LETTER FROM
LETTER FROM THE CEO So, What’s NEW?
DO YOU EVER GET ASKED THE QUESTION “WHAT’S new?” More and more these days I find myself getting asked that very question. While the answer in my personal life is normally, “Not much, due to COVID…” When it comes to NALP, my answer is “Plenty, in fact, there is more new at NALP than I would have ever imagined in a pandemic.” So, to help all of you who are bombarded with messages from all different news sources, I thought it might be helpful to share all that is new with your industry association in this column.
So where to start, how about in the education space? In early 2020, we unveiled our new online certification test for the Exterior Technician Exam. Now, you may be saying to yourself “Britt, that’s not really new.” And you would be correct. What is new is that we have developed new resources to help you prepare for that exam including an online certificate program, as well as a train the trainer “bootcamp” manual. Now, some of you may have just said, “Wait there is a certificate program to help you get ready for a certi- fication program?” My answer, “Yes, there is.” The certificate program is not just a study pro- gram, it includes quizzes that will help you prepare for the exam but will also validate that you have learned the material. So, what else is new? We have a brand-new position that we have created at the associ- ation to help us to elevate our game in government relations. With more activity happening in Washington D.C., as well as a lot more activity happening in the
states and local municipalities, it is more important than ever that NALP be prepared to advocate relentlessly on your behalf. Karla Segundo will fill this new posi- tion and comes to us with some very solid campaign experience as well as some experience in D.C. She will help Andrew Bray and Bob Mann by doing work on Capitol Hill, as well as picking up some states where she will be working on your behalf. For our lawn care members (and future lawn care members) we have created a Lawn Care Hub on our website. This hub will provide lawn care compa- nies with articles, tools and re- sources that will help you grow your company. It also features the latest information on pesti- cide and herbicide regulations, so you can be in the know. Another big project that was unveiled in early April as part of the National Lawn Care Month effort was a new video and accompanying infographic. Their goal is to tell a story that allows people to look at their green spaces in a new way and feel
good about the fact that they help fight climate change. We feel it is incredibly important that share the good that our industry does for the environment. We have also unveiled a
search feature on our website, as well as on our Love Your Landscape site that consumers can use to find NALP members in their area and then “Hire a Pro.” This updated search feature is far more consum- er-friendly than our last and will enable the nearly 50,000 consumers who use this feature on an annual basis to easily find and hire an NALP member in their area.
One last thing I wanted to mention is that we will be unveiling a new financial benchmark study later this year that will give members a look at how the industry is doing from a financial perspective. This study will give members the ability to compare their numbers with the industry averages to give them a true sense of how their businesses are performing. Well, there you have it. NALP has a lot going on and will continue to work tirelessly on this industry’s behalf. I hope that answers your question about “What’s new at NALP?”
Britt Wood, CEO
6 The Landscape Professional //May/June 2021
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40
