The Seascape
Newsletter of the CLCA
Central Coast Chapter
November/December 2021
Events Calendar
December 9, Wednesday
Central Coast End-of-Year Celebration Party
Time: 6:30 pm start time
Location: Beer Thirty Pour House, 2504 S Main St., Soquel, CA 95073
Looking forward to seeing you all there for our last party of 2021! Contact Justin White at (831) 331-3476 or justin@kndlandscaping.com
January 7, Thursday (date changed)
January 12, Wednesday
Central Coast Chapter Board Meeting
Time: 12:00 to 2:30 pm
Location: Seascape Golf Club, outdoors on the deck
Contact Justin White at (831) 331-3476 or justin@kndlandscaping.com
January 21, Friday
UCSC Arboretum Beautification Volunteer Day
Time: 8 am to 4:30 pm
Location: UCSC Arboretum, Arboretum Road (1490 High Street is approximate location, Santa Cruz)
Join us to spend the day cleaning up the Arboretum. Please let us know that you’re interested!
Contact Phil Dundas at (831) 750-0447 or phil@thelandscapecompany.com
January 27, Thursday
Beer Mule Kick Off the New Year Mixer
Time: 6 pm to 8:30 pm
Location: Beer Mule (45 Aviation Way, Watsonville, CA 95076)
Contact Justin White at (831) 331-3476 or justin@kndlandscaping.com
February 3, Thursday
NorCal
Time: 6 pm to 8:30 pm
Location: San Mateo Event Center
Come to this trade show for the exhibits, connections, and educational speakers. This year local favorite Jeff Calhoun, is celebrating his 18th anniversary with FX Luminaire. Jeff will be be presenting a seminar on “Lighting Design: Beyond the Basics.” Visit norcaltradeshow.com to register and learn more or call (530) 458-3190.
Other up coming events…
Irrigation Educational Event in February 2022, and Suppliers Night in March 2022!
November/December 2021 Central Coast President’s Message
by Justin White, Chapter President, K&D Landscaping Company
Dear Fellow CLCA Central Coasters,
What a great year this has been for the landscape industry. We have met our fair share of challenges but I think the opportunity in the market has far outweighed the challenges of labor, soaring material costs and Covid-19. As we round the corner into 2022, we should all be thinking of our company goals for the future and what plans we have to ensure next year is a success. Having a clear vision for the future is one of the best things you can do to gain the trust and buy-in of your team. In today's market and talent war, you must communicate like never before, make sure you are sharing your wonderful vision with those on your team.
I had the pleasure of spending some time with Marty Grunder and his Grow Group at a conference in Colorado this month. Marty is the CEO of Grunder Landscaping in Ohio and along with being an award-winning contractor, he is a very well accomplished coach in the landscape industry. Over the four-day conference, my team and I learned many great things from Marty and the other speakers. One of the most profound takeaways was a two-part question posed by Marty: 1) “What is the biggest challenge in your business today?” and 2) “Are you spending enough time solving this challenge every week?” Many people mentioned labor, material purchasing, shrinking gross margin, and retention of managers. As you read through this newsletter I challenge you to ask yourself these questions and think about what your top challenge is right now. Resolve to spend more time on this challenge over the next few weeks to develop a clear 2022 strategic plan to fix this issue for next year.
The time has come for me to pass the torch to the next president of our wonderful Central Coast chapter. I am excited to announce who your next president will be at the end of the year celebration coming up in December, make sure you RSVP! Looking back I can honestly say that the last three years have been the most successful of my career. Not just from a K&D Landscaping standpoint, but the amount I have grown and gained personally. I have been able to accomplish many of the goals I set out over the last three years because of the people I met and the relationships I created through the CLCA. When I took over my parents’ business in 2015, I knew of the CLCA because my father was an active member and would always take me to the annual awards show. I remember as a teenager going to Kona, Hawaii for the state awards show, and even though our family didn’t enter any awards, it was great to be there and experience that event. I remember thinking I hope I can one day be up on that stage as a contractor and award winner. Well, 13 years later I was able to travel back to Hawaii and be back on that stage accepting awards on behalf of our family company, K&D Landscaping. The CLCA has a way of creating memories and relationships like no other organization I have been a part of. It may be the consistency and tradition of the awards show or suppliers night, or the wonderful and happy people we get to meet, or it may just be because landscapers are the best type of people to hang out with. Whatever the reason, I am beyond grateful for the opportunity to have served as your president.
