LC DBM Commentary
Volume 16, No. 4 ��� www.landscapeonline.com
Equipping Landscape
Professionals for Success
www.LandscapeOnline.com
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Publisher/Editor-in-Chief
George Schmok
gschmok@landscapeonline.com
An Honorable Profession
One of the best things about being in the landscape industry is the people. There is something
about working with plants and the outdoor environment that gets right to the core of life. Salt of
the earth kinda stuff.
This industry is not for stockbrokers or lawyers. There���s no selling short, speculation, or ambulance chasing in the landscape professions. It���s not for fashionistas or movie stars or people looking to get wild acclaim from the masses. It���s definitely not a business for professional politicians,
although there is a need for manure and earthworms. (Did I just say that?!?)
Yep, the landscape industry is an honorable profession: one for people who care about the environment, who care about the living and breathing, who care about balance. Yet often times it is
looked at as one of least important and least appealing industries: home to illegal aliens, beer drinking Bob, and tree hugging neophytes. To the uneducated public, landscape is the land of low wages,
low esteem and low impact.
However to those who know, the landscape industry is home to hundreds of thousands of entrepreneurs and business owners. From planners who make sure there is a learning element in the city
park, to the contractor who makes sure the slope is stable, the landscape industry is full of motivated, educated, dedicated and responsible men and women who make a difference to the everyday
lives of almost everyone, everywhere.
That���s one reason I get upset when I see landscape associations focus more on expanding worker
permits than on developing a domestic workforce. In this industry there is a strong national association (ASLA) for landscape architects, a couple of semi-effective national associations for contractors
and maintenance professionals, a few strong state associations and a ton of other, unconnected state
and local associations. And while many of these groups have great people involved in them, the bureaucrats have of a way of taking over the agenda and watering down the purpose.
To me that purpose should be to build the industry and build up the hard working professionals
who comprise it, to portray to the public the honorable work involved and recruit the best of our
youth to participate. And one of the best ways to do this is to organize events that put the profession
in front of and in the embrace of the public.
You may have noticed over the years, the back page of editorial in LC/DBM is focused on projects
where readers have donated their time, money and resources to help others. These articles focus
on hard working professionals setting aside monetary gain to help their fellow man. Whether it is
rebuilding after a natural disaster or pitching in to landscape a shelter for battered women, these
kinds of projects are the ones that can really make a difference and show the public who a landscape
professional really is and what the profession is all about.
So as we all gear up for the summer rush, and as D.C. rushes to install yet another form of immigration reform, it is also time for the landscape industry to put its best feet forward and engage the
public as an honorable, hardworking, profitable and impactful profession, worthy of the best of our
youth and willing to help when called upon.
I know so many of you who fit that description; it���s time the public knew you as well. That���s
why we at LC/DBM magazine, our sister publications and LandscapeOnline.com are expanding our
coverage of these events and encourage you to let us know when you volunteer your services for an
���Off the Clock��� project.
We, in turn, will do our best to compile these projects into a national database and work to
educate the public on one of the most honorable and fulfilling professions . . . That would be your
profession . . . the landscape profession!
Editor
Bruce Fordyce
bfordyce@landscapeonline.com
Assistant Editor/Education
Michelle Medaris
mmedaris@landscapeonline.com
Assitant Editor/Economic News
Kyle Cavaness
kcavaness@landscapeonline.com
Product Editor
Larry Shield
lshield@landscapeonline.com
Editorial Administrative Assistant
Amy Deane
adeane@landscapeonline.com
Editorial Contributors
Carlos Zarraga, Richard Cohen Landscape; Richard Cohen,
Richard Cohen Landscape; Timothy Grant,
Grant & Power Landscaping
Associate Editors
Associate Editor at Large: David Linstrum
Pesticides
Business Manager, Target-Specialty Products
Will Harrison
Erosion
Executive Director, IECA
Russ Adsit, FASLA
Water Resources
Program Specialist, Texas A&M; University
Dotty Woodson, PhD
Arboriculture/Horticulture
Assistant CE Specialist, University of California Riverside
Deborah Mathews, PhD
Art Director
Nicole Miller
nmiller@landscapeonline.com
Graphic Designer
Matthew Medeiros
mmedeiros@landscapeonline.com
Ad Coordinator
Oliver Calonzo
ocalonzo@landscapeonline.com
Circulation / Fulfillment Manager
Jacqui Argyle
jargyle@landscapeonline.com
Circulation / Fulfillment
Joanne Slaughter
jslaughter@landscapeonline.com
Jacquie Burleson
jburleson@landscapeonline.com
IT Department
Web / Tech Manager
Jerry Short
jshort@landscapeonline.com
Web / Tech Assistant
Mayra Gutierrez
mgutierrez@landscapeonline.com
Chief Operations Officer C.O.O.
Mark O���Halloran
moholloran@landscapeonline.com
Sales Administration
Cynthia McCarthy
cmccarthy@landscapeonline.com
Marcia Owyang
mowyang@landscapeonline.com
Advertising/Marketing
714-979-LASN (5276) x113 ��� 714-979-3543 (Fax)
Advertising Sales
Vince Chavira
vchavira@landscapeonline.com
Matt Henderson
mhenderson@landscapeonline.com
Kip Ongstad
kongstad@landscapeonline.com
Booth/Banner Sales
Vladimir Kostich
vkostich@landscapeonline.com
God bless,
George Schmok, Publisher LC
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LC DBM
DBM
Acts 1:3������After his suffering, he presented himself to them and gave many
convincing proofs that he was alive. He appeared to them over a period of
forty days and spoke about the kingdom of God.���
Landscape Contractor Design Build Maintain and/or the publisher is a member of or
financially supports the following associations: APA, CLCA, The Library of Congress
Association, IAAPA, ASLA, NRPA, National Wildlife Association, IES, IALD, IA, ISA, IECA, BPA,
APLD, National Parks and Conservation Association, IRLA, TPI, National Trust for Historic
Preservation, LAF/CLASS Fund, American Rivers and the American Institute of Architects.