President’s Notes, August 2022

August 27, 2022

by David DeJohn, NHCLP
August 2022

I’m sitting on our porch in Canterbury, and it’s a perfect Sunday summer afternoon. Got a few hours of work in this morning, home by noon in time to get some chores done around the house, and still have time to sit with a beer and write these notes. They’re due today so no long-winded ramble from me this time.
I’d like to thank Jeff Toomey for hosting our first Twilight Meeting of the season at Gale Park in Exeter. It got rave reviews and everyone I talked to who attended enjoyed it very much.

By the time this edition of the Newsletter is out we will have had our second Twilight Meeting hosted by Michael Garrity, owner of Gardenworks, at a private residence in Dunbarton. Mike gave a tour of the extensive gardens and discussed the many challenges that caretaking this property faced. I’m thank you in advance Mike; I look forward to hearing how it went.

At this point I have to apologize to both Jeff and Mike for my absence at both meetings. I have always tried to make it to as many meetings and events as I can, but this year family matters on the west coast have kept me going back and forth, and the timing has been such that I’ve missed the first two. Things should settle down though, and I look forward to seeing everyone at the upcoming Golf Tournament (which will already have happened by the time you’re reading this).

In our industry, which is so weather dependent and has a relatively short window of time to cram in as much work as possible before winter, it can be difficult to find a balance between work and family, something I’m sure we have all struggled with. Family does and always should come first. That has not been an easy lesson for me to learn, but over the last several years I’ve begun to understand that better, and I certainly appreciate how much harder it is for those with kids and starting new families. So with that in mind I would like to first congratulate Scot Flewelling and his wife on the arrival of their baby girl, just a few weeks old now, and to thank Scot for 10 years of service to NHLA. Scot will be stepping down from the Board this fall to concentrate more on his new journey and new family, and rightly so. Scot has been on and contributed to just about every committee and has been a dedicated member of the Board — we really,really appreciate all you’ve done. Good luck and good wishes!

By the way, that appreciation extends to all our Board members, committee coordinators and committee members, especially those of you with newborns, small kids, and teenagers who put in so much time for the Association on top of work and everything else. Thank you for all you do!

You know, when I started out writing this I was going to talk about the H-2B program and my response from Congresswoman Kuster regarding my inquiry into HR 3897, our By-Laws which you have all received in your emails and should read, our up-coming Field Day and other NHLA business but today it ended up being a little bit about family, and there’s always next month to cover the other stuff. So I hope today, on this beautiful Sunday afternoon, that the trucks are parked, the tools are put away, the phone is off for a little while, and that you’re at home, at the beach, the lake, the mountains, or where ever with friends and family.
Enjoy!