by Andrew Pelkey January 2024 The days are long, but the years are short… Perspective is certainly interesting. Those with kids have probably heard this saying a time or two and we all know it to be true. The same for our professional careers. In our industry the days are certainly long, and when we finally come up for air another season or in this case another year has come to a close. January is a perfect month for reflection in your personal and professional lives. In my personal experience I let our industry get the best of me for several years dealing with a face paced growth. It took a toll on my mental and physical health. About 18 months ago, I said enough was enough, and I worked to deal with the stress and get in better shape. Doing so has made a tremendous difference in both my personal and professional lives. I share this with you because I know I am not alone and in hopes that maybe there are one or two of you reading this who might be inspired to do the same. My ability to perform for my family and my NPO team is[...]

by Andrew Pelkey December 2023 As I am writing this month’s notes in early November, we’re coming from a beautiful 70-degree weekend and into a 40-degree high the following day. The end of the green season is soon approaching. One of the things that has always attracted me to our industry is the variety in seasonal change. Spring, summer, fall, and winter all provide different experiences. The beauty of the change is seemingly when you are getting tired of one season you are into the next! Your NHLA team is hard at work as we transition into the winter. We’re committed to continuing to enhance our education offerings as we go into the “off-season.” A “two-track” offering is in place to offer educational opportunities to both our members who are owners and those who are field team members. This approach is in place to maximize our membership’s learning opportunities on both fronts of our industry. We’re excited to continue to add new events and topics to these offerings in 2024! As we work towards these new educational opportunities, we do want to hear from you, our members. Please reach out to one of us on the Board, in person or[...]

by Andrew Pelkey October-November 2023 Our 2nd Annual Field Day was a success! We saw roughly 40% growth in attendee registration and 20% or so growth in vendor support. It’s certainly rewarding to see this event grow. It was nice to have numerous conversations with owners, team members, and vendors throughout the day, sharing our current approach to growing the Association. I think the time is ripe for big steps forward! Be sure to check out the full write-up on the event (pages 16,17,19) and if you missed it this year, make sure you attend next year! Our new website has gone live, and we are working to make final edits and tweaks. The new site is the first step towards updating our approach on how we as an Association communicate our to our members and prospective members. We’re working diligently to being to have a presence on various social media platforms to enhance our reach to the green industry. Our November Dinner Meeting is scheduled for Thursday the 9th. Jason Andrews, the president at Gallo & Associates will lead a talk on improving your sales skills and techniques. I see a great deal of value in this event. Most[...]

by Andrew Pelkey September 2023 It was a record-breaking year for our Annual NHLA Golf Tournament! Registration filled up in less than two weeks. Between vendors and raffles, this year was our highest earning year to date. These funds will continue to be used toward increasing our Association’s offerings and bringing more value to all of you. A very special thanks to both Jim and Pam Moreau for their continued efforts in organizing the tournament! This event was made possible by great vendor sponsors. See your September Newsletter for a list of sponsors. Next on our event calendar will be our Second Annual NHLA Field Day held at the Belknap County Fairgrounds on September 20. This year we expect to offer more value through credits and training, access to more vendors, and in-field training opportunities. I’m looking forward to seeing this event continue to grow and provide more value to our membership! August marks the middle of the green season here in NH. It’s certainly, a good time to evaluate how you and your team are performing so far this season, allowing for changes to be made for the second half of the season. Understanding your numbers is essential regardless[...]

by Andrew Pelkey August 2023 Mid-Summer slump… Speaking from my personal experience in the landscape industry, August tends to be a slower time. For those of you on the landscape maintenance side of things, spring clean-ups, mulch, and flowers are done, and you’re finishing up the last of your summer pruning and settled into weekly mowing and bed maintenance. Commercially speaking, enhancements tend to see a slump unless you were able to push some of that work off to this time of year. On the installation side of things, hopefully your schedule is booked from the busy spring inflow, but sales during the month of August tend to be a bit slower due to a few factors. One main component is that your clients are taking their summer vacations and spending time with the kids while they are off on school break. Maybe you would like to follow suit and use this month to relax and regroup. Or maybe, you are like me and like to use this time to catch up and reengage in things you didn’t have time for during the busy season. From a sales perspective, it’s a perfect time to start talking about fall services with[...]

