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Irrigation at the Forefront
6 January/February 2015 Landscape and Irrigation www.landscapeirrigation.com
The 2014 Irrigation Show was held Nov. 19-
20 in Phoenix, and was full of networking,
education, news, and, of course, innovations
for the irrigation industry.
In terms of innovations, a record number
of new products were nominated for the
Irrigation Show New Product Awards
competition. Our full recap of the products
from both the Landscape/Golf category and
the new Lighting category can be found on
page 20.
Incoming Irrigation Association (IA)
President Aric Olson (of Jain Irrigation, Inc.)
said that advocacy for our industry is one
reason the IA is so important. "You can't just
bring California irrigation solutions to Texas,"
said Olson. He urged industry professionals
to participate in state governmental affairs
programs, volunteer to help draft on IA public
affairs campaigns, and on a technical level to
help review changing standards and codes.
The keynote speaker at Irrigation Show
2014 was Dr. Lowell Catlett, New Mexico State
University, College of Agricultural, Consumer
& Environmental Sciences. Catlett, a futurist
and economist, provided an engaging
and entertaining look at how technology,
innovation, changing demographics, and
new consumer expectations will drive future
growth in agriculture, manufacturing, services
and more. Catlett presented an optimistic
view of things and positively upbeat
predictions. If you didn't make it to Irrigation
Show 2014, I recommend that you check out
some of Catlett's presentations on YouTube.
Also at the show, IA announced the
winners of its 2014 awards, which honor
individuals and organizations that have made
significant contributions to the irrigation
industry.
The award recipients are:
Crawford Reid Memorial Award: James
"Jim" Roberts (awarded posthumously)
Industry Achievement Award: Richard
Reinders, Reinders, Inc. (Elm Grove, Wis.)
National Water & Energy Conservation
Award: Southern Nevada Water Authority
(Las Vegas)
Partner of the Year: Denne Goldstein,
Irrigation & Green Industry (Reseda, Calif.)
Person of the Year Award: Lawrence
Schwankl, Ph.D., University of California,
Agriculture and Natural Resources (Visalia,
Calif.)
In addition, The Irrigation Foundation
named 13 outstanding students and faculty
as winners of the 2014 Irrigation E3 Program.
The winners received an all-expenses-paid trip
to the Irrigation Show.
"E3 had a record number of applicants this
year, and we've seen a growing interest in the
program since its inception," said Foundation
Manager Janine Sparrowgrove. "We're excited
that this year's E3 learners and leaders will
have the opportunity to network with the
best-of-the-best in Phoenix."
There is plenty more about the Irrigation
Show than I can recap here, including an
engaging presentation by Michael V. Geary of
AmericanHort about the State of the Green
Industry. Information about that presentation
can be found on page 8 of this issue.
I would also like to offer my sincere thanks
to the Irrigation Association for its continued
support. Without the help and efforts of the
association, it would be extremely difficult for
members of the trade press to spread the word
about the future of irrigation.
For more information about the Irrigation
Show, visit www.irrigationshow.org.
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