PLANET Committees/Subcommittees

The PLANET committee/subcommittee structure serves a wide variety of needs for the association. Committees/subcommittees provide the opportunity for general membership to be involved in association projects. Committees/subcommittees and chairpersons are listed below. Also listed below are the International Certification Council (ICC) and the PLANET Academic Excellence Foundation (PLANET AEF), membership to which is by appointment only.

If you are interested in joining a committee/subcommittee, please download this form and fax it to the PLANET office at (703) 736-9668.

Education Committee

Chair: Michael Hupf
Committee Staff Manager: Joan Haller
PLANET's Education Committee coordinates its educational events and other educational offerings, such as webinars, publications, long distance learning, etc. The subcommittees that fall under this committee are:

Crystal Ball Subcommittee

Chair: Jim McCutcheon, Landscape Industry Certified Manager
Committee Staff Manager: Heather Finney
Each year, the Crystal Ball Subcommittee meets to discuss a topic of importance to the green industry and develop the annual Crystal Ball Report.

Green Industry Great Escape

Chair: Barbara Scheibe
Committee Staff Manager: Joan Haller
The Executive Forum Committee spearheads the development of the educational program for PLANET’s Executive Forum event held each February.

Green Industry Conference Subcommittee

Chair: Phil Fogarty
Committee Staff Manager: Joan Haller
This committee plans all aspects of the educational program for PLANET’s annual Green Industry Conference held each October.

Government Affairs Committee

Chair: John Crossmock
Committee Staff Manager: Tom Delaney
The Government Affairs Committee addresses activity at the federal, state, and local levels of government to ensure the laws and regulations by which landscape and lawn care professionals must abide are reasonable and responsible and do not unduly burden PLANET member companies. Primary issues that the committee addresses include pesticides, fertilizers, water, and immigration. The subcommittees that fall under this committee are:

Legislative Day on the Hill Subcommittee

Chair: John Buechner
Committee Staff Manager: Tom Delaney
Legislative Day on the Hill takes place in Washington, D.C., each July and provides green industry professionals with an opportunity to unite and take a stand on Capitol Hill by discussing vital industry issues with legislators. The Legislative Day on the Hill Committee oversees the planning of this event.

PLANET Political Action (PAC) Subcommittee

Chair: John Miller
Committee Staff Manager: Tom Delaney
The Professional Landcare Network's Political Action Subcommittee (PAC) provides members with a way to have their voices heard on Capitol Hill. By contributing to the PLANET PAC and combining political donations with all members, the subcommittee helps:

• Gain access to key legislators so that PLANET’s lobbyists can convince them to support the green industry.
• Support PLANET's grassroots campaigns, such as contacting legislators via letters and e-mail, holding in-district meetings, and lobbying constituents.
• Elect pro-green industry congressional candidates who will listen to our concerns.
• Make a difference by positioning the green industry so that it can influence policy.

Industry Recruitment Committee

Chair: Jennifer Buck
Committee Staff Manager: Anna Walraven
This committee's mission is to provide members with new ideas for recruiting and to change the current perception about careers in the green industry. The committee strives to send a positive message about the many viable career paths within the industry to students of all ages. The committee works with FFA in an effort to target high school and college students who are already interested in the agriculture umbrella, under which falls the green industry. The committee also manages the organization’s student communications. The subcommittees that fall under this committee are:

Accreditation Subcommittee

Chair: David Emmitt
Committee Staff Manager: Anna Walraven
The mission of the Accreditation Committee is to advance the professional and personal growth of PLANET members by establishing outcome-focused educational standards for institutions of higher learning that will bring value to the industry. The implementation of these standards will aid students as they become knowledgeable about the science, art, practice and business of the landscape industry. Member involvement in the committee is encouraged to recruit more schools into the program and to support the faculty of accredited schools in any way needed.

Student Career Days Subcommittee

Chair: Brett Lemcke, Landscape Industry Certified Manager
Co-Chair: Edward Furner
Committee Staff Manager: Anna Walraven
PLANET's Student Career Days Committee manages this annual event. The committee works closely with the host college faculty representatives in overseeing the success of the program.

