As someone with a remote work setup, I’m fully cognizant of the dissonance between my professional set-up and the people and industry that we write about in the pages of Landscape Management.
It’s pretty hard to mow grass, lay mulch in a landscape bed or install a stunning new hardscape from behind a desk. It turns out, though, that you can produce content about mowing grass, laying mulch and installing hardscapes from pretty much anywhere, whether that’s my home office in the suburbs of Kansas City or at our company’s corporate headquarters in Cleveland.
Despite my current circumstances, I’ve always been a firm believer in the power of personal connections. Personally, there’s a restorative aspect to that; getting out and about is a great mental-health reset and a way to get a break from staring at the same four walls every day.
There are obvious professional benefits, too. Getting to travel and attend industry events is a great reminder of why we do the things we do and a way to reconnect with the folks who consume and support this publication.
I assume something similar holds true for landscape contractors and lawn care operators. I don’t imagine many of you got into this business to pore over spreadsheets or fret over personnel matters — the mundane day-to-day part of running a business. My guess is you welcome any chance to get your hands dirty on a jobsite or to travel to an industry event so you can trade tips with your industry colleagues.
Thankfully, my recent schedule gave me two noteworthy opportunities to shed the home office for a few days and recharge the batteries with landscape pros and industry suppliers alike. The first of those was a trip to Park City, Utah, for the 2025 edition of the Outdoor Power Equipment Institute’s (OPEI) Annual Meeting.
As you likely know, OPEI is the association that owns and operates Equip Exposition. LM is OPEI’s official media partner, and we work with them to present educational sessions during the annual event (you can learn more about what we have planned for this year’s event, Oct. 21-24 in Louisville, right here: landscapemanagement.net/lm-education-returns-to-equip-exposition-2025-2). And that partnership earns us an invite to their annual meeting to spend quality time with OPEI execs and equipment manufacturers from all corners of the industry.
We have a handshake agreement with OPEI that the things we see, hear and discuss at the meeting are off the record, but I don’t think they’ll mind me saying that this year’s event in Park City was one to remember. From a host of engaging keynote speakers and relevant industry updates to memorable networking events and lots of bad golf (at least in my group!), there was plenty to get this homebody fired up.
My second recent expedition into the real world was to Washington, D.C., for the 29th Renewal and Remembrance service project organized by the National Association of Landscape Professionals (NALP). While this was my first time at R&R, it wasn’t my first time taking part in a volunteer service project in our nation’s capital; in my previous professional life in golf maintenance, I took part in several similar events sprucing up the National Mall as a part of National Golf Day.
This trip to D.C. had a similar impact on me. I was left impressed and moved by the level of dedication and commitment of the more than 400 landscape professionals who helped with various projects at Arlington National Cemetery and the Franklin Delano Roosevelt Memorial. This is an industry that cares, that gives back to others (check out our Time for Some Good News feature articles), and in this day and age, that ain’t nothing.
There are certainly days when I’m thankful to be home, to be grinding away in my home office, and I know my dog, Porter, is certainly appreciative of those days. But trips like the ones to the OPEI Annual Meeting and NALP’s Renewal and Remembrance are great reminders of how powerful personal connections can be and just how much good they can do for body, mind and spirit.