As I step down as the president I am delighted to announce my focus and energy for 2022 will be going into fighting the ever-increasing water shortage we have in California. My goal is to help reduce the dependency our industry has on water and improve the way we apply and manage water to our landscapes. The reality of our situation is that if we don't take massive action now we may be wiping out the ability for future generations to utilize water in the landscape. Could you imagine a world where no water was allotted for ornamental landscaping use? That could dramatically change the way we operate and feed our families. Unfortunately, if you listen to the discussions at the State Water Board, that reality is getting brought up more regularly than you might think. C-27's need a seat at the table and I want to be that seat for you. Before we can preach to the state about landscape water use, we need to evolve in the way we apply and manage irrigation to our landscape properties. That is why K&D is launching a new division called K&D Water Management, it will be a revolutionary service offering focused on reducing the amount of water required to maintain a healthy landscape. I plan to rally the local landscaping community around this new idea of water management with a series of informative summits and webinars put on by K&D over the next few years. I plan to be working in close alignment with the CLCA to keep you all updated and hope that many of you will be a part of this new vision for sustainability.
In closing, I encourage you to get involved with CLCA. At first I didn’t think I had the time but I soon realized it was all about engagement and giving back to the landscape community. I will leave you all with some advice I gained a long time ago while on a job site in Salinas. When I was about 17, I was complaining to an old-timer named Gary that I couldn’t wait to just drive around in an F-150 and give orders like my father. He chuckled at my ignorance and explained how he use to be one of “those guys” in the truck and how much stress it can bring. He told me how much he hated it and that’s why he went back to driving tractors. Gary leaned over and shared with me, “Justin, you only get out of something, what you put in.” That’s how I encourage you to look at the opportunity to get involved with the Central Coast CLCA. You can start by coming to a board meeting and checking out how they operate or volunteering to help with an upcoming event. There are many ways to get involved and gain benefits, but the best part is that the more you put in, the more you get out, it's all in your hands.
Sincerely,
Justin White
CEO, K&D Landscaping Inc.
justin@kndkandscaping.com
C: (831) 331-3476 │ O: (831) 728-4018
2022 Central Coast Chapter Partners for Success Program
There has never been a better time to support Central Coast’s Partners for Success Program. Joining provides an opportunity to increase your visibility in the community, to be seen as a leader in the green industry by helping sustain the many educational and enrichment offerings of our association. For more information, contact Justin White justin@kndkandscaping.com.
REGISTER and PAY BEFORE DECEMBER 31, 2021 and recieve a 15% DISCOUNT!
Or, better still, go directly to our online registration! Join us today!
WE love our partners!
With much appreciation Our Partners in Success 2021.
PaRTNER’S CORNER
Will Barragan at West Coast Turf
This month West Coast Turf is featured in our “Partner’s Corner.” Read more here.
VIEW WINNERS ON our website
CLCA Central Coast Beautifications Awards 2021
Beautification Awards EVENT 2021
On August 26, 2021 the California Landscape Contractors Association (CLCA) Central Coast Chapter held a very successful event at The Dream Inn in Santa Cruz. We honored our peers in the local green industry with awards in many landscape catagories, and just plain had a great time.
Thank you to all who entered and all who participated! Here’s your link to view the winners!
end of year party at beer thirty in soquel
Come and Join Us for Our End-of-Year Get-together!
Come join us to celebrate the end of the year, with central coast friends, brews, and food. Please register online so that we know you’re planning to come. There’s no charge. Beer, other beverages and food will be available to purchase. Airy outdoor venue. Don’t miss the fun.
Advertise in the Central Coast Seascape Newsletter!
It’s always a great time to Advertise in this newsletter! Reach your target audience monthly. Sign up for large, medium, or small ads. For specs and pricing contact: clcaccc.editor@gmail.com. OR sign up online here.
remembering a central coast innovator
Ross Frank Paratore
August 31, 1924 - October 26, 2021
Ross F. Paratore Sr. passed away, at age 96, on October 26, 2021. For those of you that didn’t know him Ross owned the Garden Haven Nursery up on Old San Jose Road. I will remember him as one of a few influential people I met while starting my landscape business. I first was introduced to Ross in the early ’70s, while discovering his nursery, as a newcomer in the landscape industry. Ross gave my company its first charge account which was a big deal for us at the time. Over the years Garden Haven has been a dependable plant resource for the Central Coast landscape community along with being a melting pot to make friends and meet the friendly competition. We all know who we are. Ross was truely an early innovator in our area and in the wholesale nursery industry. He was one-of-a-kind that will be missed and reflected upon for a long time. Thank you Ross for all you were to us. We’re going to miss you.
