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4 Landscape and Irrigation January/February 2014 www.landscapeirrigation.com IRRIGATION ASSOCIATION ANNOUNCES 2013 – 2016 BOARD OF DIRECTORS The Irrigation Association (IA) elected three new members to serve on its 2013 – 2016 board of directors. The new directors are: * Jeff Lanahan, senior vice president, John Deere Landscapes (Troy, Mich.) * Chris Roth, president, Reinke Man- ufacturing Co., Inc. (Deshler, Neb.) * Ed Santalone, CEO/president, At- lantic Irrigation Specialties, Inc. (White Plains, N.Y.) Lanahan, Roth and Santalone assumed their new roles on the board immediately following the 2013 Irrigation Show and Education Conference, Nov. 4–8, in Austin, Texas. Leadership transitions within the board also took effect at this time, with directors assuming the follow- ing positions: * President: Warren Thoma, Warren Thoma and Associates, LLC (Crystal Lake, Ill.) * President-elect: Aric J. Olson, CAIS, CID, Jain Irrigation, Inc. (Fresno, Calif.) * Vice president: Jay Robbins II, PE, CAIS, CID, Irrigation-Mart, Inc. (Rustin, La.) * Treasurer: Greg Hunter, Hunter In- dustries (San Marcos, Calif.) * Immediate past president: Robert D. Dobson, CIC, CID, Middletown Sprinkler Company (Port Monmouth, N.J.) "Our volunteer and staff team have done an incredible job setting us up for success in the years to come," said IA Pres- ident Warren Thoma. "In 2014, we plan to follow through on our revised mission of promoting efficient irrigation while work- ing toward our vision of being the recog- nized authority on irrigation." OPEI EXPANDS BATTERY/ ELECTRIC INITIATIVES The Outdoor Power Equipment Institute (OPEI), an international trade association representing 100 small-engine, utility ve- hicle and outdoor power equipment man- ufacturers and suppliers, announced that it is ramping up its regulatory, standards and market reporting and statistics efforts to meet the unique needs of the corded elec- tric and battery product segments. In recent months, OPEI welcomed sev- eral new battery/electric companies to its membership, including iRobot, Positec, Stanley Black & Decker Inc. and Sunrise Global Marketing; and John Cunningham, president of the Consumer Products Group at Stanley Black & Decker, recently joined the 2013-2014 OPEI Board of Di- rectors. To help the industry have a voice in regulatory and standards development, OPEI also formed an Electric Products Committee, currently led by representa- tives from Stanley Black & Decker and Techtronic Industries, N.A. The OPEI Electric Products Commit- tee is tasked with coordinating with the In- ternational Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) on standards for battery/electric products for international markets, as well as regional adoptions for the North Amer- ican market. The committee members are given an opportunity to participate, review, and provide input in the development of product standards. The first order of business has been the development of the first-ever OPEI/ANSI standard for an electric robotic mower. Fourteen member company representatives are currently reviewing IEC standards for electric robotic mowers and identifying modifications for the North American market. Projects are underway to develop standards for battery/electric chain saws, lawn hedge trimmers and lawn trimmers. "The formation of our Electric Prod- ucts Committee not only addresses the unique needs of battery/electric products, but it also allows us to harmonize require- ments between fuel-powered, corded and battery products on a global basis," said Kris Kiser, president and CEO of OPEI. As sales and demand for battery/ electric-driven outdoor power equipment increases, OPEI is expanding its market sta- tistics collection to capture and track the growth of this product segment. Current reports for OPEI members in- clude monthly shipment data for battery/electric blowers and walk-behind rotary mowers. Future reporting is planned to include battery/electric snow throwers, chain saws, string trimmers, and hedge trimmers. "We're proud that OPEI has become the go-to place for reliable, timely statistical information and shipment data for our in- dustry," added Kiser. "Our commitment to reporting will only grow in 2014 as we add more battery/electric products, and as we strike out on a joint effort with our Euro- pean partners to collect meaningful global data." ASIC 2014 NATIONAL CONFERENCE ANNOUNCED With a theme of Taking Charge of Change: Explore-Engage-Execute, the American Society of Irrigation Consult- ants (ASIC) is taking its 2014 National Conference to the venerable Benson Hotel in Portland, Ore. The conference, set for April 26-28, is open to ASIC members, as well as non-members. ASIC conferences have brought to- gether innovative irrigation design profes- sionals, leaders from allied organizations and representatives from the leading equip- ment manufacturers and suppliers for more than 40 years. The informal atmosphere of the conference encourages collaboration and exploration of forward-thinking solu- tions for the responsible use and preserva- tion of water resources. The conference committee, chaired by Brian Vinchesi of Irrigation Consulting, Inc., is planning an outstanding educational program including wide-ranging topics such as fusible PVC, collaborative PDF drawing management tools, telemetry and irrigating structured and lightweight soils. In addition, sessions on marketing and business operations and discussions on cur- rent and pending Standards and Codes will be part of the program. As in the past, the conference will com- mence with the Bob Cloud Memorial Golf Tournament, which will be held at the Robert Trent Jones II-designed Heron Lakes Golf Course. For those who choose not to golf, at least one tour will be planned for that afternoon, Saturday, April 26. The welcome reception is planned for Saturday night, and the educational pro- grams will be presented through the day on Sunday and Monday, April 27 and 28. Monday night's annual banquet, including the presentation of the Sam Tobey and Roy Williams Awards, is annually a conference highlight. Industry News