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BALTiMORE, Md. – It’s always great to start a new program with a success, and so it was when the Professional Grounds Management Society (PGMS) launched its first Regional Grounds Management Forum & Site Visitation at Arizona State University (ASU), March 8 to 10, in Tempe, Ariz. Designed to bring PGMS educational opportunities closer to more grounds professionals, the Management Forum & Site Visitations feature a series of classroom presentations, a behind-the-scenes tour of a unique facility as well as a tour and management systems review of the host property.
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For the inauguration of these programs, PGMS brought together nearly 50 grounds professionals from more than a dozen states (Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Kansas, Maryland, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Utah), and treated them to an in-depth tour of the Phoenix Zoo, classes on such subjects as “Customer Service,” “Motivating Staff,” “Time Management,” and “Managing a Diverse Workforce;” and a close look at the grounds management systems of ASU.
The entire experience was coordinated by PGMS through its President Ellen Newell, CGM, assistant director of facilities management-ground services at ASU.
| PGMS NOW ACCEPTING GREEN STAR AWARDS ENTRIES | |
BALTIMORE, Md. – The Professional Grounds Management Society (PGMS) is now accepting entries for its 34th annual Green Star Awards. The Green Star Awards program brings national recognition to grounds maintained with a high degree of excellence. The program complements other national landscape award programs that recognize outstanding landscape design and construction. Grounds management professionals can choose among 15 categories ranging from colleges and universities to residential landscaping to multiple sites under the same management company. There are two classes of awards, the Grand and the Honor. Only one Grand Award will be given, while judges may grant as many Honor Awards as they deem deserving. To qualify for entry, a landscape must be at least two years old and under your continuous maintenance for at least two years.
The deadline for entries is Friday, Aug. 4, 2006 and the entry process is simple. Just fill out the entry form and submit the payment and entry to the PGMS office. The cost is only $150 for PGMS members and $225 for others. For a reduced rate of $275, non-members may join PGMS and enter the contest. There is no limit to the number of categories an organization may enter. Only color slides and photographs are accepted, along with brief descriptions of each. There are many elements of the highly recognized contest that may be best depicted in photographs taken throughout the seasons. The awards will be presented during the 2006 PGMS School of Grounds Management held in conjunction with 2006 Green Industry Expo in Columbus, Ohio, from November 1 through 4, 2006. All entries must be submitted to the Professional Grounds Management Awards, c/o Professional Grounds Management Society, 720 Light Street, Baltimore, MD, 21230, 800/609-7467. The Green Star Awards program brings national recognition to grounds maintained with a high degree of excellence. The program complements other national landscape award programs that recognize outstanding landscape design and construction. Further information on the awards, including an official entry form, qualifications, a full listing of categories, and a list of past award winners, is available online at the PGMS Web Site. |
To open the program, Phoenix Zoo Manager of Horticulture Scott Frische led a walking tour through the beautiful, naturally landscaped grounds of the Zoo; pointing out along the way many of the unique horticultural species that are being used to not only add a restful beauty to the site but to endeavor to capture a natural setting for the animal exhibits.
Following the tour of the Zoo, guests returned to their headquarters hotel where they had an opportunity to network at a welcoming reception and review many of the landscaping and grounds management concepts they had seen.
The next morning got underway with four dynamic educational presentations.
Linda Hudson, supervisor of the customer service department at Utah State University opened the classes with her presentation “The How’s and Why’s of Customer Service.”
Following Hudson’s presentation, ASU Director of Facilities Management Polly Pinney addressed “Motivating Staff.” Using materials developed by APPA, the Association of Higher Education Facilities Officers, Pinney defined motivation as “the process of satisfying internal needs through actions and behavior,” and, like Hudson, stressed that people are the point and that “you get what you reward.”
After Pinney’s motivating discussion, Villanova University Supervisor of Grounds, Kevin O’Donnell, took over the classroom with his “Time Management” presentation.
“Stop procrastinating,” O’Donnell stressed. “Remember, once begun, half done.”
From Kevin’s time management techniques session, Pinney returned to address “Diversity in the Workforce.”
Four hours of class studies completed, the PGMS students journeyed to the ASU Grounds Operations offices in order to initiate a three-and-a-half hour tour of the vast campus and a look at many of the grounds maintenance challenges facing the 68-person Sun Devils crew.
In all, the first PGMS Regional Grounds Management Forum & Site Visitation was a dynamic success and plans are now underway for the Society to achieve its goal of having one such forum each year in each of its six membership regions.
PGMS North East Regional Director Michael Loftus, assistant director of facilities management, at the University of Delaware in Newark, Del., will coordinate the next program in late June. Further details will be announced shortly at www.pgms.org.