Brett Lemcke
Vice President
R.M. Landscape
Hilton, N.Y.
Education
Aquinas Institute
Rochester, N.Y.
Class of 1998
SUNY College of Agriculture and Technology at Cobleskill
Associate degree,
landscape development
Class of 2000
SUNY College of Agriculture and Technology at Cobleskill
Bachelor’s of technology
Class of 2002
Work Experience
1994-1998
R.M. Landscape
Crew member
Rochester, N.Y.
Lemcke’s father and uncle founded R.M. Landscape in 1973. Lemcke fell in love with the business in high school, when he worked as a crew member, planted trees in the nursery and served as a foreman.
2000
G&M Landscape Services
Crew member
Nantucket, Mass.
2001
Gachina Landscape Management
Intern
Menlo Park, Calif.
“That was my first taste of the commitment you have to have at the account manager and middle manager level to keep things moving and to grow yourself and your own career.”
2002-2005
R.M. Landscape
Design/sales/maintenance division leader
2005-Present
R.M. Landscape
Vice President
“During my craziest times, I fall back on how much I love our business and how much I love this industry. I couldn’t see myself doing anything else.”
Did you know?
As a student, Lemcke competed in NALP’s Student Career Days, now called National Collegiate Landscape competition (NCLC). Pictured is Lemcke with his teammate and current NCLC Chair Ed Furner of Mariani Landscape.
Lemcke and his wife, Denise, have three kids: 5-year-old Anna and 2-year-old twins Brooks and Tessa.
1999-Present
National Association of Landscape Professionals
Student Member (1999-2002)
Industry recruiting committee/chair (2002-2009)
Co-chair of NCLC (2009)
Chair of NCLC (2010-2013)
Director at Large (2012-2015)
President (2016, starting in May)
Words of Wisdom
“If you have passion for what we do, drive that passion. If you don’t have it, find it. Maybe it’s a different part of business. Without passion, it’s going to be hard to love your job and it’s going to be hard to grow.”
“Make sure you find resources, work with the professionals out there—the consultants and coaches of the world. Find good ones and they’ll help you grow your business.”
“On a national level, where else but NALP can you network, share what works and what doesn’t, get feedback and feel comfortable doing it? Even though we’re in different parts of the country, we all deal with the same things. We may deal with them on different scales and for different reasons, but the commonalities are amazing.”
