CEO & PRESIDENT’S LETTER
REFLECTING ON 2016 T
he end of the year is the time to step back and reflect. It’s so easy to get
wrapped up in the day-to-day minutia and to-do lists, that you don’t always see how far you’ve come. It’s important to take stock and see what was accomplished during the year and to assess whether things are still moving in the right direction or whether they need a course correction.
Each year, the NALP staff prepares a list of the top accom- plishments that the association has achieved through the hard work of the Board of Directors, member volunteers and staff. Usually, an association might launch one or two new programs and might see gains in one or two areas, but I have to say I was really impressed when I stepped back and reflected on the long list of NALP programs and initiatives that were started or saw growth in 2016. These are programs that can really make a difference to your business and to the future of the industry. How did we accomplish so much in one year? Our members
and the Board had a strong vision—with goals that were a stretch—and we went after those goals. We hit the ground running in January with a new team in pub-
lic affairs and a new Public Affairs Advisory Council. They drafted a strong strategic plan with aggressive goals to develop new tools and collateral to tell the industry’s story and to make an impact on legislation and regulation. They have delivered on that goal and made our voice heard with legislators and regulators. We also made an impact with the public in the past year. We launched the new
LoveYourLandscape.org consumer website and social media outlets and participated in national surveys that demonstrate the value of managed landscapes. Led by the Education Advisory Council, we developed new
regional education opportunities that bring solutions much closer to your doorstep. The first event was the NALP Field Trip with Marty Grunder outside of Chicago in August, including a facility tour of Mariani Landscape. The event was so popular that it sold out, and I can’t remember another recent event with so much incredibly positive feedback from attendees. It is an incredible feeling to produce an event that is fun and leaves people energized with new ideas that you know will make a difference in their business. You can read the full list of our accomplishments starting on
page 18. I hope you take advantage of some of these new pro- grams and opportunities available to you as a member. At the end of the year, what I reflect on most is the incredible members of NALP who really and truly work every day to create the landscape of our lives with skill, talent, grace and determi- nation. I can say that our whole NALP staff team wants to do everything we can to support you in making your companies and the industry everything you want them to be. 7
Sabeena Hickman, CAE, CEO NALP 6
WHAT A SHOW, WHAT A YEAR! T
he timing of this President’s Letter worked out nicely for me—I needed to
write about the close of a fruitful year for NALP just as we were closing a fantastic LANDSCAPES in Louisville, Ky. The great show was yet another component in a great 2016 for NALP. Attending LANDSCAPES as NALP
president is a far cry from being a regular
attendee. It’s much more gratifying. You don’t pick and choose the events you want to go to; you go to all of them. You expe- rience every part of the event. And it’s very eye-opening when you see everything that goes into it—the detailed organization, the creative planning, the hard work. For all of that, I thank our dedicated staff and volunteer leaders. One of my favorite events in Louisville was the networking re-
ception for our new Young Professionals group. It was very well attended, and I saw lots of new faces and met lots of new folks. As I watched them mingling and enjoying themselves, I couldn’t help but wonder if I’d have met these young people if we didn’t have an event like this. Our party encouraged them to get out, circulate and meet new people. The open bar didn’t hurt either! Big kudos to Kelly Dowell, Dowco Enterprises, for all she’s done
to get this group up and running. We have much more planned. Another extremely valuable event at LANDSCAPES every
year is the CEO Forum. You can gauge its value just by looking around the room—it was full of all the power people in our in- dustry. It also tells you that everyone can learn something from Marty Grunder and Mark Sanborn. Thanks, guys! As we close 2016, I’ll share with you one of my favorite ex- periences of the year, the Renewal & Remembrance at Arlington National Cemetery in July. It was a very powerful experience, a very emotional day. I was honored to share the experience with my industry colleagues, and it was special to have my family there—my wife and children, my parents and my in-laws. My father, Rick, and daughter, Anna, placed a wreath at the
Tomb of the Unknown Soldiers. They were both so proud. My father, the founder of our company, is a big supporter of veter- ans, and he had a wonderful conversation with a soldier during the ceremony. It meant so much to him. Ed Klass, Southern Sprinkler Systems, and his family also placed a wreath during the ceremony, and we enjoyed talking with them and sharing this experience. Thank you to all the volunteers. The amount of work we accomplished was impressive, as was the way everyone worked together. And that’s probably a good thought to leave you with—every-
one worked together, and we accomplished much. Happy New Year! 7
Brett Lemcke, Landscape Industry Certified NALP President
THE LANDSCAPE PROFESSIONAL > NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2016
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