by David DeJohn, NHCLP
October-November 2022

As unbelievable as it is, it’s now officially fall. We still have a good couple of months to continue on and hopefully complete projects, but we’re getting to that time of year when anything can happen with the weather and the pressure is on even more to get things done before winter sets in.

It was a crazy summer again, way too busy and it went way too fast, but I appreciate that many of you took advantage of the Twilight Meetings that were held in June, July, and August. Jeff Toomey of Read’s Custom Soils gave a presentation at Gale Memorial Park in Exeter that was very well attended as was Mike Garrity’s tour in July of a spectacular garden in Dunbarton. Chris Maroun, owner of Miracle Farms in Moultonborough greeted NHLA members at one of their projects on Lake Winnipesaukee in Tuftonboro on August 30, and that was a great way to close out the Twilight Meeting season. This amazing 2 million dollar project, now close to completion, has been in progress for the last year and a half and included pool installation, construction of a cabana, physically moving an existing cabin from one spot to another, a new septic system, a beautiful dry laid granite retaining wall, paver driveway, gardens, and a Bocchi Ball court. Thank you to Chris and his crew for the delicious food they set out and for their generosity and openness to share information about the job and their business. Their easy going style allowed for lots of questions and the discussion could have gone on for a lot longer if it hadn’t started to get dark. This was truly what a Twilight Meeting is all about, as they all were: a chance to talk with peers, compare notes, and see some amazing work.

If any of you would like to host a Twilight Meeting or have an idea for a Twilight Meeting please contact our Education Committee Coordinator, Mike Barwell, at mikebarwell@yahoo.com

After many months of planning our first all day outdoor event was, from all accounts, quite successful. Our September 14 Field Day was a huge effort planned and put together by everyone on the Board as well as Pam and Jim Moreau, Mike Barwell, and Annette Zamarchi. Truly a team effort, and it showed.

Held at Shaker Village in Canterbury it was a beautiful day in a beautiful setting. Other than a couple of Pop-up tent casualties due to the wind, things went more or less according to plan and the classes and talks were well attended. Thank you to everyone who gave their time to give talks and demonstrations and of course thank you to all of our vendors who so generously and continuously give NHLA your support through sponsorship and purchasing booth space.

Now that our first attempt at an event like this has come and gone, we will take what we learned from it and will soon begin planning for next year and place it among our annual events. As it is one of our bigger events and takes a lot of planning we can certainly use more help with it. Ideas for talks, speakers, venue location, and feedback on what we got right and what we didn’t are always appreciated. If you can give some time and would be willing to volunteer to be on the Education Committee to help plan for the Field Day, Twilight Meetings, Dinner Meetings and the other educational opportunities we offer, then please contact Mike Barwell.

As we move forward with ideas for the opportunities mentioned above, we are discussing the idea of offering two tracks for learning., one geared toward the practical day-to-day for employees, foreman, and those in the field and one geared toward, owners, managers, and supervisors.

Again, let us know what topics you are interested in and what you would find useful to help make your businesses even more successful. In the mean time plan on attending our upcoming November 8 Dinner Meeting to be held at North Point Outdoors in Derry where the topic will be small engine repair. This hands-on discussion and demonstration will be led by North Point Outdoor Fleet manager Chris Baker, so don’t miss this practical and informative evening.

Well that’s about it for now. Good luck in the remaining few months of 2022. I hope you have a busy and successful fall season!