks are working before leaving in the morning. Similarly, at Mahoney Associates, their managers do a daily checklist prior to teams leaving the facility. Also, random spot checks are conducted to ensure employees are wearing and utilizing the proper PPE. “We conduct daily equipment checks to include vehicles, trailers, and equipment,” Testa says. “The last thing we want to do is send a crew out in a truck with bad tires or with a piece of equipment missing safety guards. This is the responsibility of the driver or designated crew safety lead.” ADVICE FOR OTHERS Here are some final takeaways these companies have to offer when it comes to operating as a safe company. “Lead by example and give your team all the education and tools they need to be safe, not only for themselves but their team members and our clients,” Mahoney says. “We constantly remind our team members they are no good to their families, themselves or the company if they are injured because they did not follow proper safety protocols.” Testa says companies need to develop a sound safety plan and follow it. It should also be updated or changed as you grow and take on different types of work. “A safety plan that does not mention pesticides, but you are using them, is not a complete safety plan,” Testa says. “The same applies to changes in equipment and work areas. Look at your equipment. Is it old and run down, would you trust putting your family in

“Always oversee hands-on training with a piece of equipment or vehicle or when somebody is backing up something for the first time. They should always have somebody there training them first.” - Crystal Arlington, LIC, president of Affiliated Grounds Maintenance a truck with bad tires? Keep up with maintenance and challenge your staff to respect the equipment and to look out for each other.” Craig says they stress good housekeeping, which means keeping everything in its proper place. They also present their safety meetings in both English and Spanish. Arlington encourages providing employees with the safety guidelines, going over them and having them sign off on them. She also has employees sign in and out any time they do video or hands-on training. “Always follow your state and city laws and regulations, be proactive not reactive,” Arlington says. “If you are doing the trainings and teaching the safety and being proactive, you won’t have to react when something bad happens. You can always ask another company for guidance. I always tell people to sign up for Trailblazer program.” Lutz says the main thing is to focus on the basics and empower your people. “You don’t need to be a trained safety expert to know that with a little education and some basic PPE, you can build the foundation of a successful safety program,” Lutz says. “Like a diet, you cannot be focused on the results, focus on the process, the results will come. Lastly, it is not about who did it, it is about who let it happen…Own it.” Salas agrees with Lutz that the key is to empower your employees to take ownership of their safety program. “Biggest factor in being a safe company is to have an open relationship with everyone on staff,” Gile says. “We talk about any situations that may be potential safety issues. Make sure all associates are comfortable to talk about situations that may become unsafe. Constant communication and feedback are very important.” TLP

Editor’s Note: One Best of the Best award winner, Trio Outdoor Maintenance, based in Lenox, Michigan, was unavailable for this article.

LEARN MORE ÐABOUT 2021 NALP SAFETY AWARDS. ENTRIES OPEN IN EARLY FEBRUARY 2021. https://www. landscapeprofessionals.org/ safetyawards

National Association of Landscape Professionals 17

THE NALP EXPERIENCE

2020 Safety Recognition Award Recipients Acres Group Plainﬁeld Overall Safety Achievement - Silver Acres Group Roselle Overall Safety Achievement - Bronze

Acres Group Wauconda Overall Safety Achievement - Silver Afﬁliated Grounds Maintenance Group Inc. Best of the Best Overall Safety Achievement - Gold No Vehicle Accidents No Injuries or Illnesses No Days Away from Work Allentuck Landscaping Co. Overall Safety Achievement - Gold No Vehicle Accidents No Injuries or Illnesses No Days Away from Work Alliance Landscape Company, LLC Best of the Best Overall Safety Achievement - Gold No Vehicle Accidents No Injuries or Illnesses No Days Away from Work Anewalt’s Landscape Contracting Overall Safety Achievement – Silver No Vehicle Accidents No Injuries or Illnesses No Days Away from Work Annco Services Delray An Aspen Grove

Landscape Company Overall Safety Achievement - Gold No Vehicle Accidents No Days Away from Work Annco Services Haverhill/PSL An Aspen Grove Landscape Company Overall Safety Achievement - Gold No Vehicle Accidents No Days Away from Work APHIX, LLC - Lexington No Vehicle Accidents Arcadia Gardens, LLC No Vehicle Accidents No Injuries or Illnesses No Days Away from Work Bauer & Gudeman, Inc. Overall Safety Achievement - Gold No Vehicle Accidents No Injuries or Illnesses No Days Away from Work Bloom’n Gardens Landscape LLC No Days Away from Work Overall Safety Achievement – Bronze Brilar, LLC Overall Safety Achievement - Silver BT Carawan No Vehicle Accidents No Injuries or Illnesses No Days Away from Work Buds & Blades Landscape Company Inc. Overall Safety Achievement - Silver No Vehicle Accidents

Clarence Davids & Company Overall Safety Achievement - Gold Clean Scapes LP Overall Safety Achievement - Bronze Clean Scapes - Dallas LLC Overall Safety Achievement - Gold No Vehicle Accidents Clean Scapes - San Antonio LLC Overall Safety Achievement - Silver Clippers, Inc. – Corporate An Aspen Grove Landscape Company Overall Safety Achievement - Gold No Vehicle Accidents No Injuries or Illnesses No Days Away from Work Clippers, Inc. – Fredericksburg An Aspen Grove Landscape Company Overall Safety Achievement - Gold No Vehicle Accidents No Days Away from Work Clippers LLC Maryland An Aspen Grove Landscape Company Overall Safety Achievement - Silver No Days Away from Work Clippers LLC – Sterling An Aspen Grove Landscape Company Overall Safety Achievement - Gold No Vehicle Accidents

18 The Landscape Professional //November/December 2020

No Injuries or Illnesses No Days Away from Work Crystal Greens Landscape, Inc. Overall Safety Achievement - Bronze Curby’s Lawn & Garden LLC Best of the Best Overall Safety Achievement - Gold No Vehicle Accidents No Injuries or Illnesses No Days Away from Work David J. Frank Landscape Contracting, Inc. Overall Safety Achievement - Silver

Dennis’ Seven Dees Landscaping & Garden Centers Overall Safety Achievement - Silver

Duke’s Landscape Management, Inc. Overall Safety Achievement - Gold No Vehicle Accidents No Injuries or Illnesses No Days Away from Work Edmonds Landscape & Construction Services, Ltd. Overall Safety Achievement - Bronze No Days Away from Work Environmental Enhancements, Inc. Overall Safety Achievement - Bronze No Days Away from Work

Enviroscape, Inc. Overall Safety Achievement - Gold No Vehicle Accidents No Injuries or Illnesses No Days Away from Work Estate Landscaping & Lawn Management, LLC Overall Safety Achievement - Bronze

Executive Property Maintenance Inc. Overall Safety Achievement - Gold No Vehicle Accidents No Injuries or Illnesses No Days Away from Work Falling Leaves Lawn Care, Inc. No Days Away from Work Farmside Landscape & Design Overall Safety Achievement - Silver

Fine Earth Landscape, Inc. Overall Safety Achievement - Silver No Days Away from Work Focal Pointe Outdoor Solutions, Inc. Overall Safety Achievement - Silver Frank Carson Landscape & Maintenance Inc. Overall Safety Achievement - Bronze No Vehicle Accidents

