After more than a decade of service, Jim Novak, communications manager of Turfgrass Producers International (TPI), has announced his retirement effective May 31.
During his tenure with TPI, Novak created a series of educational brochures on lawn care, drafted numerous articles for trade publications on the benefits of natural grass, handled press releases, created PowerPoint presentations for TPI’s conferences and conventions, provided speechwriting, scriptwriting and copywriting support, created and produced video presentations and introduced TPI’s enewsletter, noted for its timely information, current association events, personal stories about members and often times light-hearted satire.
“Jim has always provided excellent words and writings to promote natural grass. What he has written and created will be used for many years to come to continue to promote the remarkable value of natural grass. His ability to make people smile and be truly encouraged and inspired are just a few of his many wonderful attributes that I admire!" stated Linda Bradley of Turf Mountain Sod and TPI’s current president.
A native Chicagoan, Novak was a writer/producer/director at WGN-Radio Chicago early in his career and later served as an independent communications consultant for over 20 years. His writing earned him numerous awards during his career including the prestigious George Washington Honor Medal from Valley Forge; he is a two-time New York International Television & Film Awards Silver Award recipient; received the Telly Award for non-broadcast scriptwriting, and in 2016 he was the recipient of two awards from the Turf & Ornamental Communicators Association (TOCA) for TPI-related articles.
TPI Vice President, Jimmy Fox of Evergreen Turf, Inc., said “Jim’s passion for thoroughly researching a subject, then communicating that in words is such a special gift. The awards he received from his peers the last few years are testament to his talent. There is not a greater honor than to be recognized by the best in your field, and he has earned such respect.”