Today I’m fortunate to travel to Lansing, MI the Professional Landcare Network’s Student Career Days.  I’ll have an opportunity to witness some of the best collegiate talent in our industry - all competing against one another to win this years event.  Also, PLANET’s AEF will give out their annual scholarships to students who applied.  This event is always one of the most incredible events our national trade association puts on.  Here is the article that appeared this morning in MSU Today, Michigan State University’s campus newspaper.

Horticulture students from around the country to compete in unique event

by Jon Schultz, student writer

March 27, 2007 - Nearly 1,000 students from 55 universities nationwide will compete for bragging rights across 24 horticultural skills events during the Professional Landcare Network’s, or PLANET, Student Career Days.

The 31st annual event will be held March 29-April 1 at MSU.

Students will have the opportunity to hone their skills, meet prospective employers and seek employment opportunities in the green industry while showcasing their academic talents before hundreds of professionals.

The competitive events range from a timed arboriculture tree climbing challenge to a sales presentation, testing the students’ ability to work with hard-sell clients.

“Arboriculture has all the action, but the sales presentation is about how well they can think on their feet,” said Brad Rowe, an MSU associate horticulture professor.

In the arboriculture event, students take a written exam testing their knowledge of the tree and then are timed while they climb it using ropes and a harness. For the sales presentation, students face professional actors who play a customer looking for a low price.

“Any sales job will be like that,” said Rowe, the event’s faculty adviser. “You have to know how to deal with rejection. The actors are fairly tough, and many students aren’t used to being challenged by clients.”

Besides the competitions, there will be training workshops and a career fair, which take place following the 8 a.m. opening ceremony in the Lansing Convention Center on March 30.

PLANET spokesperson Lisa Schaumann said the horticulture and landscape industry is seeking skilled students to fill the high demand for top-notch workers.

The knowledge students gain from the activities will help advance the professionalism of the business, Rowe said.

“Having knowledgeable people within the industry is important,” he said. “Consumers sometimes can’t make a distinction between who’s qualified and who’s not.”

MSU ranked in the top 10 overall for the past five years, and Rowe said he hopes this year’s team of 19 students will continue the school’s success.

The event originated in 1975, when a group of MSU students entered into a friendly argument with Mississippi State University students about who had a better horticulture department.

The competitive spirit still remains, Rowe said.

“You get some of the best students from around the country participating in career days,” he said. “This event is a forum for sharing horticultural knowledge and best practices.”

Today we finished our long-anticipated technology update.

First, our Management Team converted to a Microsoft Exchange server - this will allow our Administrative Team to have access to our calendars for real-time scheduling of meetings with clients. Since the office will now be able to “see” everyone’s calendar’s who has client contact, we can schedule meetings IMMEDIATELY over the telephone or via email. You’ll no longer have to wait to get a phone call back when you have a client inquiry.

Second, along with the Microsoft Exchange upgrade, we switched from the Sprint/Nextel system to Verizon Wireless. Since our business is taking us out of town more and more, coverage is much better. Also, our Management Team all upgraded to Smart Phones - the Motorola Q specifically. They sync immediately with the Microsoft Exchange server, so our calendar, contacts and email are updated over the air - immediately. That said, if the Admin Team sets a meeting, we are notified immediately!

Third, we will now have access to our email in a more convenient way. Since our email is received on our phones, clients can now be rest assured, that even after-hours, we can address emergency or critical communcation in a more timely manner.

Fourth, we will be, in the next few weeks, discarding all of our desktop computers, and going strictly to laptops. That way, we can show you project photos on-site. We can also get caught up on computer work in-between meetings, saving us driving time back to the office just to get a few computer tasks completed.

Everything we’ve been focusing on in this initiative we believe will deliver better client experiences in a more timely way, with better and more precise communication. Please bare with us as we become familiar with our new technology.

Lastly, we believe all of these improvements, although an investment, are focused on our efforts in Lean Management - analyzing company decisions and processes to determine the value they deliver to the client. We hope you continue to see our efforts to deliver more for less to our most precious asset - our clients.