Integrated Landscape Management – Gilbert An Aspen Grove Landscape Company Overall Safety Achievement - Gold No Vehicle Accidents Greenleaf Landscapes, No Injuries or Illnesses Inc. Overall Safety Achievement No Days Away from Work - Gold Integrated Landscape No Vehicle Accidents Management - Tempe No Days Away from Work An Aspen Grove Greenleaf Services, Inc. Landscape Company Overall Safety Achievement Overall Safety Achievement - Gold - Silver No Vehicle Accidents No Days Away from Work No Injuries or Illnesses No Days Away from Work Green-Up Landscape, LLC Overall Safety Achievement Integrated Landscape Management - Tree - Silver Branch No Vehicle Accidents An Aspen Grove No Days Away from Work Landscape Company Overall Safety Achievement Grunder Landscaping - Gold Company Overall Safety Achievement No Vehicle Accidents No Injuries or Illnesses - Bronze No Days Away from Work Hidden Creek J. Downend Landscaping, Inc. Overall Safety Achievement Landscaping, Inc. Overall Safety Achievement - Bronze - Bronze No Vehicle Accidents Highridge Landscapes, Inc. James Martin No Vehicle Accidents Associates, Inc. No Injuries or Illnesses Overall Safety Achievement No Days Away from Work - Silver Independence Property No Days Away from Work – King of Prussia James River Grounds An Aspen Grove Management, Inc. – Landscape Company Overall Safety Achievement Corporate An Aspen Grove - Gold Landscape Company No Vehicle Accidents Best of the Best No Days Away from Work Overall Safety Achievement - Gold Integrated Landscape No Vehicle Accidents Management No Injuries or Illnesses Corporate No Days Away from Work An Aspen Grove Landscape Company Overall Safety Achievement - Gold No Vehicle Accidents No Injuries or Illnesses No Days Away from Work Goodmark Nurseries, LLC Overall Safety Achievement - Silver No Vehicle Accidents

James River Grounds Management, Inc. – Charlottesville An Aspen Grove Landscape Company Overall Safety Achievement - Silver No Vehicle Accidents James River Grounds Management, Inc. – Chesterﬁeld An Aspen Grove Landscape Company Best of the Best Overall Safety Achievement - Gold No Vehicle Accidents No Injuries or Illnesses No Days Away from Work

James River Nurseries Inc. No Vehicle Accidents No Injuries or Illnesses No Days Away from Work Keep It Green Landscaping Most Improved Fleet Safety Overall Safety Achievement – Gold No Vehicle Accidents No Injuries or Illnesses No Days Away from Work

Lightfoot Enterprises, Inc. Overall Safety Achievement - Gold No Vehicle Accidents No Injuries or Illnesses No Days Away from Work

Long Brothers Landscaping Greensboro An Aspen Grove Landscape Company Overall Safety Achievement - Gold No Vehicle Accidents Landcare USA LLC Overall Safety Achievement No Injuries or Illnesses No Days Away from Work - Silver

Long Brothers Landscaping – Raleigh An Aspen Grove James River Grounds Landscape Company Management, Inc. – Overall Safety Achievement Newport News - Gold An Aspen Grove No Vehicle Accidents Landscape Creations Landscape Company Overall Safety Achievement Overall Safety Achievement No Injuries or Illnesses No Days Away from Work - Gold - Gold No Vehicle Accidents No Vehicle Accidents Mahoney Associates, No Injuries or Illnesses No Injuries or Illnesses Inc. No Days Away from Work No Days Away from Work Best of the Best Landscape Images, Ltd. Overall Safety Achievement James River Grounds - Gold No Vehicle Accidents Management, Inc. – No Vehicle Accidents Portsmouth No Injuries or Illnesses Landscape An Aspen Grove Management Systems, No Days Away from Work Landscape Company Overall Safety Achievement Inc. Overall Safety Achievement Mainscape, Inc. - Gold Overall Safety Achievement – Bronze No Vehicle Accidents - Silver No Days Away from Work Landscape Workshop Overall Safety Achievement Mariani Landscape James River Grounds Overall Safety Achievement - Silver Management, Inc. – - Silver No Days Away from Work Richmond An Aspen Grove Marsh Brothers Lawns Lawn Butler, Inc. Landscape Company Overall Safety Achievement Overall Safety Achievement & Landscaping, LLC No Vehicle Accidents - Silver - Gold No Injuries or Illnesses No Vehicle Accidents No Days Away from Work Lawn Management No Injuries or Illnesses Company, Inc. No Days Away from Work Overall Safety Achievement Midwest Landscape Industries, Inc. - Silver James River Grounds Overall Safety Achievement Management, Inc. – Lewis Property Services - Silver Williamsburg Overall Safety Achievement No Injuries or Illnesses An Aspen Grove No Days Away from Work - Gold Landscape Company Overall Safety Achievement No Vehicle Accidents No Injuries or Illnesses - Gold No Days Away from Work No Vehicle Accidents No Days Away from Work Landmark Landscapes Inc. Overall Safety Achievement - Silver No Vehicle Accidents

National Association of Landscape Professionals 19

THE NALP EXPERIENCE MMC Land Management Overall Safety Achievement - Silver Nature Scape Inc., dba Alpine Gardens Overall Safety Achievement - Bronze No Vehicle Accidents Oasis Turf & Tree, Inc. Overall Safety Achievement - Gold No Vehicle Accidents No Injuries or Illnesses No Days Away from Work Paciﬁc Federal Management, Inc. Best of the Best Overall Safety Achievement - Gold No Vehicle Accidents No Injuries or Illnesses No Days Away from Work Parks Landscape Group No Vehicle Accidents No Injuries or Illnesses No Days Away from Work Professional Grounds, Inc. Overall Safety Achievement - Gold No Vehicle Accidents ProGreen Turf and Landscape Inc. Overall Safety Achievement - Silver No Vehicle Accidents No Injuries or Illnesses No Days Away from Work Providence Landscape Group An Aspen Grove Landscape Company Overall Safety Achievement - Silver Quality Lawn, Landscape, & Fence Inc. Overall Safety Achievement - Silver No Injuries or Illnesses No Days Away from Work

Raimondi Horticultural Group, Inc. Overall Safety Achievement - Silver No Vehicle Accidents Reliable Property Services - Corporate An Aspen Grove Landscape Company Best of the Best Overall Safety Achievement - Gold No Vehicle Accidents No Injuries or Illnesses No Days Away from Work Reliable Property Services - Madison An Aspen Grove Landscape Company Overall Safety Achievement - Gold No Vehicle Accidents No Injuries or Illnesses No Days Away from Work Reliable Property Services - Madison Golf An Aspen Grove Landscape Company Best of the Best Overall Safety Achievement - Gold No Vehicle Accidents No Injuries or Illnesses No Days Away from Work Reliable Property Services - Maple Grove An Aspen Grove Landscape Company Overall Safety Achievement - Silver No Injuries or Illnesses No Days Away from Work Reliable Property Services - Milwaukee An Aspen Grove Landscape Company Overall Safety Achievement - Bronze No Days Away from Work

Reliable Property Services - Minnesota An Aspen Grove Landscape Company Overall Safety Achievement - Gold No Vehicle Accidents No Days Away from Work RSG Landscaping & Lawn Care, Inc. No Days Away from Work Save-On Enterprises, dba ArtisTree Landscape Overall Safety Achievement - Silver No Vehicle Accidents SchoggenScapes, Inc. Overall Safety Achievement - Gold No Vehicle Accidents No Injuries or Illnesses No Days Away from Work Silvis Group Overall Safety Achievement - Silver No Vehicle Accidents No Days Away from Work Snow & Sons Landscaping, Inc. Overall Safety Achievement - Silver Stay Green Inc. Most Improved Employee Safety Overall Safety Achievement – Bronze Strauser Nature’s Helpers Overall Safety Achievement - Bronze No Days Away from Work TechScape Overall Safety Achievement - Silver T.R. Gear An Aspen Grove Landscape Company Overall Safety Achievement - Gold No Vehicle Accidents No Injuries or Illnesses No Days Away from Work

20 The Landscape Professional //November/December 2020

The Greenery, Inc. Overall Safety Achievement - Silver No Days Away from Work The Greenwood Group LLC Overall Safety Achievement - Gold No Vehicle Accidents No Injuries or Illnesses No Days Away from Work The Landscape Partners - DFW An Aspen Grove Landscape Company Overall Safety Achievement - Gold No Vehicle Accidents The Landscape Partners - GIC An Aspen Grove Landscape Company Best of the Best Overall Safety Achievement - Gold No Vehicle Accidents No Injuries or Illnesses No Days Away from Work The Landscape Partners - OKC An Aspen Grove Landscape Company Overall Safety Achievement - Gold No Vehicle Accidents No Injuries or Illnesses No Days Away from Work The LaurelRock Company Overall Safety Achievement – Silver No Vehicle Accidents The Pit, LLC Overall Safety Achievement - Gold No Injuries or Illnesses No Days Away from Work The Southern Landscape Group, LLC Overall Safety Achievement - Gold No Vehicle Accidents No Injuries or Illnesses No Days Away from Work