by Andrew Pelkey July 2023 The NHLA Board of Directors, consultants, and volunteers have been busy the past month planning and coordinating our second annual Field Day in September. We are excited to offer this event for the second year while also growing its offerings and audience. This year should be fantastic, and I hope to see you all there! The American writer William S. Burroughs is credited with the quote “If you’re not growing, you're dying.” Our Association made it through Covid with some bumps and bruises. And we’re determined to grow the membership above and beyond where it’s been in years past. We plan to achieve this through various avenues, such as enhanced programs and new events and offerings, along with improved website and social media marketing efforts. We are focused on growing the membership and developing our offerings simultaneously, providing as much education and as many resources to our members and the local landscape industry as possible. We are initiating a “two-track path” to improve our resources for the membership. The first path is one the Association has mostly concentrated on in the past, with educational events and resources focused on the field skill sets for the[...]

by Andrew Pelkey June 2023 As I write these notes for the June addition we are amidst the “spring rush” or as some in the industry call “the hundred days of hell.” Which, when written out, seems a bit drastic, but we can all relate. If you are in the Green Industry for your living, it doesn’t matter if you a are single owner operator or have 100 team members under you, the stress is equal and real for all of us. When things get busy, it’s natural to focus on the immediate work in front of you and more difficult to focus on bigger-picture thinking. During this first year as NHLA president, as we’ve worked through the spring, it’s been a bit overwhelming to submit these notes on time along with my other duties as a Board member. I also know that all of the other Board members and volunteers for the Association are in the same boat. It is a good opportunity to thank each and everyone person that helps NHLA provide the resources to you folks. On that this front, we have plenty of items in the works for this year. In May we have a sprayer[...]

by Andrew Pelkey May 2023 It seems fitting to use my first edition of presidents notes to introduce my self to the NHLA community, express my intentions, and share my approach. My name is Andrew Pelkey. Newly elected NHLA President. I am the co-owner of North Point Outdoors based out of Derry, NH. Were a commercially based landscape maintenance and snow company with residential offerings in turf care, irrigation, and design build. I have been in the landscape industry since 2006. Potentially like many of you, I started in this industry with no formal education focused on the Green Industry but do have my associate degree in business management. I’m married with a 4-year-old daughter, and a 1-year-old son. To say my days are busy as a business owner, husband, and dad may be an understatement, but I think many of you are all in the same boat and I wouldn’t have it any other way! I currently sit on the Board of Directors for the National Roads and Fuel Association (NARFA) as president. This is where the recent connection and endorsement was made to connect the NHLA to NARFA and provide a streamlined process for members of the NHLA[...]

by David DeJohn, NHCLP March - April 2023 Well, here I am once again at this point I’ve been to twice before, writing my last President’s Notes for the Newsletter. As the restrictions of the pandemic fade further into the past and our ability to return to a more normal way of doing things becomes greater, I can’t thank the Board of NHLA enough for staying strong and focused on moving NHLA forward. I’m proud of what we have accomplished over the last couple of years and look forward to seeing where the next year, with new leadership and new, younger board members takes us. This Association has been around now for forty or so years, and its primary mission remains the same to this day — to educate our members and help them maintain the highest standards of the landscape industry. 40 years is a long time though, and it’s easy over that period of time to resist change and to break old habits. Over the last few years, however, “we’ve never done it that way before” has given way to “we should try that,” and that sentiment is only getting stronger among this most current Board members. In[...]

by David DeJohn, NHCLP February 2023 You would think that for as many times now that I’ve had to sit down and write something for this column that it would come easy, but it doesn’t. I mean, I make notes and jot down ideas for topics as they come up. I read the newsletter I get from the National Association of Landscape Professionals for information that might be relevant to pass on. And of course, there’s always NHLA news to report. I swear though, the minute I sit down at this desk to write something, it all just goes away and I end up staring at a blank page for way too long. Then I suddenly remember that I have to fill the bird feeders! Not later, not tomorrow. I mean right now! And when was the last time I cleaned out my truck? That certainly can’t wait any longer! Then there’s the wood stove to be filled, and the dog is staring at me, so maybe we should walk down and get the mail from our mailbox that’s conveniently a half mile away, and from the look in her eyes it’s imperative that we go right now! Any excuse[...]