More than 200 attendees recently gathered in Atlanta, for the second annual Lawn Care Summit. This national lawn care forum was jointly hosted by the Professional Landcare Network (PLANET) and the National Pest Management Association (NPMA).

Second annual Lawn Care Summit draws more than 200 attendees

More than 200 attendees recently gathered in Atlanta, for the second annual Lawn Care Summit. This national lawn care forum was jointly hosted by the Professional Landcare Network (PLANET) and the National Pest Management Association (NPMA).


Dual educational tracks covered both technical and management topics of interest, such as how to plan your company’s marketing from infancy to maturity, employment issues, weed management programs for lawns, the future of turfgrass in the landscape, and debugging the myths, to name just a few.


The opening session, “Lawn Care Lessons to Share” was led by a panel of lawn care experts who spoke about several of their most valued business and life lessons. They shared what they have discovered as “best practices” when it comes to hiring, training, marketing, management, motivation, customer retention, and business development, as well as mistakes they have made and the important lessons that resulted.


Evening receptions and daytime gatherings provided ample time for peer networking and the opportunity to learn about products and services available to the lawn care industry. Networking Lounges, where products and services were showcased, were sponsored by Agrium Advanced Technologies, Dow AgroSciences, DuPont Professional Products, EverGreen Software by Marathon Data Systems, Holganix, Quali-Pro®, Real Green Systems, and Spring Valley.


“This was a great opportunity to network with colleagues out of my service area. Despite my 30 plus years in the business, I have learned something new that I have implemented in my business in both years attending the Lawn Care Summit, both agronomic and business-wise,” says attendee Mark Schlossberg, Landscape Industry Certified Manager, of Pro-Lawn-Plus, Inc., Baltimore, Maryland. “All lawn care and pest control operators should make it a priority to attend the Summit in 2011.”


PLANET is the association of members who create and maintain the QUALITY OF LIFE in communities across America. With nearly 3,500 member companies and affiliates, these firms and their employees represent more than 100,000 green industry professionals. Some of these professionals have taken the extra step of becoming certified through PLANET and bear the distinction of being known as Landscape Industry Certified.