Project EverGreen Elects 2005 Leaders

Project EverGreen welcomes new officers to its board of directors for 2005, including newly elected President Paul McDonough of LESCO. Other officers elected include Cindy Code of Lawn & Landscape magazine as first vice president; Chris Kujawa of landscape architecture and maintenance firm Kujawa Enterprises, as second vice president; Bill Klutho of John Deere Worldwide Commercial & Consumer Equipment Division as secretary; and Tom Delaney of the Professional Landcare Network as treasurer.

Also elected to the board were:
Cynthia Amos – The Irrigation Association
Scott Frith – Lawn Doctor
Norman Goldenberg – TruGreen ChemLawn
Bruce Hunt – The Brickman Group
Chris Schmenk – The Scotts Co.
Gary Trinetti – The Garick Corp.
Jeff Bollig – Golf Course Superintendents Association of America
Sandra Burns – The Davey Tree Expert Co.
Ron Johnson – Syngenta
Rich Kalik – BASF
Anita Matlock – The Toro Co. (Irrigation)
Steve Trusty – Trusty & Associates
Kristin Van Veen – Responsible Industry for a Sound Environment (RISE)
David Zerfoss – Husqvarna
Tom Hofer – Spring-Green
Tim Maniscalo – Dow AgroSciences
Kirk Hunter – Turfgrass Producers International

Immediate Past President Phil Fogarty of Weed Man USA cites McDonough as an excellent choice to lead the organization in 2005.

“Paul was a tremendous choice as a co-chair of Project EverGreen in 2004, and he has a lot of great ideas,” Fogarty said. “ In 2004 we introduced Project EverGreen to the green industry, and now Paul will help us achieve our new goals and communicate our mission to the nation.”

Those goals for 2005 include reaching a target of $1.1 million in cash and donated services for the trade and consumer media campaign, which was launched last year. The national campaign was established to inform U.S. consumers of the positive effects of well-maintained green spaces, including lawns and landscapes, sports turf, golf courses, parks and other areas. In 2004 Project EverGreen received orders for more than 100,000 consumer "thank you" pieces, designed for service providers to distribute to consumers, thanking them for maintaining their yards and landscapes.

A broad range of other goals included in the 2005 plan, to be provided by the raised capital as well as through in-kind gifts, include the following:

Development of a tag line to be used by Project EverGreen supporters at their businesses and on their product materials.

• Continued development of consumer pieces for professionals to distribute to their customers.
• Creation of news releases and feature stories to national, state and local media describing the benefits of green spaces.
• Continued presence at industry trade shows and other venues.
  Consideration of a special consumer advisory council to advise Project EverGreen on marketing activities.
• Creation of pilot landscape projects for consumers in to-be-determined cities in 2005.
• Continued national surveys of consumers, suppliers and end-user professionals to gauge attitudes and opinions about the green industry and the products and services used to maintain green spaces.
• Continued development of the organization’s Web site.

These new goals are based on some of the Project EverGreen’s 2004 accomplishments, among them, reaching nearly $1 million in cash and in-kind services. Other highlights included:

• Creation of the Web site with online ordering for “Thank You” pieces and other items.
• Creation and distribution of an e-newsletter.
• Successful participation at the Green Industry Expo, including a dessert reception, fund raising, a raffle and “Thank you” leaflets orders.
• Presentation of the first Project EverGreen Stewardship Award to Debra Holder of ALCA.

McDonough is eager to move forward with Project EverGreen's 2005 plans. "We were very successful with our initiatives and our efforts to gain visibility in the marketplace in 2004," he says.  "Now we want to build on that success and take it to the next level."

A nonprofit organization, Project EverGreen is an alliance of green industry service (end-user) providers, associations, suppliers/distributors, media companies and other organizations. Project EverGreen’s mission is to raise the awareness of the environmental, economic and lifestyle benefits of landscapes and promote the significance of those who preserve and enhance green spaces at home, work and play. For more information on Project EverGreen, contact Executive Director Den Gardner at 1-877-758-4835 or visit www.projectevergreen.com.