Landscape and Irrigation is read by decision makers throughout the landscape and irrigation markets — including contractors, landscape architects, professional grounds managers, and irrigation and water mgmt companies and reaches the entire spetrum.
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Special Feature make it a "wow" show," he said. "It has to be exciting every year. We have to continue to keep the show fresh. We have to keep our exhibitors and suppliers bringing new products, and be innovative in showing those off. We have to keep our education up to date and timely. We have to keep the show exciting, so those people who are coming back year after year have something different to see every year. And we are somewhat handicapped because we are going to be in Louisville, and we are contracted there several years out. So we have to do it by making the show exciting rather than trying to change it by adding different venues." In addition to his efforts regarding GIE+EXPO, Grossi has also taken the lead in driving irrigation as a specialty group within PLANET. "One of the big issues for the future is water," said Grossi. "It is a critical issue not only for certain parts of the country, but for regulatory agencies. Those water issues are not going to go away. Being involved with those issues is important for PLANET and our industry." According to Grossi, more than half of PLANET's members are involved in the irrigation market — servicing, installing, or controlling irrigation systems. "So there was a real need for PLANET to set up a way to get involved with the regulatory committees to control water for the future and be sure our story is told; but also to educate our members on the good use of water and help them from a business sense in their landscaping and irrigation businesses," he said. "It just made a lot of sense for PLANET to get involved with water management and irrigation." Early influences Grossi has been an influential leader in the Green Industry at the local, state and national levels for several decades. But he did not start his career in the lawn care, landscape or irrigation markets. After graduating from Michigan State University, Grossi and his business partner, Ed Dudgeon, went into the property care business, handling janitorial sales, as well as managing and maintaining condominium projects. "We dealt with some landscaping and irrigation folks, and our difficulty getting good contractors turned us into contractors ourselves," said Grossi. "Back in the mid-1970s, we started doing landscaping work and landscape management work." In the 1990s, the company dropped out of the full-service landscape maintenance business and focused on lawn care and irrigation businesses, and also transitioned more from the commercial market to the residential market. Lawn care, irrigation and holiday lighting/décor are the company's core businesses today. For Grossi, the things that have made him successful are business processes such as building the right model; making the model something they like to do; and then putting structure to it, building it, and hiring the right people. "I have tried to build a team effort with our company where our managers are very involved in the day-to-day decisions and our strategic planning for the future," he said. "When you engage people and you build the processes, you have a successful recipe." 12 Landscape and Irrigation January 2013 According to Grossi, other keys to his success are the people he has met in this industry and the subsequent networking opportunities. "It has resulted in personal development on my side," he said. "I have grown from it. I have learned from it. That is the biggest part of my involvement with the associations. I did it to help our industry and help myself, but I have certainly learned a lot through my involvement with other people like myself. The sharing and exchanging of ideas is something that needs to be done to be successful — not only business-wise, but also personally." Grossi would like to see other industry professionals get involved with associations at the local, state and national levels. "We are still somewhat fractured in this industry," he said. "There are a lot of people in this industry who are not members of PLANET.We can come together better to tell our story and promote it in a better way. We have to do a better job in painting that future for our industry.There is a lot of work to do, and hopefully I can help." * Note: PLCAA merged with the Associated Landscape Contractors of America in 2005 to form PLANET. Michael Neal Manager of forestry and special programs at Arizona Public Service Michael Neal has been the manager of forestry and special programs at APS since the mid-1990s. Responsible for managing the vegetation along more than 30,000 miles of transmission and distribution lines statewide, he supervises and coordinates the work of in-house foresters and contract line-clearance crews. In addition to vegetation management, he oversees the utility's landscape maintenance and wildlife protection programs, and implements safety and education programs to internal and external customers. Neal became the president (now chairman) of the Tree Research and Education Endowment Fund (TREE Fund) in 2011. He is a tireless champion of the TREE Fund, and publicly encourages the support of arboriculture research and education as an alternative to random planting of trees without a plan for their longterm care. Among his many affiliations and accomplishments, Neal is past president of the International Society of Arboriculture, past president of the Utility Arborist Association, and past president of Arizona Community Tree Council. "I have been influenced by all of these organizations," said Neal. "I have used what I learned from these groups to improve the importance of professionalism in our industry. I have always promoted the need for quality arborists, continuing education and the need for research." With regard to his involvement with the TREE Fund, Neal said that research has directly contributed to his professional development, and is essential to the development of arborists. www.landscapeirrigation.com