Enjoy the spring!

Today is the first day of spring…  Seems like we had a really long winter, but it was probably just more normal than years past.

I enjoyed pulling out of my driveway the other morning and seeing that some of my bulbs had flowers on them.  We’re excited that spring has sprung!

Last week I traveled to Las Vegas to visit a project Highland Outdoor has been involved with for the last year or so. Our client, D. Andersen Consulting, has enlisted our services to help manage, from a top tier, an estate home located in the prestigious Lake Las Vegas resort area, approximately 20 minutes off the Las Vegas Strip.

I was able to take some high-resolution photography of this stunning project, which is unique in several ways:

• The property is fully automated - everything from the irrigation system to the outdoor lighting to the water features to the electronics inside the house.
• The climate at Lake Las Vegas can change frequently. For example, when I was there, it was near 90 degrees, then dropped to 60 degrees this week - causing demands on irrigation that are unseasonable.
• Plantings and turf need constant attention to assure that they look pristine at all times.
• Interior plants have limited light when the home is not actively used, which is approximately 25% of the time.
• Local Las Vegas contractors have to work with D. Andersen and Highland Outdoor, both of which are located in the Midwest, therefore frequent travel to the property is necessary.
• The property owner desires the property to look 100% every day of the year, in case spontaneous business or personal entertaining is necessary. (In fact, we once had to fly out there on a moments notice to address some maintenance concerns prior to a cocktail party)

We are proud to be part of dynamic projects like this, in Kansas City and beyond. Check out the gallery here.

NEWS Contact: Vicki Bendure, APR

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE (540) 687-3360 or

Lisa Schaumann

(540) 687-5099

THINK GREEN IN APRIL

— Professional Landcare Network Celebrates National Lawn Care Month—

HERNDON, Va., January 24, 2007 — The Professional Landcare Network (PLANET) celebrates National Lawn Care Month in April by reminding consumers about the environmental benefits of a healthy lawn.

More than 30 million acres of lawns exist in the United States. It’s estimated that these lawns remove five percent of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere and provide a significant amount of oxygen. Lawns also trap more than 12 million tons of dust and dirt annually. Healthy lawns trap and filter rainwater and they protect from erosion. Additionally, they provide a cooling effect in summer months and help boost energy efficiency.

Healthy lawns play an important role in home sales and they have a huge impact on “curb appeal.” Realtors report that homes with beautiful lawns and landscaping can increase property values by 15 to 20 percent.

As spring arrives, 30 million acres of lawns across the nation are becoming green and growing. The return of warm weather, green grass, and flowering plants makes April the ideal time to celebrate the benefits of turf.

Lawn care companies provide jobs and significant financial benefits for the economy. A Harris Interactive survey reports that U.S. households spent more than $11.6 billion on lawn care in 2003. These figures represent 12 percent growth from 2002, and this growth is expected to continue.

“Homeowners understand that their lawns and landscape are a valuable investment,” states Jim Martin, CLP, president of PLANET. “With low mortgage rates and increased housing starts, homeowners are making significant financial investments in their properties, knowing they’ll see a return. Homeowners report returns on investment of 100 to 200 percent.”

Aside from economic and aesthetic benefits, a well-maintained lawn provides many environmental benefits, including:

· Oxygen production — turf’s power to generate oxygen has a major impact on the environment. A 50 foot x 50 foot lawn produces enough oxygen for a family of four.

· Cooling effect — grass is a natural air conditioner. Eight healthy front lawns have the cooling effect of 70 tons of air conditioning — enough for 16 average homes.

· Pollution control — turf traps dust and smoke particles from the atmosphere, which helps keep the air cleaner. Grass also converts carbon dioxide to oxygen, a process that helps clear the air.

· Water quality — dense, healthy grass slows down and filters runoff, removing contaminants and trapping soil. Fresh, filtered water returns to the underground water supply.

In addition to being beautiful, lawns have a positive impact on the environment. Homeowners can be proactive in April by working with a lawn care professional and putting together a lawn care program that ensures that their lawns will be healthy and beautiful throughout the year.

