President’s Update

Hello all and Happy Summer!

At this point in the season, most turfgrass managers are doing all they can to manage their cauldron of chaos; chock full o’ critical inputs and decision-making, clientele expectations, wild weather, and team management tasks. More than ever, homeowners are hiring Lawn Care operators to do what they tried, but can’t (or don’t want to). Athletic fields and complexes are in full swing game mode, and golf course parking lots are packed. Talented turf professionals are in higher demand than ever before, and these are all the things we like to hear.

I am of course biased, but no matter what part of the industry you are in, no one handles the budget, time, or people better than seasoned turfgrass managers. Now we just need to keep it rolling on the tracks for a couple more tricky months.... keeping our momentum down the backstretch. This is a good time to step back, assess the big picture, and to remember and encourage the people who work tirelessly to make it all happen.

While excited by successes and achievement of important milestones, we know there remain additional obstacles, surprises, challenges, and stresses to navigate and overcome. Remember to take care of your employees. Day in and day out, we are only as good as the people we work alongside. In many cases, we spend more time with our crew each day than we spend at home with our own families.

This industry is sometimes odd and unique in that our only reward is often silence! No one complaining about weeds in their yard or golfers questioning conditions or what more we must do to improve them. Not having the coaches, members, clients, general manager, or other important people bending our ear beats the alternative, but your crew may seek more tangible feedback and positive encouragement.

In my segment, as a sales professional, I do my best to thank delivery drivers, warehouse managers and of course, my customers. Let’s take time to thank our ‘at home families’ as well, for supporting us each week of the sometimesgrueling season.

We work hard to deliver the goods every season but none of us do it alone. Positive reinforcement and saying ‘thanks’ goes a long way towards building your championship team!

I hope you all have a wonderful rest of the season!

Sincerely,

Rick Catalogna

President