From a CLCA Central Coast Chapter perspective we are grateful to Ross Paratore and his family for the generosity. They have given and shown much support to our local chapter of the CLCA. Over the past ten years Ross has lent and or donated plant materials for raffles, our yearly Beautification Awards program, as well as financial donations for publications and advertising to support the CLCA, and our local Central Coast Chapter. We knew that we could always count on him to be there when we needed help.
Thank you Ross Paratore and family and happy trails.
Regan Barry
To send flowers or read more about Ross Frank Paratore’s life here’s a link to Santa Cruz Sentinel’s Legacy obituary.
CLCA Convention in HAwaii
2021 CLCA Central Coast Winners at State Beautification Awards Event
CLCA members met on November 3-6, 2021 to celebrate the winners of the 2021 CLCA State Beautification Awards in Maui, Hawaii. Please feel free to send any stories or brags that you’d like me to place here. In the slide show above you’ll see some of your Central Coast colleagues. If we missed anyone, please let us know! Congratulations to not only all who won awards, but all who entered! K&D Landscaping was well represented, as well as Andrew Tuckman with Bayscape Landscape Management.
Photos of the event are available rom Ben Kottke Photography, here’s a link to the Welcome Reception photo gallery, aloha! Link.
Coming soon…
The NORCAL LANDSCAPE & NURSERY SHOW Thursday, February 3, 2022
Hotel Booking Now Available. Hosted by Hyatt Regency SF Airport (1333 Bayshore Hwy., Burlingame, CA 94010.)
The Nor Cal show has negotiated a $185 rate for a standard king room and a standard queen room. It also includes FREE parking with in and out privileges (regularly $36 per night), FREE WIFI and if needed a FREE shuttle to San Francisco International airport every 30 minutes.
The cut-off date for registering is January 10, 2022. Reservations can be made by calling Central Reservation (800) 421-1442 or visit the website www.norcaltradeshow.org or contact Margo Cheuvront, show manager, at margoc@frontiernet.net or 530-458-3190. Don’t miss out on this great deal! See you in February!
Central Coast Educational Event: Employee Culture and Recruitment Workshop: Justin White, Central Coast’s favorite president of 2021 and CEO of K&D Landscaping is planning a presentation on “employee culture” and recruitment. Workshop delivered via zoom, date TBA.
Board Meeting Minutes
Central Coast Chapter CLCA Board Meeting November 17, 2021
In attendance: Justin White, Craig Stenehjem, Ki Bowman , Gregory Miller, Cathy Quinn, Phil Dundas, Elise Huffman, Matt Gomez, David Ventura
Justin called to order: 12:35 pm
Everyone delivered their good news for the month.
Minutes were not approved for Oct. They will need to be approv
Events Schedule:
End of the year party.
—We will be having a year end event. The location is Beer Thirty. The date and time are Thursday, Dec 9th from 6:30 PM to 9:30 PM. It will be a no host bar and meals.
Evening mixer planned for Thursday, Jan 27th.
Suppliers Night
—Suppliers Night is tentatively scheduled for Thursday, March 10th at Seascape Golf Club. More to follow at the next meeting.
We are looking to do a golf tournament in the spring. More to discuss at the next meeting when the new board takes over.
There was a discussion around bringing on an event coordinator for pay, going forward. Katia is stepping down and it’s a big job. Further discussion will take place after the new year, when the new board takes over.
Education:
LCIS had offered to provide additional training, including a training session from Harvester Consulting around safety and insurance.
Justin offered us a training session on “How to run a profitable business”.
Matt is working on an Irrigation training session for the spring.
Phil is planning to hold another Firescape training session.
Membership Updates:
Membership is looking good for the new year. Only one member hasn’t paid up so far.
Magnolia and Rewild Design are looking to join this year.
There was a motion to give renewing sponsors at 15% discount if they pay by Feb. 15th. The motion was seconded and passed.
Treasurer Report:
Kathy sent the board the monthly report. Cash flow looks good.
Newsletter and Website Updates:
Elise is looking for content for the next newsletter.
We need to add the chapter award winners on our websit
Other Business:
A big welcome to our new board of directors.
— Phil Dundas - President
— David Ventura - Secretary/Treasurer
— Matt Gomez - Associate Member Director/Golf Committee Chair
— Open - Event Director - More to follow on this postion.
— Open - Membership Director
— Open - Legislative Director
— Justin White - Immediate Past President
Justin and Phil will get together to review next year's calendar.
Adjournment: 1:50 pm