Annual Party & Member Meeting

from The Landscape Contractor magazine DEC.21 TLC DIGITAL EDITION

From Where I Stand

2021 Annual Party & Membership Meeting Ushers in New Beginnings

by Nina Koziol

Let the fun begin! If there’s any indication that things are returning to normal—as in Before Covid—it was ILCA’s Annual Party at Joe’s Live in Rosemont last month. “It’s not Joe’s virtual, it’s not Joe’s zoom, but Joe’s Live!” said executive director Scott Grams to an enthusiastic crowd. “It’s the second largest annual party we’ve ever had. We’re an industry that has not only survived, but thrived. This is a night to relax.”

His words were echoed by Debbie McGuire, chairperson of the Membership Committee. “Welcome to this party,” she said. “You have no idea how happy I am to say those words.”

As promised, the business meeting was held to 30 minutes to allow ample time for networking, dinner and drinks.

More than 355 people registered for the event where they met old and new friends, shared challenges of the past two years, concerns over the economy, and whether the demand for landscaping will continue at its current record pace. Many attendees expressed optimism about the future. “The last two years, we’ve really grown,” said Pat Buescher of Premium Travertine in Chebanse, Illinois, a travertine paver distributor. “We doubled in 2020 and again in 2021.” If those around him weren’t holding drinks, they’d have fingers crossed in the hope that prosperity will continue.

Outgoing President Honored

Grams thanked outgoing president Donna Vignocchi Zych of ILT Vignocchi. “She was asked to navigate one of the most challenging years—lockdowns, no vacations and by June—the busiest landscaping year in history,” Grams said. “She set the bar and told the board, the committees and staff to climb over it. Donna is one hell of a lot of fun. Once a month we spend four hours talking with and thanking ILCA members. Donna started that.”

She told the audience, “I’m very humbled. Scott has become such a dear friend and it’s been an honor to serve. I don’t think anyone in this room would be here without him. He has that great charisma, political correctness and is fun. It wasn’t an easy year, but it was super fun.”

(continued on page 34)

Scott Grams, ILCA Executive Director Donna Vignocchi Zych Immediate Past President Debbie McGuire, Membership Chair

50 Year Members

Intrinsic Landscaping, Inc. Poul’s Landscaping & Nursery , Inc. Midwest Groundcovers

Three companies were recognized for their 50-year membership: Intrinsic Landscaping, Inc., Midwest Groundcovers and Poul’s Landscaping & Nursery, Inc. “It demonstrates half a century of dedication,” McGuire said. “These companies joined in 1971 and the list grows with each year.”

(continued from page 32)

Donna honored her 82-year-young father, Harry, saying, “He’s the most amazing human in the world. He still shows up every day to work. He made me the person I am today.” She also recognized and thanked her husband Aaron Zych for his support. ILCA’s current president, Scott McAdam, Jr., was unable to attend because he has a new baby. “You’re in really good hands with Scott McAdam. He has the biggest heart.”

Honoring Member Companies

An incredible number of companies have been involved with ILCA for decades, making it a strong organization that has worked successfully with state lawmakers. Without ILCA’s persistence, the state would have considered landscape firms as non-essential and thus would not have been able to work during Covid.

ILCA recognized several firms for their 25-year membership. They include Area Landscape Supply, Inc., Arlington Power Equipment Inc., Aspen Lawn and Landscaping, Bartlett Tree Experts-Northbrook, Hortica, a brand of the Sentry Insurance Group, Kaneville Tree Farms, Midwest STIHL, Night Light, Inc. P.A. Likes, Inc., Rochester Concrete Products, Roy Erikson Outdoor Maintenance Inc. and SavATree & SavALawn.

Three companies were recognized for their 50-year membership: Intrinsic Landscaping, Inc., Midwest Groundcovers and Poul’s Landscaping & Nursery, Inc. “It demonstrates half a century of dedication,” MsGuire said. “These companies joined in 1971 and the list grows with each year.”

(Their photos appear on page 33.)

Committee Engagement “We’re an organization of hundreds of active volunteers and 22 standing committees,” Grams told the crowd. Three committees were nominated for the Committee of the Year Award—the Education Committee, the Turf Committee and the Investment Committee. The award went to the Education Committee. (continued on page 36)

25 Year Members

2021 Committee of the Year —

Former Education Committee Chair Kim Hartmann accepts the Committee of the Year award from Scott Grams. Hartmann is now a member of the ILCA Board of Directors.

The three most recent Education Committee Chairs; Steve Raczak, Kim Hartmann and Mike Blackwell.

(continued from page 34)

“In spite of the pandemic, 1600 people attended the virtual iLandscape365 this year,” Grams said. The Education Committee is responsible for pulling together programs that provide continuing education credits and hands-on learning experiences. Committee members include Mike Blackwell (chairperson), Frank Balestri, Allison Hoffman, Andrew Keppel, Becky Kielstrup, Sydney Koonce, Mandy Leifheit, George Murphy, Steve Raczak, Nick Surges, Beth Pinargote, Jill Selinger, Lydia Scott, Kim Hartmann (board liaison) and AnneMarie Drufke (staff liaison). Grams also thanked the Technical Skills Committee for having the most committee members (by percentage) present at the annual party. They won the Committee Cup and received a $300 happy hour.

“The Education Committee is grateful to be recognized as Committee of the Year, especially considering the new requirements of putting on a large virtual education event,” board member Kim Hartmann said. “Our Education Committee members, with the direction of Education Manager AnneMarie Drufke, gave even more of their time to select, host, moderate and evaluate over 40 virtual sessions. Their collaboration and commitment was critical to the success of iLandscape 365. The lessons the Education Committee learned over the last 18 months will lead to even more innovative, longlasting education for our ILCA members in years to come.”

Sharing Ups & Downs Long-time member and past ILCA president Ken Gallt and his wife Sue Catalano of Foliage Design Systems discussed trends in landscaping. “When I graduated in 1973, we were never taught about rooftop gardens or wall gardens,” Gallt said. About onethird of their business is interior landscapes. “Covid affected our ability to get into buildings to maintain or install plants,” Catalano said. That has slowly changed as buildings have reopened and more people are back at work.

If there was one upside to the pandemic, it prompted more homeowners to take a close look at their landscaping. “It’s the only time our industry has had something good happen, while the economy was bad,” said Jim Matusik, president of The Tree Connection, Inc., Rochester, Michigan, and one of the evening’s sponsors. “People want to be in their backyard—with a wall—they want to screen their neighbors. That’s where our shortage of arborvitae is coming from.” He also shared his observations about the demand for shade trees. “Shade trees are falling Smilin’ Jeff Kramer

off. Years ago, all new landscape projects had shade trees, but now homeowners are usually keeping their existing trees and looking for color—flowering plants like Kousa dogwood and magnolias.”

All in all it was a great night. Dozens of members were still hanging out at 9 p.m., an hour after the event ended. “I was thrilled to see the number of industry colleagues at the annual event,” Hartmann said. “There was lots of energy and

enthusiasm for connecting in person and sharing experiences about growth and challenges over the last two years.”

Member Facebook Group Are you on Facebook? You should be if only for the sake of your business or career. McGuire encouraged attendees to sign up for ILCA’s Members Only Facebook Group and participate in the discussions. “Our goal is 1,000 users by iLandscape,” she said. She encouraged owners and their staff to join. As of mid-November, there were close to 800 members. The page is private and a place where you can post questions about equipment, plants, staffing, technology, suppliers, insurance, and much more. Join here: facebook.com/groups/249590636067950 Donna credits her success to her choice in footwear.