Michigan Association Experiences Revisions

In an effort to more accurately represent its membership, the Metropolitan Detroit Landscape Association (MDLA) recently changed its name to the Michigan Green Industry Association. The name swap resulted from growing association reach outside of the metro Detroit area and throughout the entire state, said Diane Andrews, executive director of the Bingham Farms, Mich.-based organization. “We have been talking about the name change for about three to five years,” she said. “Our membership has grown phenomenally and we’re no longer just in metro Detroit.”

In addition, association members felt that the term “landscape” may not reflect the organization’s varied membership, especially to residential customers. “The homeowner doesn’t know that ‘landscape’ includes everything,” Andrews noted. Instead, the association chose the term “green industry,” a catch-all phrase that has become a “hot-button” issue in the industry, Andrews continued.

The MDLA was formed in 1960 and currently includes about 750 members, Andrews said. These members include many green industry segments, including landscape design and construction, lawn maintenance, arborists, irrigation, lawn spray contractors, snow removal contractors, nursery professionals, suppliers and municipalities.

Now that the association has state-wide influence, MDLA will begin offering the Associated Landscape Contractors of America (ALCA) Certified Landscape Technician (CLT) program to members. Thus far, member feedback regarding the CLT training has been extremely favorable, Andrews related.

Ultimately, the association hopes the name change will draw more green industry professionals who want to heighten their education, since the organization is no longer limited to a particular regional area, Andrews stated. “We wanted to expand because we are doing a lot of good things,” she said.

The author is Assistant Editor – Internet of Lawn & Landscape magazine and can be reached at kmohn@gie.net.