Todé Landscape Contractors, Inc. Overall Safety Achievement - Gold No Vehicle Accidents No Injuries or Illnesses No Days Away from Work Trio Outdoor Maintenance LLC Best of the Best Overall Safety Achievement - Gold No Vehicle Accidents No Injuries or Illnesses No Days Away from Work United Lawnscape – East An Aspen Grove Landscape Company Overall Safety Achievement - Silver No Days Away from Work United Lawnscape – West An Aspen Grove Landscape Company Overall Safety Achievement - Gold No Vehicle Accidents No Injuries or Illnesses No Days Away from Work United Right-of-Way Best of the Best Overall Safety Achievement - Gold No Vehicle Accidents No Injuries or Illnesses No Days Away from Work Valley Landscaping, Inc. Overall Safety Achievement - Silver No Injuries or Illnesses No Days Away from Work

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Give Thanks: Expressing Gratitude to Employees By Jill Odom AS THE YEAR DRAWS TO A CLOSE, THE LAST TWO MONTHS OFTEN become a time for reflection and thankfulness. One thing many lawn and landscape companies are grateful for is their hardworking staff who keep the business running. Taking the time to express gratitude to employees on a regular basis can be extremely helpful when it comes to retention. “When people feel that their efforts are valued, they experience greater job satisfaction, have a stronger desire to show up for work every day and give it their all, push themselves to the next level and stay with an organization for the long haul,” says Courtney Pohlit, director of people & recruiting for Ruppert Landscape, based in Laytonsville, Maryland. Bret Achtenhagen, president of Bret Achtenhagen’s Seasonal Services based in Mukwonago, Wisconsin, says expressing gratitude often is the million little things that make up your company culture versus half a dozen big gestures. “In the big picture, you really have to define your culture, understand your culture and look at your culture and look at your culture statements, your values and your goals and figure out how does gratitude fit in,” Achtenhagen says. “How people show gratitude is, in my opinion, probably not going to be the same from company to company.

Your company has a culture, it has a personality, and your methods of showing gratitude should be consistent with that culture.” WHY EXPRESSING GRATITUDE MATTERS Brian Mark, owner and president of CMS Landscape, based in Pocasset, Massachusetts, says keeping good employees is the most important and difﬁcult part of the job. Having great employees ensure that clients will follow. “Each person on our team has an impact on our success or failure on a daily, weekly, monthly, yearly and beyond basis,” says Shayne Newman, LIC, president of YardApes, based in New Milton, Connecticut. “When we have wins as a team it’s important to recognize those who contributed to our success. As landscapers, we are driven by our love for the outdoors as well as our desire to please our clients. It feels good when we know we have made our clients happy. So, it’s important to recognize that our employees are motivated by knowing that they have made someone happy.”

“Honestly, I think the personal thank you from an owner goes a long way. You can see a pep in their step and their shoulders lift as they walk away. The holiday giveaways also seem to hit the heart. I would never diminish the impact of the bonus program though, very powerful.” -Brian Mark, owner and president of CMS Landscape 22 The Landscape Professional //November/December 2020

On holidays, CMS Landscape gives out turkeys for Thanksgiving and hams for Christmas. Photos: CMS Landscape

“We like to provide opportunities for people to be together.. because it helps create a stronger team bond and enables people to see and feel that what they do is valued by the company and by their teammates.” - Courtney Pohlit, director of people & recruiting for Ruppert Landscape

Achtenhagen says now more than ever employees value positive feedback and want to be acknowledged for their contributions. Pohlit says like any good relationship, it’s important to let people know that what they do is noticed and valued. METHODS TO THANK EMPLOYEES As for how landscape companies go about expressing their gratitude, it can come in many different forms. At Seasonal Services, they make sure the compliments they receive from customers are shared with all the employees and they are posted on a bulletin board in the break room as well. Likewise, YardApes posts client

compliments on a weekly basis in an area where all employees can see. “We also identify in the posting which employees were responsible for the client compliment and make it a point for a manager to personally congratulate the employee(s) who were responsible for the compliment,” Newman says. Pohlit says at Ruppert, they try to keep a continuous stream of impromptu thank yous, both written and verbal, for many employee accomplishments. The company hosts employee appreciation events, skills and training opportunities and recognizes employee milestones with awards, birthday cards, anniversary coins and letters. “We have some of the more formal programs in place so that we don’t lose momentum when we are busy,” Pohlit says. “We like to provide opportunities for people to be together — whether at a branch barbecue, rafting trip, or training event — because it helps create a stronger team bond and enables

people to see and feel that what they do is valued by the company and by their teammates.” For birthdays, Newman says they send employees a handwritten card along with a gift certiﬁcate. They also have an employee of the month and employee of the year program to reward employees who go above and beyond. He says many of their methods are driven by ideas they think will make their team members feel they are special. “Also, if we have a successful year ﬁnancially then managers are rewarded by a monetary bonus and a personal thank you as a way to thank them for contributing to our success,” Newman says. Mark says they practice open book coaching to engage their employees and hopefully share in a bonus. He says they also award gift cards for client compliments or in recognition of good deeds. Seasonal Services does a years of

Ruppert Landscape hosts events for team bonding and handed out bonus checks earlier this year as a thank you to employees. Photos: (Above) Ruppert Landscape

Employees who work for Bret Achtenhagen’s Seasonal Services for ﬁve years are awarded $500. Photos: (Below) Bret Achtenhagen’s Seasonal Service

National Association of Landscape Professionals 23

YardApes does a number of fun outings for each month they have no missed work injuries. Photos: YardApes

service event every year at their spring kickoff. Achtenhagen recognizes employees who have been with the company for ﬁve years by giving them $500. “They get that every year,” Achtenhagen says. “So in the sixth year, they get $500, the seventh year, the eighth year, the ninth year, and then on the 10th year, they get $1,000 and then they get $1,000 every year until the

15th year and then they get $1,500 and then they get that every year. Yeah, it’s expensive, but it’s a great way of acknowledging their years of service.” CMS Landscape buys everyone on their crew a turkey for Thanksgiving and a ham for Christmas. They have occasional pizza parties, breakfasts and two employee appreciation days, one in August and one in January. Mark says they hold these events as an opportunity to interact and connect with employees. “Putting names with faces and letting employees get to know the ownership is very important,” he says. “They deserve it!”

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24 The Landscape Professional //November/December 2020

YardApes traditionally hosts a monthly safety outing for each month they have no missed work injuries. This could be anything from a simple cookout to a trip to Six Flags. “In the past this has been a great way to thank employees, bond with each other and get to know each other’s family members,” Newman says. “We look forward to once again holding our company outings once we feel we can safely gather in groups.” - Shayne Newman, LIC, president of YardApes WHAT MEANS THE MOST Because everyone is different, it’s important to know your staff and understand what each individual team member values most. “A simple thank you can go a long way,” Newman says. “It’s important that employees feel like they are contributing to the team in a positive way. That’s really the important part of the big picture.” Achtenhagen says their employees appreciate the monetary gifts but being recognized in front of their peers also means a lot to them. “I think the face to face and/or the pats on the back mean more than money, I really do, especially with those under 40,” Achtenhagen says. “I can go compliment people as the president, but really they want their immediate supervisor to deliver the compliments.” Achtenhagen says while additional money is occasional, the steady observation and acknowledgment of good work means a lot to employees. “I do believe that for some people on a daily basis being acknowledged for doing well is more important to them than money or beneﬁts,” Achtenhagen says. “But let’s be real, getting a check for $500 or a $1,000, it makes a difference. It’s just a nice way to acknowledge them and we do that in front of the entire organization. I still think monetary rewards have their place.” “Honestly, I think the personal thank you from an owner goes a long way,” Mark says. “You can see a pep in their

