CEO’S LETTER
NALP GETS A NEW HOME “
Sabeena Hickman CAE, CEO NALP
Your office does not reflect who you are. Your office space does not reflect your brand as the national association who rep- resents landscape and lawn care professionals.” This was mentioned in a casual hallway con- versation when we were working with brand- ing firms a few years ago. This really stuck with me. I recall walking around our office and looking around only to realize that the com- ment was accurate. With the end of our lease looming in our
Herndon, Virginia, offices, we set out to find a better, more modern headquarters that would reflect NALP and our members and that would be a great place for staff to work. The Board of Directors wanted the association to have a headquarters that we could be proud of. Lucki- ly for us, the market was such that for the same price per square foot, we could upgrade to a class A office building with on-site manage- ment, a gym and most importantly incredible outdoor spaces that remind us of the work our members do every day.
Our new office is located in Fair Lakes, Vir- ginia, which is about 20 miles outside of Washington, D.C., and is convenient to Dulles International Airport and Reagan National Airport. The property has an amazing outdoor patio space that seats dozens of people, has miles of walking trails with an outdoor lake, fountains and amazing woods and landscaping. As a sign of complete synergy, when past NALP President Scott Jamieson saw the address, he knew immediately that Bartlett Tree Experts had done extensive work on the property.
But we didn’t just want the outside to reflect our mission; we wanted that to carry over on the inside as well. We’ve had a great collaboration with the archi- tectural firm OTJ Architects to design the inside spaces featuring natural textures and wood grains and using our green and grey brand colors throughout. We also have giant windows that look out on the landscaping so there is a seamless
34 THE LANDSCAPE PROFESSIONAL > JULY/AUGUST 2017
indoor/outdoor feel.
OTJ asked us detailed questions about our company culture, working styles, strategic plans and what makes the staff happy, and they are designing a space that will enhance our work experience. We even thought OTJ’s motto had great
synergies with the work that our members do, “Our approach is rooted in the belief that design is a tool to improve people’s lives: good design strengthens workplace culture, commu- nicates brand and improves wellness.” Though, unfortunately, we don’t get too many members stopping by, we do hope that if you are ever in the Washington or Northern Vir- ginia area, you will pay us a visit and tour the headquarters. The building also includes a large conference room where we can host association meetings. We are set to move in at the begin- ning of August, so we hope to see you there sometime soon! 7
INDEX OF ADVERTISERS Atlantic Irrigation ..................................................................29 Bartlett Tree Experts ...........................................................13 Colorblends .........................................................................31 Ewing Irrigation & Landscape Supply .................................15 Florasearch, Inc. ...................................................................3 John Deere ...........................................................................5 L.T. Rich Products
.......................................Inside front cover Lanscape Industry Certified ................................................16 LANDSCAPES 2017 ............................................................17 NALP Awards of Excellence ................................................11 NALP Irrigation Training Manual ............................................3 NALP People Academy Live ...............................................12 Proven Winners ColorChoice ................................................8 STIHL, Inc. ............................................................................7 Truax Corporation ................................................................19 TruckCraft Corporation ............................... Inside back cover Vermeer
.................................................................Back cover
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