PLANET is the association of members who create and maintain the QUALITY OF LIFE in communities across America. With more than 4,200 member companies and affiliates, these firms and their employees represent more than 100,000 green industry professionals. For more information on PLANET visit LandcareNetwork.org or call the PLANET office at (800) 395-2522.

Highland Outdoor is pleased to announce ongoing support of Corks and Canvas, a fund raiser benefiting Good Samaritan Project. This year, we have partnered with GSP and IMIJ Media to underwrite the video for the event, as well as the GSP promotional video for the next few years.

Having attended the event the last few years, donating a design/build package last year, as well as installing an irrigation system and design/build package at their offices last year, we are proud to have ongoing support of this incredible Kansas City non-profit.

Please take a few minutes to visit the GSP website to learn more about their organization, and for more information on Corks and Canvas, click here. The event typically sells out, so get your tickets early. We’ll see you there!

Last week was the first week since early January where we had our crews working on landscape and maintenance projects. One project our team was excited to install was a re-landscape of the Animal Haven facility in Merriam, KS. Mitch Benjamin designed and project managed, and one of our landscape crews installed new foundation plantings. The entire project was donated by Highland Outdoor.
Organizations that protect stray and adoptable pets, specifically Animal Haven, need our support just as much as the next non-profit. We hope you will partner with us as we actively support this wonderful organization that has served the Kansas City area since 1966. If you’re interested in adopting an animal, please contact them. Obviously, if you’d like to donate your volunteer time, or offer financial assistance, they would love to hear from you.

A review of their website shows they are currently campaigning to build a new, state of the art facility. I’m proud to say Highland Outdoor hopes to be part of the exterior landscape and design/build for the new facility.

We’re proud our clients afford us the opportunity to donate to such great causes. We hope you will join us in those efforts to support some of Kansas City’s great non-profits. For a list of other organizations we actively support, visit our Community page.

Last month, I attended the Professional Landcare Network’s Executive Forum in (not so sunny and not so warm) Bonita Springs, Florida.  The topic was a thought-provoking one - Lean Management.  The idea of Lean Management comes from Toyota, who has nearly perfected the waste-orientation of building cars.  Ever wonder why the Japanese automakers make money every day, when we read negative financial headlines about their American counterparts.

Many of my friends in our industry have instituted Lean Management as a business principle in their companies.  In a simple definition - Lean identifies and reduces, or eliminates waste.  Waste is then defined as anything that does not deliver value to the client.  Sounds pretty awesome.  Since I returned from Florida, I’ve noticed waste at every turn.  I guess that is not a bad thing, but it sure has me thinking.

So…  today we’re doing something pretty exciting…  We’re doing a Lean Management Project here at our office.  Not a full force 5S or Kaizen event, but an effort to look at our office itself and identify and reduce, or eliminate waste that does not deliver value to our client.  Our team has “taken two days off” from their normal duties (within reason) and we will be working here at the office in a couple of different arenas:  organizing our personal office spaces, organizing the common office spaces, throwing away things we don’t use that often, labeling the location of different items, putting all of our files in one central locations (except ones that we are currently using), etc.  We’re all excited, and it’s stretching us to deliver more value through our business by eliminating waste.

We’ll keep you posted as things develop.

One element of lean we’re already instituting:  we’re attempting to turn our entire accounting system over electronically.  By providing us your email address, we’ll send your invoices and statements via email.  Then, you can have your credit card on file, so we will charge your card monthly, thus eliminating paper, envelopes, stamps, checks, etc.  Everything is automated.  Of course, if there is ever a billing concern, you can just CALL the office, and we can make the appropriate adjustment.  Lean Management - you can certainly see the value, and we’re excited to deliver it to you as we embark on Lean Projects throughout the year.

(Special thanks to The Ariens Company and JP Horizons for delivering Lean Management as a principle to our industry.  Read more about PLANET’s Executive Forum in a recent article in Landscape Management)