Membership Committee

Chair: Joy Diaz, Landscape Industry Certified Manager
Committee Staff Manager: Shaine Anderson, CAE
PLANET's Membership Committee assesses member needs and opinions, develops member services and benefits, critiques new programs and services, and develops ways to recruit new members and retain existing members. The subcommittees that fall under this committee are:

Association Executives Subcommittee

Chair: VACANT
Committee Staff Manager: Sabeena Hickman, CAE, CMP
The Association Executives Subcommittee was established to address industry-wide issues by working with state and regional associations to gather and share information.

Supplier Subcommittee

Chair: Nanette Seven
Committee Staff Manager: Sheri Jackson
The Supplier Subcommittee supports the strategic direction set by the Board of Directors to deliver PLANET’s promise to expand PLANET’s position as the partner of choice by recruiting new members, especially in the Green Industry Service Provider Category, and creating new business and partnership opportunities.

Public Relations Committee

Chair: Shayne Newman, Landscape Industry Certified Manager & Technician
Committee Staff Manager: Heather Finney
The Public Relations Committee's goal is to advance marketplace recognition for PLANET through brand identity, creative messaging strategy, and media relations. The committee supports all aspects of the organization on their communications efforts, helping to create heightened awareness of its product and service offerings. The subcommittees that fall under this committee are:

Renewal & Remembrance Subcommittee

Chair: Walter Wray, Landscape Industry Certified Technician
Committee Staff Manager: Heather Finney
The day before the Legislative Day on the Hill visits to Capitol Hill, attendees volunteer their skills and/or equipment for the "Renewal & Remembrance" project, a national community service effort to beautify Arlington National and Historic Congressional cemeteries. The Renewal & Remembrance Subcommittee is involved in organizing this event.

Awards Subcommittee

Chair: Will Spiegelberg, Landscape Industry Certified Manager
Committee Staff Manager: Gail Rogers
The Awards Subcommittee manages seven member awards programs: Environmental Improvement Awards, Green Industry Contribution Award, Community Service Recognition Program, Association Partner and Association of the Year Awards, PLANET Promise Award, and the Lifetime Leadership Award. The subcommittee supports the various awards programs by continuously working to improve each program, assists with the judging process, and encourages members to submit entries.

Safety and Risk Management Committee

Chair: Craig Clark
Committee Staff Manager: Pamela Moore
PLANET's Safety and Risk Management Committee is dedicated to preventing injury, reducing incidents, minimizing time loss, minimizing risk, reducing claims cost, creating a safe work environment, taking safety excellence to the next level, and achieving loss ratio of 55 percent. These goals are being achieved by fostering a new way of thinking about safety, increasing "everyday" safety awareness, creating new and revising existing safety publications, sharing best safety practices, providing proven safety incentive models, looking outside the green industry for new ideas, hiring a safety specialist, recognizing safety achievement through PLANET’s Safety Recognition Awards Program, and working closely with all PLANET committees.

Planning and Finance Committee

Chair: Scott Jamieson
Committee Staff Manager: Carol Keeling
(By appointment only.)

Governance Committee

Chair: Michael Byrne, Landscape Industry Certified Manager
Committee Staff Manager: Sabeena Hickman, CAE, CMP
(By appointment only.)

International Certification Council (ICC)

Chair: Michael Becker, Landscape Industry Certified Manager
Committee Staff Manager: Karen S. Barnett
The vision statement for PLANET's certification programs is, "Driven by market demand, every professional landscape firm aspires to have PLANET-certified employees on staff." The International Certification Council (ICC) is the group that seeks to make its vision a reality by establishing certification programs, administering exams, and enforcing ethical compliance of all certification programs on behalf of PLANET. There are eight members who serve three-year terms.
(By appointment only.)

PLANET Academic Excellence Foundation (PLANET AEF)

President: Jim McCutcheon, Landscape Industry Certified Manager
Committee Staff Manager: Sabeena Hickman, CAE, CMP
The PLANET Academic Excellence Foundation (PLANET AEF) strives to fulfill its vision to be recognized as the leading educational foundation in the green industry. Since its inception, the PLANET AEF, formerly the ALCA Educational Foundation, has funded educational excellence by awarding scholarships to students of the green industry. Committed to the advancement of green industry services, the Foundation raised more than $1 million during the initial launch year through the generous support of individual landscape contractors, industry suppliers, and from the students themselves.
(By appointment only.)