step and their shoulders lift as they walk away. The holiday giveaways also seem to hit the heart. I would never diminish the impact of the bonus program though, very powerful.” CELEBRATING EMPLOYEES DURING COVID-19 One of the main methods of thanking employees, hosting gatherings, has been placed on an indefinite hold lately due to the pandemic. YardApes traditionally hosts a monthly safety outing for each month they have no missed work injuries. This could be anything from a simple cookout to a trip to Six Flags. “In the past, this has been a great way to thank employees, bond with each other and get to know each other’s family members,” Newman says. “Obviously COVID-19 has put an end to us being able to safely hold our company outings. In an effort to replace our monthly outings we have tried having managers cooking out for employees as they come back from work on some Fridays. We feel it’s nice for them to have a quick bite to eat before they head home after a week of work. We look forward to once again holding our company outings once we feel we can safely gather in groups.” Pohlit says COVID-19 has made some of the in-person thank yous a little more challenging, but they’ve done their best to offer in-person socially distanced events and continue to reach out to recognize birthdays and anniversaries. CEO Craig Ruppert also started sending out short video messages to employees providing a sincere thank you and up-to-date information on operations. “Additionally, in May, we gave bonuses totaling $470,000, along with a note of thanks from the company’s executive team, to our frontline, field-level employees for their continued service and perseverance during this critical time,” Pohlit says. “It was a small way in which we could acknowledge the sacrifices being made by our frontline employees and thank them for showing up and giving their all during these uncertain times.” Mark says they are working on a plan to recognize their employees at the year’s end, especially those who pushed through the pandemic and chose to continue working with CMS when other options were available. TLP

Survey Says:

What are you grateful for? Ð

Today what I’m most thankful for is the 100 people that work at Seasonal Services. I’m very grateful that I’m in an environment where everybody depends on each other, for not only contentment and satisfaction professionally, but also contentment and satisfaction at home. I’m so happy that salespeople go out and sell things, and people go out and produce things so at the end of the day everybody goes home with a paycheck. They can save for a new home. They can put their kids through college, or they can start a family. They can enjoy vacations. Everybody through their profession, and through what we do together, as a team professionally, serves to support all the great things that we all want to do personally. – BRET ACHTENHAGEN, PRESIDENT OF BRET ACHTENHAGEN’S SEASONAL SERVICES, MUKWONAGO, WISCONSIN

This past year has taught me to appreciate the simple things in life. I’m grateful that I’m healthy both physically and mentally. I’m grateful that our industry has been identiﬁed as an essential service and that NALP members have been able to work through this pandemic. I’m grateful that our clients are appreciating more than ever, the importance of a well-designed and properly maintained landscape. Finally, I’m grateful for the wonderful people in my life, which includes my family, friends and the team of co-workers that I work with every day. – SHAYNE NEWMAN, LIC, PRESIDENT OF YARDAPES, BASED IN NEW MILTON, CONNECTICUT

I’m grateful to work in an industry that has been minimally impacted by the pandemic, to be a part of a company that truly puts people ﬁrst, and to be in a position to help colleagues navigate areas that are unfamiliar. – COURTNEY POHLIT, DIRECTOR OF PEOPLE & RECRUITING FOR RUPPERT LANDSCAPE, BASED IN LAYTONSVILLE, MARYLAND

A solid core of employees that have been with us for 5+ years. After this year, it is clear that we can push through just about anything with this team in place. – BRIAN MARK, OWNER AND PRESIDENT OF CMS LANDSCAPE, BASED IN POCASSET, MASSACHUSETTS

National Association of Landscape Professionals 25

ÐCOVERSTORY

Here’s Looking Toward

2021 26 The Landscape Professional //November/December 2020

W Many are ready to put 2020 behind them — but what will 2021 hold for our industry? We talked to some NALP members to see what they think By Lindsey Getz

hile none of us have a crystal ball handy, many lawn and landscape professionals are wondering what 2021 has in store. As we sit here on the cusp of a whole new year, it’s hard not to reﬂect upon 2020 and the unexpected twists and turns it took us on as an industry. Across the nation, landscape industry businesses were deemed “essential” and forged on, even as so many other industries had to slow operations or shut down entirely.

As Mark Hopkins, executive vice president of LandCare, which has 50 locations in 20 different states, put it: “Many of us came out largely unscathed. We were deemed ‘essential’ early on, and that continued throughout the height of the pandemic.” Of course, that’s not to say that it was easy. Many companies had to swiftly adapt to new rules and regulations. Some in-ofﬁce staffs were dramatically downsized, crews had to learn to social distance and adopt new policies and procedures in the ﬁeld, and many had to overcome a steep learning curve of implementing new technologies in what felt like a “sink or swim” fashion. But many businesses also reported to us that they have come out stronger on the other side. They now have new ways of doing business that they might not have adopted otherwise. The ingenuity of our industry carried many through months of state shutdowns and government mandates. And now we have an entirely new year facing us — and we’re wondering what it holds. What topics, trends, and issues will carry into 2021 — and how will they impact our industry? Although none of us could have predicted what 2020 held — and we certainly can’t be sure of everything that will happen in 2021 — thinking

National Association of Landscape Professionals 27

ÐCOVERSTORY ahead and making some predictions can help us plan for the future. That’s why we recently caught up with a number of NALP members to ﬁnd out what’s on their best thoughts on the coming year.

Outdoor living will continue to be in high demand with more people staying at home. Photo: Grassperson

UNCERTAINTY ABOUNDS IN SOME MARKETS While many lawn and landscape companies continued with “business as usual,” for the most part, some markets were hit harder than others. Hopkins says that while some sectors were “Assuming the coronavirus strengthened — the industrial market continues until effective being one of them — others were vaccines and treatments hard hit. Hospitality and retail were impacted by the pandemic. are invented and deployed, I particularly “It’s honestly hard to project how believe that there will a lot of those sectors will fare as we enter people working from home. I 2021,” Hopkins says. “Until people are believe this will bode well for traveling, and shopping again, as opposed to doing so much from home, we our industry. Many of us have could really see some continued impact seen an uptick in project there. But our business is changing work since more people are and adapting to adjust.” Michael Mayberry, chief technical working from home and they ofﬁcer (CTO) at Level Green Landscaphave more time to notice ing, which offers commercial landscape various needs.”- Jack Moore, maintenance in the Washington, D.C. president and CEO of Grassperson market, agrees the retail sector has been signiﬁcantly impacted — and that Lawn Care & Landscape has created the need for constant communication with those clients. That’s something he sees carrying into 2021.

28 The Landscape Professional //November/December 2020

“We are finding the need to continually have conversations with clients to make sure we understand their situation,” Mayberry explains. “We also need to make sure we are apprised of any changes that occur as quickly as possible. As we go into 2021, we’ll be continuing to stay on top of ways we need to adapt depending upon what’s happening with impacted sectors.” As many businesses have found that they can still operate with employees working from home, the need for brick and mortar office space may also decline in the coming year, says Mayberry. “We can’t ignore this trend for reduction in office space,” he says. “Businesses have realized that they don’t necessarily need people reporting to an office. Why should they spend overhead on a building when they’ve functioned remotely during the entire pandemic? For that reason, I do think there are uncertainties in the commercial segment we’re going to need to address. Many of us are treading water in those categories and waiting to see what will happen.” Mayberry says that Level Green counts itself among the companies that have learned they can function remotely. Andy Blanchford, LIC, owner of Blanchford Landscape Group in Bozeman, Montana, adds it may impact his company’s plans, too.

