2002 Leadership Awards: Sam Farison

This year marks the fourth year in which Chipco Professional Products and Lawn & Landscape magazine have partnered to recognize those professionals in the industry whose personal contributions have contributed to the industry’s development. These individuals will be honored at a reception to be held at this year’s Green Industry Expo in Nashville, Tenn. A new member of the 2002 Leadership Class will be announced at Lawn & Landscape Online every Monday and Thursday between now at then.  

Sam Farison understands that actions speak louder than words. He isn’t one to brag, but those who have worked with him defending the industry against various legislative challenges know that his time and talents speak volumes about him.

Sam’s first steps into the political arena were close to home. In 1992 he joined the Kentucky Turfgrass Council (KTC), a research and educational foundation with predominant interests in golf course maintenance, grounds maintenance, athletic turf and lawn care. “I ran to just be on the board, and quickly, the next thing I knew I was the president of KTC, and at that time there were some issues with ground water,” he remembers.

Pressure from the state to institute ground water regulations sparked a “hot issue,” and Sam worked with the water division to write a set of best management practices. “I was part of that process – I wasn’t the main guy in it by any stretch of the imagination,” he’s quick to point out.

Then came posting and prenotification in the late 1980s, and Sam’s involvement in KTC deepened. “I learned firsthand how regulations were made and how they are passed,” he says. “I was actually kind of scared of how some regulations are passed. You want to be a part of how they are passed so you can avoid overreguation.”

After an intense, but inspiring, introduction to legislative involvement, Sam leveled his legislative concerns by participating on a national level in PLCAA, eventually serving as director. “I just moved right up as a natural progression,” he describes, noting that his state involvement built a solid foundation. He has attended every GIE show, served as its president in 1999 and after more than 10 years of industry politics under his belt, he is spending his first season “in recess.”

Reflecting on association involvement, Sam’s enthusiasm seeps through his every word. He is an industry advocate, and when he speaks of the professionals he met, the friendships he forged and the experience he earned by listening and learning from others, he speaks like a beaming father.

“I found working for the association very gratifying,” he says. “I take great pride in being part of the regulatory activity at the state level. There was a real void there – no one was willing to step up and tackle [the posting issues], and be there and go to the meetings, and put the time in that it needed, and though it took a lot of time, after it was all over and it was successful and we came out with something good, I was very proud of the fact that I was part of the process.”