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8 April 2015 Landscape and Irrigation www.landscapeirrigation.com INDUSTRY NEWS Introducing the National Association of Landscape Professionals Who is the National Association of Landscape Professionals (NALP)? It isn't exactly the new kid on the block. If you have been in the industry for a while, you have probably gone to or heard about GIE+EXPO and the Green Industry Conference. You might have heard about Legislative Day on the Hill or Renewal & Re- membrance, the volunteer event at Arlington National Cemetery, or you might have heard of Student Career Days, the largest re- cruiting event in the industry. For the past decade, the Professional Landcare Network, or PLANET as it is more commonly known, has quietly worked with its members to organize some of the biggest events in the industry, as well as manage the Landscape Industry Certified designation and provide a range of education for landscape industry business- es. The organization has just undergone a yearlong rebranding ef- fort, and is poised to take center stage as the National Association of Landscape Professionals in April. "Though our events and education have always been well re- spected, we felt we were not reaching as many people as we could with the name PLANET," said Sabeena Hickman, CEO, National Association of Landscape Professionals. PLANET was formed in 2005 when the Associated Landscape Contractors of America and the Professional Lawn Care Associa- tion of America merged to create the national trade association, representing all different types of landscape industry companies. While the name Professional Landcare Network was creative and represented the idea of being inclusive of everyone in the in- dustry, the association found that it wasn't strong or clear enough with the public, media and legislative audiences. Even some land- scape contractors didn't realize that PLANET was the national trade association for the industry. "With the new name, we will help raise the visibility of the in- dustry and let the public know that our members are well-educat- ed professionals, and that what they do is vital to people's lives," said Jim McCutcheon, president, National Association of Land- scape Professionals. "It is time for the industry to get the recogni- tion it deserves for providing nearly one million jobs and creating healthy environments that have immense social, environmental and economic benefits." The NALP is a national trade association, which means the membership is by company, and all employees of the company are able to access the education and resources the association provides. Currently, the NALP represents 100,000 landscape professionals at companies that specialize in landscape maintenance, tree care, irri- gation and water management, lawn care, and interior plantscap- ing, as well as consultant members, equipment manufacturers and other companies that supply products and services to the industry. Association membership also includes faculty and students at sev- eral colleges and universities nationwide that have landscape and horticulture programs, as well as state associations. Like most national trade associations, the NALP focuses on government relations: lobbying against laws and regulations that negatively impact the industry, and promoting fair legislation. The association also works on big-picture issues, such as trying to recruit more qualified employees into the industry, raising the visibility of and respect for the industry, and increasing profes- sionalism through education and the Landscape Industry Certi- fied designation. "Everything we do is with our members' businesses in mind," said Scott Jamieson, the incoming NALP president. "We develop education and mentoring programs that help companies at every level, and with smarter and more profitable companies comes a stronger, more powerful industry." The association's rebranding was a yearlong process done in conjunction with strategic planning. It included extensive mem- ber research, and allowed the leadership to look closely at the programs and services it was providing to members and evaluate whether it was on the right track. "We have always provided a number of events, education, re- sources and services to our members — much more than most as- sociations provide," said Hickman. "What we found through this process is that we are providing programs and services members want, but we need to double down and focus more strongly on some core areas and make them better." The core areas of focus for the NALP are education, advocacy and professionalism. "We are now looking at all of our educational offerings as part of one big knowledge platform. We have always provided educa- tion and publications on safety, human resources, financial plan- ning, sales and marketing, etc., but now we are looking at it as a whole platform and ensuring that we provide all the knowledge that landscape industry companies need at every level of their growth." Advocacy has always been a focus of the association. NALP's Director of Government Relations, Tom Delaney is a regular col- umnist in Landscape and Irrigation. The association works with a lobbying firm to track and fight negative regulations that impact landscape businesses, including pesticide bans, employment issues like H-2B, pesticide and water regulations like National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permits, and Waters of the United States (WOTUS) legislation that could require permits While the name Professional Landcare Network was creative and represented the idea of being inclusive of everyone in the industry, the associa- tion found that it wasn't strong or clear enough with the public, media and legislative audiences.