Longtime green industry editor, Ron Hall, died June 30 in Port Clinton, Ohio.
He was born May 31, 1947, in Kentucky and graduated with a bachelor’s degree in history from Wabash College.
He was married to Vicky Hall for 49 years and enjoyed traveling, gardening and riding his bicycle in his spare time.
Hall joined the Landscape Management staff — then known as Weeds Trees and Turf — in 1984 as an associate editor. He became editor-in-chief in 2000 and was named editor-at-large in 2008.
Hall covered the industry for more than 30 years and won numerous awards during his tenure. The Turf & Ornamentals Communicators Association (TOCA) inducted Hall into its Hall of Fame in 2016.
“Society and the industries we serve as B2B professionals will always need curious, creative, professionals with the ability to cut through the noise and misinformation and dig out and share the fine mix of information our audiences tell us they need,” Hall said during his induction. “It takes talented, dedicated men and women to do this.”
Here’s a small sampling of Hall’s editorial writing from his time with LM:
- “The fact is the U.S. public — while appreciative of lawns, parks and sports fields — knows little about turfgrass and what it takes to properly maintain it. Most homeowners don’t know bluegrass from ryegrass, and too often over-water and over apply product. The implications of this knowledge black hole for our industry and our environment are enormous.” — Landscape Management, July 2008
- “I’m beginning to wonder if we’re promising too much and doing too little to educate ourselves, our teams and our customers to a more sustainable approach to landscape care. I’m wondering if we’re relying too much on many of the same practices that have gotten us to this point (for better or worse), and we’re paying too little attention to the concerns of a growing segment of the public, lawmakers and regulatory authorities over issues such as emissions, noise, water waste, inappropriate chemical use and nonpoint-source pollution.” — Landscape Management, May 2010
Colleagues share their memories
As news of Hall’s passing rippled through the industry, colleagues shared their memories.
- “Ron was a fantastic colleague. We worked together on Landscape Management, and his focus and writing style were something to behold. Ron was always cool, calm and collected, taking each day in stride, then off he´d go back home to Vickie [sic] and the water. They were great hosts for our annual fishing expeditions. There were many laughs amid the nonsense we all had to put up with from time to time.” — Terry McIver, former editor-in-chief of Landscape Management said in a post on Hall’s obituary
- “Ron Hall truly was a fixture in the landscape, lawn care and athletic turf industry for many years. When I started at Landscape Management, EVERYONE knew him. It’s people that make an industry or a business or a staff function well, and he understood that. Because he was a terrific listener, he was able to talk easily with everyone from the top industry leaders to the new guy just starting out, and he always found an interesting story to write. Because he was a fascinating storyteller and expert writer, those people he met came to life on the page. Ron won numerous awards for his writing and editing and had a genuine interest in the workings and people of the green industry. He was an excellent photographer and wrote terrific editorials — both poignant and pointed. He commuted over 70 miles each way to work, year after year because he loved that work. Ron was funny, genuinely kind, perceptive, and a wonderful person to work with. It was a pleasure to work with him.” — Sue (Gibson) Porter, former associate publisher and executive editor of Landscape Management
- “Ron was a gifted photojournalist. His photos and words opened our minds and hearts. Ron also was an adept player/manager. He followed as well as he led. Throughout his storied career, Ron nabbed countless journalism awards, but it was his numerous close industry friendships he treasured the most.” — Marty Whitford, vice president of content and publisher at North Coast Media, parent company of Landscape Management magazine
- “Ron had a long history in the lawn care and landscape industry. You could always find him hustling around any industry event with a camera around his neck and a ballcap on his head, buying a drink for a contractor or a fellow member of the Turf & Ornamental Communicators Association. Ron was a natural storyteller — always quick with a joke and laugh, which made him approachable and great at his job covering the industry. Even though I was a competitor at the time, he was so kind to me when I was just getting started in my career. I always appreciated his welcoming nature and tried to replicate it with my peers.” — Marisa Palmieri, special projects editor for Landscape Management magazine
- “I met Ron when I first worked at the magazines’ then-parent company, Advanstar Communications, in 1996. Later, when I was freelancing with my husband, Jamie, in the early 2000s, we worked with Ron on producing the Athletic Turf newsletter. He was always easy to work with, gracious and had a wonderful sense of humor. We will miss him.” — Heather Gooch, editor-in-chief of sibling publication Pest Management Professional
- “Ron was one of the most talented writers I’ve ever worked with. Ron could fall out of bed and write a better column in an hour than most editors could produce after days. Always with a smile on his face at shows, Ron was one of my favorites to walk the trade floor with. My favorite show to go to with Ron was the old Ohio Turfgrass Foundation show down in Columbus, back when it was one of the big shows in early December. He could talk shop with the best of them and always looked forward to a good speaker. I think one of his favorites was Bill Veeck Jr. Ron genuinely cared about our readers and their needs. Our industry needs more Ron Halls not less. We will miss you.” — Kevin Stoltman, president and CEO of North Coast Media
- “Ron was an amazing person. I always enjoyed our conversations, he always made me laugh. He was very kind to me. I always enjoyed reading his articles and visiting with him. I will certainly miss him.” — David Mellor, senior director of grounds, Boston Red Sox