“We are planning for a new facility in 2022, however, the pandemic has us rethinking the need for so much ofﬁce space,” he says. “We will rely more on remote work in the future. I live in Japan and do my job remotely regardless of the pandemic. But the rest of my team is also more remote now.” OUTDOOR LIVING WILL REMAIN HOT One thing that’s certain is that the residential market remains hot. With more people spending time at home, lawn and landscape professionals who work with residential clients anticipate that outdoor living trends will continue to thrive — and maybe even grow. People are caring more about creating “staycation” spots at home — and also are concerned with keeping their property neat and tidy. Blanchford says that it was the company’s mission to get people outdoors to stay mentally and physically healthy before the COVID-19 pandemic. But he says the times are coinciding with the company’s objectives and he sees that carrying into the new year. “I think the demand for spaces that people can spend time in outdoors will only grow in 2021,” says Blanchford. “Outdoor living is a way to safely connect with family and friends.” Beyond the typical design/build trends that have been steady — such as outdoor living spaces with amenities like outdoor kitchens, landscape lighting, pavilions, and swimming pools — companies that perform maintenance are also seeing an uptick. “People are home more,” says Bill Dysert, LIC, owner of Exscape Designs in Chesterland, Ohio. “They have their eyes on their yard more and that’s increased the maintenance opportunities for us. We have not always had their attention in the past when we’ve tried to sell those services. But now, they are more focused on what their property looks like. As we perform walkarounds, clients are a lot more engaged.” Jack Moore, president and CEO of Grassperson Lawn Care & Landscape in Lewisville, Texas, reports similarities and also sees the trend continuing. “Assuming the coronavirus continues until effective vaccines and treatments are invented and deployed, I believe that there will be a lot of people working from home,” says Moore. “I believe this will bode well for our industry. Many of us have seen an uptick in proj-

ect work since more people are working from home and they have more time to notice various needs. They also want to enjoy their outdoor space since they are not going out as often.” Moore says that some industry trends he’s seeing include more companies beginning to diversify their service offerings in order to grow their wallet share from existing clients. “Many companies continue to downplay basic maintenance and focus on more profitable income streams such as irrigation repair, chemical lawn care, outdoor lighting, natural water features like ponds and waterfalls, enhancements like flower beds, privacy enhancements like the addition of trees and shrubs, and hardscape installations,” Moore says. “Another trend I’m seeing is the use of artificial turf in areas where there is a lot of pet pressure or sports use.” Chris Lee, president of Earthworks, Inc., in the Dallas-Fort Worth and Houston markets, agrees that the synthetic turf is a big trend right now — and one that he doesn’t see going away. He says the company — which is 90 percent commercial work and 10 percent municipal — has installed around a half million dollars’ worth of artificial turf. “Ten years ago, I never would have predicted we would be doing that,” Lee says. “But it’s come so far, and it looks so real. We’re seeing a lot of conversions to synthetic turf on urban sites that get a lot of foot traffic.” ADOPTING NEW TECHNOLOGY REMAINS A PRIORITY One thing that the COVID-19 pandemic has forced many companies to do is adopt new technology. Level Green’s Mayberry says that even once COVID-19 is gone, they’ll keep technological changes in place that have made a lot of sense. Team members are learning to work from home and connect using platforms that allow them to hold virtual meetings. Mayberry says that’s improving efficiencies in a lot of ways. “Technology has been a focus for lawn and landscape companies because of the ways they now have to communicate,” he says. “It will

shape everything going forward. We’re learning to communicate constantly, quickly, and efﬁciently with clients and the expectations they now have about our responsiveness will not go away. I think the pressure is really going to be on companies who are not using technology to the fullest because it’s becoming status quo. If you want to be competitive, you’ll need to see where technology can be enhanced.” Another technology trend that’s getting lots of buzz and that lawn and landscape business owners see growing in 2021 is the use of robotic

Technology is also being adopted more to improve responsiveness to clients. Photo: Grassperson

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“If I had to sum up our feelings, I’d say we’re upbeat and positive. We expect things to remain mostly on par with where they are now. Though we are a commercial company and may face more challenges than some of the residential service companies, we still remain pretty optimistic about what the future holds.” - Chris Lee, president of Earthworks, Inc.

Despite the pandemic, mowers. Robotic mowing is a relatively most companies have a new service for Blanchford Landscape postivie outlook on 2021. Group but one that they plan to continPhoto: LandCare

ue to promote in 2021. “It’s a good fit for our fine gardening business as we would no longer have to use our highly skilled gardeners for lawn mowing,” Blanchford explains. “We could increase our capacity without more labor. We are considering going all in with a robotic mowing division — but will only do that if we can find the right person to take on that division.” Mayberry says that Level Green’s mindset is similar. “We’re exploring robotic mowing and will continue to do so in 2021 so that we do not have to rely on human labor as much,” he says. “Labor has always been a challenge in our industry, so the onset of robotic mowers makes a lot of sense. It won’t replace humans but instead will allow us to do more work with the amount of people we already have. We hope it will ease the stress and the pressure of the labor shortage — which we all feel. We are hopeful the future includes being able to take on more work with the same number of team members by integrating robots.” FACING THE LABOR SHORTAGE WITH H-2B FALLING SHORT Unfortunately, the NALP members we spoke to all see a trend of H-2B shortcomings following them into 2021 — and it has them worried. “I believe we will continue to see labor-related issues even though there are a significant amount of people who are unemployed,” says Grassperson’s Moore. “The pending election is causing labor-related issues including the H-2B dilemma that many of us are dealing with.” Dysert says that coming into 2020, H-2B was the company’s single largest issue. In losing the lottery, they lost 35 visas. That left the company with

30 The Landscape Professional //November/December 2020

more than 50 percent fewer workers than usual — and a lot of really tough decisions. “We had to decide whether we would stay the course and try to hire more people if we could, or if we would just pull back so we were certain we’d have the capacity to service our existing customers,” he shares. “We ended up doing the latter and it meant we’ll do a million less in revenue despite the fact that we are turning work away every single day.” Dysert says this has caused his company to completely shift their marketing efforts to recruiting — something he’ll carry into 2021. He says that lawn and landscape businesses will need to remain focused on ways they can solve the labor crisis in order for the industry to forge ahead in the new year. FACING 2021 WITH CAUTIOUS OPTIMISM At the end of the day, there’s no question that our industry is strong. That fact has been proven through recessions and now even a global pandemic. So, as we face 2021, many remain hopeful — perhaps cautiously optimistic, but mostly positive, nonetheless. “If I had to sum up our feelings, I’d say we’re upbeat and positive,” says Lee. “We expect things to remain mostly on par with where they are now. Though we are a commercial company and may face more challenges than some of the residential service com-

panies, we still remain pretty optimistic about what the future holds. We’ll adapt where we need to.” Hopkins says that in many ways the pandemic really has made their business better. It’s given LandCare the opportunity to evaluate partners, such as vendors, and determine who is best serving their business. “Client expectations have increased more than ever so we’ve all been pretty ‘on’ 24/7, but we seem to be meeting those needs,” Hopkins says. “Yet, it’s interesting for us that we perform annual surveys and we’re seeing an improvement in customer satisfaction scores. You’d think that they would be worse right now when clients have their eyes trained on us with raised expectations and yet we’re meeting the challenge. So, we look forward to what 2021 holds.” Dysert says that he’s looked at 2020 as a “reset opportunity.” It’s been a very tough year for Exscape with the loss of so many H-2B laborers, so Dysert is hoping to enter 2021 stronger than ever. He’s upgrading software, looking at ways to sell from the ﬁeld, and ﬁnding opportunities to increase productivity. He says that the end goal is to provide the best-possible service to customers and knows that technology is a key part of the answer. “We’re always looking at ways that we can improve but this has pushed us even harder,” Dysert says. “Because of it, we’ll start the new year even stronger.” TLP

Meet Claire Goldman, Winner of the Woman Entrepreneur of the Year Award By Lindsey Getz

CLAIRE GOLDMAN, PRINCIPAL, AND HEAD OF DESIGN AND business development for R&R Landscaping in Auburn, Alabama, is the winner of the 2020 Woman Entrepreneur Award of the Year. This award recognizes an NALP member who has demonstrated entrepreneurial spirit and initiative, ensured advancement of the landscape industry by actions and endeavors, and serves as a shining example to current and future female entrepreneurs. One thing that Goldman takes seriously is being a leader, not a boss. She says the most significant thing she’s done to enhance the company’s growth has been stepping back and helping her team develop their strengths. “I was a designer for many years,” Goldman says. “After hiring an incredible designer, I had to decide whether to stifle him in a role that supported my design work or step out of the way and let him go for it. It was an odd feeling to be unsure of my role and where I fit into the company, but empowering him as a designer has proven to be an excellent decision! I have found that I get more satisfaction from supporting, coaching, and watching our team win together than from doing everything myself.” We recently caught up with Goldman to find out more about her and what it means to have won this prestigious award.

