NALP Announces Woman Entrepreneur of the Year Award Recipient: This Week’s Industry News

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Want to keep up with the latest news in lawn care and landscaping? Check back every Thursday for a quick recap of recent happenings in the green industry.

SiteOne Grows in New England and Chicago with Acquisitions
SiteOne Landscape Supply, LLC recently acquired two more companies. The national wholesale distributor of landscape supplies announced on January 20 the acquisition of East Haven Landscape Products. Founded in 1978, EHLP is a leader in the distribution of nursery, hardscapes and landscape supplies in the coastal Connecticut market. The acquisition adds a full-service landscape supply location along the southeastern Connecticut coast. SiteOne also added Aspen Valley, with its three locations in the Chicago market. Joining forces with Aspen Valley makes SiteOne the largest supplier of all landscaping supplies to green industry professionals in the Chicago metropolitan area, according to Doug Black, CEO of SiteOne.

Ewing, Rachio Launch Controller Recycling Pilot Program
Ewing and Rachio have launched a controller-recycling program in central Colorado and the Dallas/Ft. Worth, Texas. The program provides contractors with an environmental solution to replacing controllers with more efficient ones. Through this program, controllers will be recycled through a partnership with Blue Star Recyclers, a Colorado-based non-profit that recycles electronics and other materials while creating jobs for people with autism and other disabilities. Participating locations in Colorado include Centennial, Colorado Springs, Commerce, Fort Collins and Highlands. The locations in Texas include Dallas, Plano, North Richland Hills, Fort Worth and Mesquite.

Toro Promotes Orion Goe to Irrigation Marketing Manager
The Toro Company promoted Orion Goe to marketing manager for Toro’s residential/commercial irrigation business. He has been with Toro for two years. Goe joined Toro as product marketing manager for residential/commercial hydraulic products. His new responsibilities will include marketing and product development strategy for Toro’s underground and landscape drip irrigation products and lighting businesses. Goe holds degrees from California State University, Fullerton, and an MBA from University of Redlands.

Toro Announces Winner of GIE+EXPO Drawing
Edward Smith of Smith Lawn Service in Booneville, Mississippi, the winner of Toro’s mower giveaway during the 2016 Green Industry & Equipment Expo, recently took delivery of his new mower. Smith’s new Toro Z Master Professional 6000 Series features a 34 HP Kohler Command Pro EFI 999cc engine with Horizon Technology, and a 72-inch TURBO FORCE cutting deck. The drawing was limited to eligible landscape contractors, and Smith’s name was randomly selected from hundreds of entries made during the Louisville, KY, show.

Abby Santos Receives NALP’s Woman Entrepreneur of the Year Award
The National Association of Landscape Professionals presented its Woman Entrepreneur of the Year Award to Abby Santos, Owner of No Ka Oi Landscape Services, at its executive-level conference, Leaders Forum, in St. Thomas, on January, 13. NALP’s Woman Entrepreneur of the Year Award recognizes an outstanding female entrepreneur in the landscape industry who has demonstrated entrepreneurial spirit and initiative, ensures the advancement of the landscape industry by her actions and endeavors, and serves as an example to current and future female entrepreneurs in the industry. Abby and her husband Frank started No Ka Oi Plants in 1977 on the Island of Kauai, Hawaii, and built the business into the premier commercial installation and maintenance company on Kauai, managing the landscapes of many of the top resorts and commercial properties on the island and her company makes many contributions to the community.

Randy Harris Joins Altoz as District Sales Manager
Altoz recently hired Randy Harris as district sales manager earlier this month. Harris will provide support for existing dealers and continue to grow the Altoz dealer network in Tennessee, Kentucky and surrounding areas. Harris has spent 37 years within the outdoor equipment industry, most recently serving as territory sales and service manager for power distributors.

Greenworks Commercial Announces Landscaper of the Year Program
Greenworks announced an industry-wide “Landscaper of the Year” program that will honor the “best-of-the-best of the landscaping industry” making a positive difference within their community. Greenworks will award 11 winners with a prize pack of its battery-powered 82V tools, and one overall winner will receive a trip to the 2017-18 College Football National Championship at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, Georgia. The program begins February 1. Nominations must be received by the 15th of the month in order to qualify for that month’s judging.

Heaviland Offers Tips to Prevent Flooding and Landscape Damage During Rainstorms
Use these tips to safeguard landscaping and property in the event of heavy rain and floods:

  • Maintain storm drains and keep catch basins free of trash, sediment, roots and plant debris to allow for water to flow through drains instead of pooling around them. Installing straw wattles and/or rock borders around drains and V-ditches can help prevent sediment build up in drains.
  • Keep brow ditches and V-ditches free of debris by regularly clearing drain outlets and weep-holes of sediment. Over-irrigation during dry times can cause erosion and sediment and chemicals can build up.
  • The most environmentally dangerous time for a property is during initial construction while land is being cleared and graded.
  • To protect these areas during heavy rainfall, install a silt fence or straw wattle around drains to create flow channels for storm water to drain.
  • If landscape drains are clogged, review the drainage issues and remove trapped sediment and debris to allow for rainwater to drain appropriately.

NHLA’s Marisol Medrano Selected as Fellow for LLI Fellowship Program
The Latino Leadership Institute at the University of Denver selected Marisol Medrano Mejia as a fellow for its LLI Fellowship Winter 2017 Program. Medrano, board member of the National Hispanic Landscape Alliance and human resources director for CoCal Landscape, has been selected as one of the 25 professionals that will take part in an intensive, nine-month fellowship program. As a new member of the LLI Fellowship Program, Medrano will receive personal assessment in branding strategies, community involvement and professional development. She will also be offered the training and tools to strengthen and promote her ability to impact and improve Latino communities.

Jody Shilan Leaves NJLCA Post to Focus on Consulting, Speaking, Writing
After managing the New Jersey Landscape Contractors Association for the past seven years, industry veteran, Jody Shilan, MLA, is leaving as Executive Director of the NJLCA. He said that while he greatly enjoyed his time directing the NJLCA, which celebrated its 50th anniversary this past year. “However, the requests for private consulting, public speaking and sales webinars have grown so significantly that I knew I had to refocus my efforts and make some decisions,” shared Shilan. The NJLCA board met and is seeking a new executive director, said President Nelson Lee.

MANTS 2017 Celebrates Record-Breaking Day One Registration
The Mid-Atlantic Nursery Trade Show welcomed more than 11,300 total registrants and exhibitors to this year’s show; this includes a record-breaking 10,000+ people who had registered by the end of the first day of the show alone. These attendees, who gathered to do business, network and learn about the newest green industry trends for 2017, had the opportunity to visit 952 exhibiting companies spread out over 1,536 booths. In addition to exhibitors, 3,600 non-exhibiting/buying companies were represented on the show floor. In 2018, MANTS will take place from January 10-12 at the Baltimore Convention Center.

Wendy Radtke Joins TruGreen as Senior VP of Human Resources and CHRO
Wendy Radtke joined TruGreen as senior vice president of Human Resources and CHRO. “This hiring decision is intended to convey the importance TruGreen places on selecting, orienting, developing and retaining our team at TruGreen,” said TruGreen President and CEO David Alexander. Most recently, Radtke served as senior vice president and CHRO at The Babcock and Wilcox Company. She attained her master’s degree in Industrial and Labor Relations from the University of Minnesota-Carlson School of Management.

Read last week’s industry news: STIHL Announces Huge Spring Product Launch