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Author: Seth Jones

Photo: Seth Jones

Seth Jones

Seth Jones is the editorial director of Landscape Management, and the editor-in-chief of Golfdom and Athletic Turf magazines. A graduate of Kansas University’s William Allen White School of Journalism and Mass Communications, Seth was voted best columnist in the industry in 2014, 2018 and 2023 by the Turf & Ornamental Communicators Association. He has more than 23 years of experience in the golf and turf industries and has traveled the world seeking great stories.

Photo: GIE+EXPO

Unveiling GIE+EXPO’s next big thing

The next big idea can get sparked at GIE+EXPO — something landscapers and exhibitors bank on every October in Louisville.

Editor’s note: Collecting quotes from recent travels

Landscape Management’s Editor-in-Chief Seth Jones share some quotes and sound bites from his recent travels and interviews.

Bob Grover (Photo: Seth Jones)

Five Questions: Bob Grover

Bob Grover, president of Pacific Landscape Management, shares details of his career, his industry outlook and some lessons he’s learned along the way.

Editor’s note: Great evidence

Editor-in-Chief Seth Jones discusses how cameras today have changed the way we do our job and how photography can be a great sales tool.

Where culture is strategy

LandCare is a $180-million company with 50 locations in 30 different cities across the United States. Last week at the 2019 NALP Field Trip, those 50 locations turned into one, and more than 100 curious landscaping professionals, eager to learn the keys to the success of the company, were able to take a look behind […]

Editor’s note: Strength in numbers

I’m back in the office after a crazy month of travel. June took me all over the country (and briefly into Canada and within eyeshot of Mexico), but happily the month ended with a weeklong family vacation to South Padre Island, Texas. My last trip before vacation to Sunburn City was to the 67th Outdoor […]

Photo: ManageMowed Franchising

Five Questions: Peter Roberts

Peter Roberts, owner of ManageMowed, shares details on his career highlights and lowlights, his family and his favorite local brewery.

Frank Mariani, owner of Mariani Landscape, addresses the volunteers at the 2019 Renewal & Remembrance. “This place simply takes your breath away,” he said of Arlington National Cemetery. (Photo: Seth Jones)

At 2019 Renewal & Remembrance industry gives back to those who served

It was a busy and productive day at the 23rd annual Renewal & Remembrance, held earlier this week in Arlington, Va. More than 400 landscape professionals visited Arlington National Cemetery and volunteered their time and talents to improve the 624-acre cemetery that serves as the resting place for 400,000. On Monday alone, 31 funerals took […]

Road trip roundup: Follow along with the LM staff’s June travels

and

Temperatures in Grand Rapids, Mich., had finally topped 80 degrees when a whole lot of people rolled into town with snow and ice on the brain. On June 27-28, The Snow and Ice Management Association (SIMA) welcomed manufacturers of snow and ice removal equipment, products and services, as well as landscape contractors, sports turf managers, airport […]

Country Music Hall of Fame (Photo: The Greathouse Co.)

LM150: Making money in Music City

LandOpt is helping The Greathouse Co. in Nashville, Tenn., and its other licensees find the right clients and operate efficiently for growth.

Illustration: iStock.com/exdez

2019 LM150: Aiming high

Up 5 percent overall from 2018, the 2019 LM150 revenue sets another record by surpassing $11 billion. Editor-in-Chief Seth Jones breaks down the rankings.

Editor’s note: Landscaper by trade, educator by heart

Editor-in-Chief Seth Jones shares how Clark Tomlinson of Tomlinson Bomberger is still an educator.

Photo: Seth Jones

Five Questions: Matt Bailey

Matt Bailey, president of Alpine Landscape Services, shares details living and working in the mountains, and tips for working with the younger generation.

Editor’s note: A workforce with no name

Seth Jones shares thoughts on the labor shortage and how to get the work done anyway.

PHOTO: ABBY HART

Five Questions: Brian Haga

Brian Haga, president of Scientific Plant Service, shares details on his career, labor challenges and even his family and summer vacations.

Photo: Seth Jones

March landscape madness, baby!

Editor-in-chief Seth Jones summarizes the National Collegiate Landscape Competition and describes how March madness was a bit different than years past.

Mike Caprio (Photo: Seth Jones)

Five Questions: Mike Caprio

Mike Caprio Regional business consultant Lawn Doctor, Holmdel, N.J. 1. What all does your job entail, and do you enjoy it? I provide business, agronomy, financial and human resources support to our franchisees in the Southeast. With over 50 years of experience in the industry, Lawn Doctor offers custom lawn care solutions to residential and […]

College game day for future landscape pros

For participants of the National Collegiate Landscape Competition, this is bigger than any college bowl game. Early on in the 43rd annual National Collegiate Landscape Competition (NCLC), Roger Phelps, Corporate Communications manager for Stihl, laid it out for the 844 students packed in Colorado State University’s Lincoln Center. “I challenge all of you,” Phelps said, […]

Spreader (Photo: iStock.com/BanksPhotos)

New development in combination products for LCOs

A new fertilizer combination product — including the herbicide Mesotrione — helps LCOs overcome labor limitations when seeding

Photo: Seth Jones

This modern phone call culture

Seth Jones talks about his daughter getting her first smartphone.

Not in Kansas anymore

I’ve hit the ground running — or maybe I should say flying — in my first two months as editor-in-chief of Landscape Management. It’s appropriate I’m writing this column at 30,000 feet, on my way to San Diego for a conference. Aside from quiet weekends filled with basketball (both coaching my son’s first/second grade team […]

Matt Nicol (Photo: Seth Jones)

Five Questions: Matt Nicol

Matt Nicol Owner + Founder Lightscape Outdoor Lighting, Columbus, Ohio 1. Why did you start your company? I was passionate about landscaping, and was an artist, but I could never find a way to make a living with my art. I thought about doing landscape architecture because I could combine landscaping and artwork. Well, I […]

Casey Hurd (Photo: Seth Jones)

Five Questions: Casey Hurd

Casey Hurd Manager member Greenscapes LandCare, Worton, Md. 1. How big is your family? I have a wife, two daughters and a big 100-pound yellow lab. My family keeps me organized and on my toes. With two young kids, you have to stick to routines to make things less hectic. Quinn is 4, Tessa is […]

Turfco President George Kinkead (left) talks to the Spring Touch Lawn & Pest Control team about the finer details of the T3100 spreader-sprayer. (Photo: Seth Jones)

Serious business: The LM Growth Summit

Now in its eighth year, the LM Growth Summit is unique in the industry in that it brings lawn care professionals face-to-face with some of the industry’s leading innovators. Sure, the opportunity exists to schedule these meetings at national or regional trade shows. But good luck successfully making 10 meetings with top level executives — […]

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