WHAT HAVE YOUR BIGGEST CHALLENGES BEEN? For us and our company, our biggest challenge has been managing growth in a way that is organized and structured. In the past, we have had rapid growth that we didn’t plan for and we’ve had to ke go back and retroﬁt systems to make it work.

HOW DID YOU GET INTO THE LANDSCAPE INDUSTRY IN THE FIRST PLACE? I grew up in Atlanta and in high school, I took a forestry class, which I loved. Long story short, I received a scholarship to Auburn and started in agronomy and soils. I’ve always loved the outdoors and it was a good ﬁt. I can’t tell you exactly what the shift was from agronomy and soils to horticulture — but it might have had something to do with the cute boy I had my eye on.

HOW HAVE YOU ADDRESSED THAT GROWTH IN A MEANINGFUL WAY NGE? THAT’S MADE IT LESS OF A CHALLENGE? hat I think we’ve done it so much now that we’re not willing to be in a situation where we’re just trying to keep our o heads above water. So, if we get into e those moments of growth where we ink feel we can’t keep up, we tend to think ant about where we can shift. Do we want to accommodate the growth or do we d want to shift to more of a specialized ar niche? Our focus is on having a clear identity as a company that values creative design and sticking to that. We don’t have any maintenance. Butt er we have great relationships with other landscape companies in the area so if at people call us and are looking for that mkind of work, I have people I’d recommend. If those companies get called hey looking for high-level design work, they often recommend us, too. We’re all rea pretty close here in the immediate area ere. — and many of us went to school here. It’s a network.

WHAT DO YOU LOVE MOST ABOUT THE LANDSCAPE INDUSTRY? The people are what I love most about this industry. I’ve missed having our national events this year. Our industry is so open and warm. We encourage one another and root one another on. I have always loved getting to know and supporting others in the industry.

N AS WHAT HAS YOUR EXPERIENCE BEEN A WOMAN IN THE INDUSTRY? It can be a challenge at times, but I think g the most important thing is choosing et. It not to be bitter about it. It’s a mindset. en I does feel easier now than it did when started, but I think a lot of that mightt be man, a shift in my own mindset. As a woman, ove you often have to work harder to prove

yourself but if you choose to just embrace that, and maintain a positive mindset, you can succeed. It may not be fair, but let’s just do it, knowing you’ll be stronger because of it. You have to lean into the challenge. WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO YOU TO BE THE NALP WOMAN ENTREPRENEUR OF THE YEAR? I was caught off guard — we’re a small company in Alabama. But to be amongst the women who have already won this and those that will ahead of me, it’s so humbling. It is encouraging. I’m so appreciative to NALP forr recognizing me. It makes me feel as though I’ll have more of an opportunity to have a voice and I want to use this honorr to help betterr the industry. T HAS BEEN THE BIGGEST T CHANGE WHAT YOU’VE WITNESSED IN YOUR TIME IN THE INDUSTRY? pani nies es We’ve seen a big shift of compa companies eam m and p rovi ro vid vi iddfocusing more on theirr tea team providmea eaning ng gfu ful ul e xxing an even more meaningful exIt’s no no llonger onge on ger perience at work.. It’s you ur paycheck. payych check eck. ec k.” k” just “here’s your n we e ccreate reat re ate te a It’s, “how can whe ere p eople eo ple pl culture where people come e tto o want to come we’ e’re re work?” A Ass we’re experie enciing ng experiencing storaag ge e laborr storage he e acrosss tthe e’’re e e board, w we’re looki king g aatt all looking o not no ot only ot onlly ways to utt retain ret etaaiin recruit b but employee ees. TLP employees. TLP

National N Nati Na ati tion io on naall Association Asssso occia iattiiion on of on of Landscape Lan andsca dssccaape d pe Professionals Pro offeessio sssiona iio on naalss 31 31

White House Rose Garden Renovation: Bringing a Design into Reality By Jill Odom FIRST LADY MELANIA TRUMP ANNOUNCED A SIGNIFICANT renewal of the White House Rose Garden this summer. The design was a collaboration by two landscape architecture firms, Perry Guillot, Inc. and Oehme, van Sweden & Associates (OvS). Walnut Hill Landscape Company, based in Annapolis, Maryland, was brought on to install the project, thanks to their strong working relationship with OvS. “Through our collaborations, they are familiar with our philosophy of ‘Whatever it takes,’ and were confident in our ability to successfully handle a project of this stature,” says Michael Prokopchak, president of Walnut Hill. The White House Rose Garden was first redesigned by Bunny Mellon, during the Kennedy Administration in 1962. Since then it has experienced decades of uses and changes. The renewal uses Mellon’s original footprint to guide the design while improving infrastructure, drainage and creating a healthier environment for the plantings. “One thing many people may not realize is that the 2020 renovation restored many aspects to Ms. Mellon’s plan for JFK that had been lost over the years,” Prokopchak says. “Oehme, van Sweden did many hours of historical research, including interviews with individuals who were responsible for the 1962 installation, to honor the space.” In order to work on the property,

32 The Landscape Professional //November/December 2020

all of Walnut Hill’s team members and delivery drivers went through a background check. All large trucks and deliveries were sent to an off-site facility for screening and then escorted into the facility. The company was allowed to have ﬁve small trucks on the grounds, which went through an inspection at the White House before entering. “Daily conference calls were held during the two weeks prior to the beginning of the project,” Prokopchak says. “Once we began work, we were in constant communication with all parties involved.” From start to ﬁnish, Walnut Hill’s portion of the job took three weeks. Prokopchak says the biggest challenge was juggling the many moving parts of the installation. “At one point there were at least nine different companies working on the site, all with their own piece of the puzzle to complete,” he says. “As you can imagine, it required some careful choreography

to allow each team to successfully complete their portion without stepping on the feet of the others while working in the same space.” At the start of construction, the Saucer Magnolias were the only part of Mellon’s original installation that remained and were treated with reverence, as they serve as the literal and ﬁgurative corner pieces of the design. “Their sculptural beauty is highlighted in the ﬁnal design, and they really have been able to shine,” Prokopchak says. “Prior to the renovation, there were only 12 rose bushes remaining in the Rose Garden. After completion of the renovation, there are over 250.” A selection of hybrid tea-roses were installed, including JFK roses, Peace Roses, Mr. Lincoln and Queen Elizabeth. An existing, historic Pope John Paul II rose was preserved as well. “Some of the roses are classic heirloom varieties and not readily available in commercial quantities,” Prokopchak says. “We searched and were able to source them from nurseries across multiple states with the help of Perry Guillot. In some cases, all that could be procured were smaller plants than were needed, so we needed to cultivate and nurture them under ideal conditions

The completion of First Lady Melania Trump’s historic restoration to the Rose Garden as seen Friday, Aug. 21, 2020, at the White House. This project marks the ﬁrst time in 60 years that the Rose Garden has been renewed. Photos: Ofﬁcial White House Photos by Andrea Hanks

for six weeks prior to installation to get them ready for their big reveal.” The 12 existing crab apple trees were transplanted to another location on the grounds of the White House as these trees were shading the roses. Limestone walkways were added around the perimeter of the lawn panel and the existing ﬂagstone walkways were replaced with limestone. Low-voltage lighting was also added to the entire garden. Many of the existing boxwoods were infected with boxwood blight, so the blight-resistant variety NewGen Independence was chosen for the predominant portion of the design. Screen rows of Holly Osmanthus

were planted, along with Vinca and Dwarf Mondo Grass serving as groundcovers. In addition, a rotating selection of seasonally appropriate annuals and perennials will provide changing color and texture to the space. The initial seasonal planting consisted of white Cleome (Cleome hassleriana), Agastache (Agastache x ‘Blue Fortune’) and Wax Begonia (Begonia x hybrida). “Walnut Hill Landscape’s impact on the aesthetics of ﬁnal design derived from our responsibility to provide attractive, premium-quality plant and landscape materials, and installing them to the highest industry standards,” Prokopchak says. “This ensures that the beauty of the

design is fully realized and that the Rose Garden will thrive for many years.” In the spring, the historic Saucer Magnolias will show off their magenta pink blossoms, while the boxwood lattice with have fresh, green growth. The roses will have matured and ﬁlled out and be covered in buds. The National Park Service, which is responsible for maintaining the site, will have planted a vibrant display of spring bulbs. “The most rewarding part of the project was simply being a part of the nation’s history,” Prokopchak says. “To think about the people that have been in the garden previously and who will be there in the future is a great feeling.” TLP National Association of Landscape Professionals 33

