Executive Director message

Dear UAC Members and Supporters,

Happy NewYear! I hope that all of you had a wonderful Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Year’s and holiday season.

It seems as if the warm (hot?) extended fall weather lasted forever, and then leaves were down and winter weather descended upon us. Well, it really is January 2020, and the traditional time in our industry to take a breath and plan ahead for the spring busy season.

Winter’s also when many of you invest in time for education. The 2020 Landscape Pro University is on January 29 at the Cobb Galleria, and it is stocked with a great variety of options for learning, CEUs and pesticide credits. We’ve designed a full range of educational options, including:

A five-hour session for those who are preparing to apply for a Georgia pesticide license

Sessions on both Belgard pavers and natural stone

Business

Agronomics/turf

Horticulture

Trees and pruning

And more! This full day of education includes a tradeshow with exhibitors from all sectors of the industry. There are also classes taught in Spanish, so there’s something for everyone on your team - don’t miss this opportunity! See pages 6 - 7 for more information and a schedule of classes. Online registration is open, so take a minute to register today and reserve your spot:

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urbanagcouncil.com/landscape-pro-university

We are very proud to announce a new CEUgranting distance education for green industry professionals: GETTING THE BEST OF PESTS (GTBOP). Working with the University of Georgia’s Center for Urban Agriculture (UGA Griffin Campus), UAC and the Turfgrass Research and Education Center on the UGA Griffin Campus now offers you the opportunity to receive CEUs while in your home or office. The live presentations begin in January. Many thanks to Dr. Dan Suiter, Dr. Clint Waltz, Dr. Bodie Pennisi and Greg Huber for their work moving this forward. More information about the webinar series can be found on page 34.

The last few months I’ve had the pleasure of participating on the Georgia Senate Study

Committee on Agriculture, Forestry, and

Landscape Workforce Access, chaired by Senator John Wilkinson. Meetings were held around the state to hear from impacted businesses, and recommendations are to be brought by this committee to the Senate in 2020.

The business owners who testified at these meetings were very passionate and straightforward in illustrating to the committee the tremendous challenges they are facing, and these testimonials will guide the proposals to be made by the committee.

As of this writing, the recommendations have not been completed, so I plan to share those with our members as we receive them and publish in the Spring 2020 UAC Magazine.

Finally, now’s the time to start planning for the 2021 Georgia Landscape Awards (GALA) entries. Based on your feedback, this awards program is now held every two years, so submissions for next year’s awards will be accepted through January 2021. That’s a year away, and may seem a long way off, but it’s better to plan ahead now and not be rushed NEXT winter!

I hope to see ALL of you at an event in 2020 – take a look at Save the Date on page 14 and plan to join us!

Mary Kay Woodworth Executive Director