I remember my first day with Landscape Management like it just happened. And considering I can’t tell you what I had for lunch yesterday, that’s saying something.
There was an early morning flight from Kansas City to Cleveland. A couple of photo shoots, one of which produced the image that adorns the column you’re reading right now (note to self: update that photo!). There were meetings with human resources, with the company’s information technology group, with the editors and publishers of North Coast Media’s other brands.
There was a lunch, a staff happy hour, a trip to an NBA playoff game (go Cavs!). Heck, I can even tell you the exact date — Monday, April 22, 2024.
But even more surprising than the many specifics that my otherwise fading memory can still pull from that day is just how long ago that day actually was. My brain might think it was just yesterday, but in truth, I’ll be celebrating my two-year anniversary with LM in just a few months, a fact that had me shaking my head when I was thinking back on all this recently.
Of course, I was shaking my head in the good way, the kind that comes with a satisfied smile. Because of all the cool things that I’ve been privileged to do during my long career in green industry publishing, the opportunity to join the talented team at LM and to dive headfirst into a new industry at this stage of my career has been as exciting and energizing as it sounds.
All this came back for me largely because of the time of year it is. New Year’s reflections come naturally when the calendar turns from one year to another, and I certainly wasn’t immune to that at the end of 2025. In my case, though, those reflections went back just a bit further … to April 2024, to be exact.
And it didn’t hurt that at the exact same time, we were working on LM’s annual State of the Industry report, which kicks off again in this issue. Between the interviews we did with landscape and lawn care pros from around the country and the industry-wide survey about the overall health of the business that we conducted, our mindset was already focused on reminiscing about the year that was in 2025. It wasn’t much of a stretch for me to take things back a few more months into the previous year.
At the same time, though, I realize there is only so much good that comes from lingering in the past. You have to spend as much effort looking at what the future might bring, and I can confirm we’ve been doing plenty of that at LM. For example, much of what we talked about with the sources for our State of the Industry stories this month was forward-thinking, and the responses we got reflected a general sense of optimism about where the landscape industry is and where it’s headed.
My travel schedule for the first part of 2026 also sets the stage for some cool stuff to come as we make our way into the new year. I teased this a little bit in last month’s column, but I already have trips booked to visit a host of innovative companies and loyal LM partners, all of which should generate a bunch of fun new content for both print and digital. Business travel can be taxing, but when the payoff looks like this, it makes the time on the road worth it.
And finally, I can confidently say that the content you’ve come to count on from LM will continue to evolve and improve in 2026. We’ve got new features that will go in-depth on innovations in the turf equipment and design/build spaces, the return of the magazine’s franchise guide and rankings and a new special section focused on the growing robotics and autonomous equipment segment.
Much of what I’ve been lucky enough to do in my role with LM and the steps we’re taking toward the future would have never seemed possible on my first day with the company. But I’m super grateful that I took this leap, am proud of the work our entire team has done and couldn’t be more excited for what the future holds. I’m glad you’re all along for the ride.