Q+A with Jon Cundiff, Winner of Lifetime Leadership Award EACH YEAR, NALP PRESENTS A MEMBER WITH THE LIFETIME Leadership Award who had dedicated his or her life to the landscape and lawn care industry. This year, Jon Cundiff, president of Weed Man Kansas City in Lee’s Summit, Missouri, is this year’s winner. With more than 30 years in the industry, he is also a past president of NALP. We recently caught up with Cundiff to find out about his time in the landscape industry. WHAT T LED YOU TO THE LANDSCAPE INDUSTRY Y IN THE FIRST T PLACE? I gott started in high school and college working on the grounds crew forr the Kansas Cityy Royals. Itt gott me outt on the sports field and growing grass and seeing how rewarding thatt can be. I realized thatt I loved being outside. Going through college, I gott interested in the business end off it. We had to write our firstt business plan and I was sold. WHAT T DO YOU LIKE MOST T THIS PROFESABOUT SION? There’s nothing betterr than being able to take care of customers and see a smile on their face when they can come home and can fully enjoy theirr outdoor space. To know that you were a part of that — and that you took something off theirr slate — is rewarding. It’s also really fun to turn a property around. The other thing

that that’ss really great is ha having the chance to create opportunities opportunitie for employees and help them continu continue to grow. WHAT T HAVE BEEN YO YOUR BIGGEST CHALLENGES IN BUSINESS? BUSI The two biggest chal challenges we’ve faced are labor and sstaying on top of regulations. NALP ha has been strategic in staying active on th the legislative side and having a voi voice there. From a people managemen management standpoint, we are always trying to ﬁnd the best people you can out th there. But that can be a two-headed mon monster because once you ﬁnd them, yyou have to work on developing them, ttoo. That comes down to proper trainin training and giving them good growth op opportunities. We’re coaching emplo employees on ways they can grow both p personally and professionally. We’re helping them to understand that their personal life and their professional life run parallel so focusing on both is kkey. WHAT T IMPACT T DO YO YOU FEEL THAT YOU’VE HAD ON THE IINDUSTRY? There is really not on one thing I feel like I’ve done. But I’ve had the privilege to sit on some really goo good boards and meet some fantastic people. When you sit on a board an and get to be in that position to be a p part of a group of people who are really passionate about the industry and what we do, you’re able to make real cha change. It means

By Lindsey Getz

ﬁnding other people who want to nurture and grow the industry, just like you do, so that we can all make it great for the next people to be part of this. It’s truly a collective effort. IN YOUR TIME IN THE INDUSTRY, WHAT CHANGES HAVE YOU SEEN? Without a doubt, the biggest change has been technology. It’s just off the charts from when I started. My wife and I started back in 1987 and have grown from there. But when I look at what we started with and what’s available today, it’s almost unrecognizable. WHY IS IT SO IMPORTANT TO BE A LEADER IN THE INDUSTRY? I think being a leader is about having a voice. I think God puts us on earth to help others. This industry has been great to our family and the people in our operations and our life in many ways — and we want to keep this industry great for the future leaders. Over the years I’ve seen many types of leadership styles and the one thing they all have in common is a passion for the industry. It’s that passion that we owe to the industry. WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO YOU TO WIN THE NALP LIFETIME LEADERSHIP AWARD? It’s a humbling experience. You always hear the cliché that it’s great to be nominated and recognized by your peers but it’s very true. When I look at this group that I’ve had the privilege to work with, it’s incredibly humbling to know that they thought of me for this honor. TLP

“When you sit on a board and get to be in that position to be a part of a group of people who are really passionate about the industry and what we do, you’re able to make real change. It means ﬁnding other people who want to nurture and grow the industry, just like you do, so that we can all make it great for the next people to be part of this. It’s truly a collective effort.” - Jon Cundiff, president of Weed Man Kansas City 34 The Landscape Professional //November/December 2020

SAFETY FOCUS

Pay Close Attention to CFR 1926.1053: This Safety Standard is Often Cited by OSHA Inspectors

ladder use that could put them at risk. Once the training is completed, have all trained workers sign off on the training so that it is fully documented.

By Sam Steel, NALP safety advisor YEAR AFTER YEAR, INSPECTIONS INVOLVING UNSAFE LADDER use makes it to the top 10 list of most often cited workplace violations that are written up by OSHA inspectors. And, once the citation has been written, next comes the monetary ﬁne for a serious violation. At just under $14,000 per violation, the unsafe practices that were documented can become monetarily expensive for landscape businesses.

E – EVALUATE your ladder safety training initiatives to ensure their effectiveness. One evaluation tool is to use a pre- and post-test during the training. You should be able to monitor how much the workers knew about safe ladder use before and after their training. If post-testing shows little knowledge gain as a result of the training, re-training may be required. E – SET A GOOD EXAMPLE! When demonstrating safe ladder use, always climb and work around ladders by following the OSHA portable ladder safety standards.

One method for reducing unsafe ladder use and increasing your knowledge and understanding about OSHA’s ladder safety regulations is to use this model, referred to appropriately as L-A-D-D-E-R. If you follow each letter in order, your ﬁrm may be more likely to be in compliance with ladder safety regulations. So, let us begin.

L – LIST all ladder hazards that you can identify in the workplace. This is also known as the auditing phase that is so important in writing and enforcing workplace policies and ﬁnding the training resources you will adopt for your employees. These audited ladder hazards should be fully documented and become part of your written safety and health management program.

R – REPLACE AND/OR REPAIR damaged and dangerous ladders. If you decide to repair them, make sure the repairs restore them to their original design criteria. If your intentions are to replace the ladder, make sure the damaged ladder is clearly marked “Do Not Use” and placed in an inaccessible storage area.

L – LEARN about the OSHA ladder standard (CFR 1926.1053) online at www.osha.gov. When you access the OSHA portable ladder standard, you will notice that there are twenty-two specific standards that are citable. These are CFR 1926.1053(b)(1) through (b)(22). Should your firm have a serious ladder incident that triggers an OSHA worksite visit, you could be cited under multiple standards during an inspection. For example, if the inspection finds that a “competent” person had not done a previously documented ladder inspection, your notification letter would note 1926.1053(b) (15) as a violation. If the subject ladder were found to have damage or deficiencies that existed prior to the incident and was not tagged “Do Not Use”, 1926.1053(b)(16) would be cited. And, if the ladder had been repaired and the repairs did not meet original design criteria, you could also be cited under 1926.1053(b)(18). These citations could carry recommended serious violation fines of over $50,000 (3 X $14,000).

A – ACTIVATE a ladder safety policy for your ﬁrm. If ladders are a commonly used piece of equipment at your worksites or in your maintenance shop, employees should be aware of your written policies and sign-off on them during the hiring process.

R – REVIEW your ﬁrm’s ladder safety policy at least annually. This would allow for newly contracted work (for example gutter cleaning, holiday house trimming, and arborist work) that your employees may be doing that requires an updated policy and training.

A – APPOINT a ladder safety inspector from among your staff. This is the individual that OSHA refers to as the “competent person” within your organization who is knowledgeable about safe ladder design criteria and the OSHA portable ladder standard.

Use this ladder safety model to keep your ﬁrm compliant with OSHA’s important portable ladder standard. TLP

D – DEVELOP ladder safety training for your employees. Several large ladder manufacturers have excellent ladder safety training resources that are available online. Your insurer may also have ladder safety materials or personnel who can aid with developing and presenting an effective ladder training program.

