Landscape Management, February 2019

sethS Cut I ve hit the ground running or maybe I should say flying in my first two months as editor inchief of Landscape Management Its appropriate Im writing this column at 30000 feet on my way to San Diego for a conference Aside from quiet weekends filled with basketball both coaching my sons first second grade team and watching my Kansas Jayhawks it feels like Ive otherwise been traveling nonstop Last fall in anticipation of my new role I started taking trips to learn more about this industry I was about to immerse myself in Of course GIE EXPO was an easy one but I also attended one of Marty Grunders Grow events in Dayton Ohio which was valuable and I had the pleasure of hosting the LM Growth Summit at Reunion Resort outside Orlando But that was a few trips over a few months In January I got busy and packed in six cities in three weeks Batting leadoff was the Real Green Solutions 2019 conference in St Pete Beach Fla followed by a home game the Outdoor Connections Expo in Lawrence Kan Then it was a road trip to Omaha Neb for the Lighting Summit hosted by LM editorial advisory board member Jerry McKay owner of McKay Lighting The fourth week of January took me to San Francisco Pebble Beach Calif and Phoenix That trip was for our sister publication Golfdom and our sports turf website AthleticTurf net visits to 2019 U S Open host course Pebble Beach Golf Links followed by a trip to Cypress Point Golf Club then the Sports Turf Managers Association annual conference where I was happy to see many familiar faces who cross over into the world of LM LM Publisher Bill Roddy and I agreed that we wanted to get our year off to a fast start and thats what we did The commitment to get on the road had immediate payoff Before the Real Green event even started while at lunch with Bill we made some new friends in the industry Sorry for the vague teaser but Im confident that conversation will lead to a future cover story I would have never learned of that story had I chosen to stay back in Kansas The great stories kept coming at me quickly I was among a couple hundred people who got to hear Real Green Systems CEO Joe Kucik tell the emotional story of how his father a World War II vet taught him the meaning of hard work and helped him get his business off the ground In order to support his family Joes father worked as a Detroit police officer during the days and a baker at nights It was the origin story not of Real Green but of Joe himself and a key insight into one of the industrys most successful businessmen At the Outdoor Connections Expo in Lawrence I met Paul Eltschinger owner of PaulHaul A young entrepreneur LANDSCAPEMANAGEMENT NET FEBRUARY 2019 6 I learned about how he left behind both his formal education as a vocalist and a career as an arborist in order to pursue the success of the Little Helper a four wheel motorized cart invented by his uncle These carts can move up to 900 pounds and Pauls biggest challenge is keeping up with demand Turn to page 10 to see an image of Eltschinger and the Little Helper and visit PaulHaul com to learn more about the cart In Omaha at the Lighting Summit I had the pleasure of meeting many interesting entrepreneurs including Matt Nicol who is profiled in this months Five Questions see page 54 A proud veteran of both the Army and Air Force whose military career has taken him around the world to fight for our freedom I learned about how his post military career in the corporate world was sucking the life out of him He then got the idea to create Lightscape Outdoor Lighting based in Columbus Ohio Seven months later he quit his desk job and hes again traveling but now to luxurious properties to artistically light them His story is fascinating and I havent even mentioned his upcoming book or the movie hes connected to Im only two months into this new job and at times I feel like Im drinking from a fire hose But Im relieved that when it comes to great stories this industry is clearly overflowing with them My team and I have committed to packed travel schedules in order to report on this industry if youre at a conference and happen to sit down next to one of us I hope youll say hi and tell us your story Not in Kansas anymore SETH JONES EDITOR IN CHIEF Contact Jones at 785 690 7047 sjones@ northcoastmedia net or via Twitter @ sethajones