NALP SAFETY PROGRAM PARTNER:

D – DELIVER ladder safety training for all workers. It is imperative that ladder safety training be presented before your employees are exposed to National Association of Landscape Professionals 35

THE NALP EXPERIENCE

Welcome To Our Newest Members Company

City

State

Company

City

State

Aliana Landscape Design, LLC

Richmond

Landscape Marketing Pros

Champlin

Anderson Residential Property Services, Inc.

Delta

Lehnhoffs Landscaping, LLC

White Marsh

Arizona Environments, Inc.

Mesa

Lucky Eight Landscaping, LLC

Farmington

Arkansas Outdoor Professionals, LLC

Elkins

Machado Landscape

Woodland

Bredder Land Management

Charlottesville

Maui Association of Landscape Professionals

Wailuku

Burbank Botanical Landscaping

Castro Valley

CA Mauri Landscapes

Las Vegas

C-Green Landscapes, LLC

Allentown

NJ Medxcel

Indianapolis

Cornell Services Tree & Shrub, Inc.

Albuquerque

NM Metropolitan Total Property, Inc.

Centennial

Curry and Sons Maintenance, LLC

Jacksonville

FL Ohana Nui Landscape, LLC

Ewa Beach

Earth Images, Inc.

Floyds Knobs

IN Outdoor Solutions

Midland

Elite Landscape & Outdoor Living

Highlands Ranch

CO Piedmont Regional Adult & Career Education Programs

Locust Grove

Elkin Lawn Garden and Property Management

Elkin

NC PMJK Services, LLC

Highlands Ranch

E-Vision Project Development Corporation

Spartanburg

SC Pride Industries

Fort Campbell

Florida Groundskeeper

Riverview

FL Pro Lawn Care

Neptune City

GP Landscape

Sacramento

CA Procare Property Services

Exton

Graceful Gardens

Acworth

GA Right Fix Now

Houston

GrassMasters Lawn Service

Frisco

TX Scarff's Landscape

New Carlisle

Green Girls Natural Lawn Care, LLC

Saratoga Springs

NY SingleOps

Atlanta

Green Innovations, Inc.

Whitsett

Southern Ground US, Inc.

Richmond Hill

Green Tongue Landscaping & Koi Pond Design, LLC

Spring Hill

Spout Spring Lawn and Landscaping

Fayetteville

Terra Maven Gardens

Phoenixville

Green Vista

Rocklin

CA Thomas Clark Group, LLC

Spartanburg

Grow Green Landscape Group, LLC

Fort Mill

SC Tony Reese Lawn Care

Hephzibah

GT Landscape Solutions

Salem

OR VidaSolutions

Canton

Halstead

Ardsley

NY Village Landscape, LLC

North

Hanah Grace Gardens, LLC

Point Roberts

WA Wolverton Landscape, Inc.

Carlsbad

Inﬁniscapes Grounds Maintenance Group, LLC

Houma

LA Yard Resource, LLC

Ypsilanti

K&B Lawn and Landscaping

Jacksonville

36 The Landscape Professional //November/December 2020

THE NALP EXPERIENCE

Newly Certiﬁed Members Full Name

Program Name

Program Specialty

Justice Schlemmer

Exterior Technician

Softscape

Chris Parker

Exterior Technician

Ornamental

Franki White

Exterior Technician

Softscape

Alex Roahrig

Horticulture Technician

Horticulture

Sara Hartman

Horticulture Technician

Horticulture

Heath McCarthy

Horticulture Technician

Horticulture

Courtney Mariah Halfmann

Horticulture Technician

Horticulture

Nicholas C. Anderson

Lawn Care Manager

Lawn Care, Turf

Ross M. Fornaro

Lawn Care Manager

Lawn Care

Ignacio Del Rey

Lawn Care Manager

Lawn Care

John Glomski

Lawn Care Manager

Lawn Care

Luke Fisher

Lawn Care Technician

Antonio Valenzuela, Jr.

Manager - Exterior

Exterior, Ornamental

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National Association of Landscape Professionals 37

I AM A LAWN CARE PROFESSIONAL

Carlito Suarez, Lawns By Carlito By Jill Odom CARLITO SUAREZ IS THE OWNER OF LAWNS BY Carlito, based in Durham, North Carolina. He grew up in the Dominican Republic and loved working with his hands. After spending 20 years working in agriculture, his wife’s job brought her back to the U.S. He decided it was an opportunity to try something new. “When I arrived in North Carolina in 2009, my English was bad, and employment opportunities were scarce, so I was fortunate to be hired by a small landscape ﬁrm in the area,” he says. “I spent two years working closely with the owner and she had taught me everything about the business and showed me that there was a career in landscaping. In 2011, I started my own company, Lawns by Carlito, and have not looked back since!”

WHAT IS YOUR PROUDEST MOMENT IN BUSINESS? My proudest moment was when I realized that I could make a living from my company and a few years later my wife also joined me full time helping to manage the business. WHAT IS YOUR BIGGEST BUSINESS CHALLENGE TODAY? Finding good, reliable employees to fill our needs. There is a huge labor shortage and every time an employee transitions we are scrambling to try and find a suitable replacement. WHAT MOTIVATES YOU ON MONDAY MORNINGS? I am motivated by saving for my old age and a comfortable retirement. WHAT BUSINESS WORRY KEEPS YOU UP MOST AT NIGHT? Will I be able to find enough consistent employees who show up on a regular basis to continually grow my business? Also dealing with the weather and rescheduling work to ensure it all gets done in a week. WHO IS YOUR BUSINESS MENTOR? My older brother has always been a successful businessman and I have looked up to him through the years at all the progress he has made.

38 The Landscape Professional //November/December 2020

WHAT IS A GREAT LAWN CARE LIFE HACK YOU’D BE WILLING TO SHARE? Spend the extra money to buy the most efﬁcient equipment that allows you to get the job done fast! I started out with limited tools and we used a lot of manpower to get simple jobs done that I can now complete in a fraction of the time with our professional equipment. WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO YOU TO BE A LAWN CARE PROFESSIONAL? I take pride in the work that I perform and the properties that I manage. My clients count on me to provide them with a beautiful, healthy lawn and I enjoy ending my day with the knowledge that it was done right. I am proud that my team also takes pride in their work and understands the importance of consistent, quality results. WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO YOU TO BE AN NALP MEMBER? I have been a proud member of the National Hispanic Landscape Alliance for several years, and when NHLA joined NALP, I was happy to get the chance to learn more about the industry on a national level. The opportunity to ﬁnd out about industry trends, equipment and education is what has helped us grow our business.

I have been a proud member of the National Hispanic Landscape Alliance for several years, and when NHLA joined NALP, I was happy to get the chance to learn more about the industry on a national level. The opportunity to find out about industry trends, equipment and education is what has helped us grow our business. IN FIVE YEARS, WHERE DO YOU SEE YOUR BUSINESS GOING? In five years, I would like to see my business expand into some hardscaping and hope to hire on more managers to run the business. My goal is to create a fully functioning business that does not rely on myself and my wife so we can one day sell it and retire. IN FIVE YEARS, WHERE WILL YOU BE AS A BUSINESS OWNER? I would like to enjoy more time for vacations and travel, so hiring on the right managers and training them to run things in my absence is crucial. I currently have one manager who has been crucial at our ability to expand and grow that I look forward to finding another who is as committed to our long-term success. TLP

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It takes strength and perseverance to own a small business. It takes dedication, hard work, and sacriﬁce. Many of you continue to operate to provide essential services to our communities. As the backbone of America, you play a vital role in the recovery of our economy. Together, we’ll come out stronger than ever. We see you, we need you and we thank you.

INDEPENDENTWESTAND.ORG

The Landscape Professional November/December

Articles inside

I am a Lawncare

Are You Plugged into a NALP Network?

Q+A with Jon Cundiff, NALP Lifetime Leadership Award

Meet NALP’s Newest Trailblazer, Jeff Rossen

Meet Claire Goldman, Winner of the Woman Entrepreneur of the Year Award

Safety Focus: Pay Close

Faces of the Industry

Year in Review: Budgets in a

From the CEO: One Year In