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      PROFESSIONAL LANDCARE NETWORK’S ANNUAL GREEN INDUSTRY CONFERENCE 
                                                       DEEMED A STUNNING SUCCESS
                             – The Industry’s ‘Must Attend’ Event Announces Upward Trend –

HERNDON, Va., November 21, 2006 — “We are the industry that creates and maintains beautiful communities across the nation,” states Jim Martin, CLP, incoming president of the Professional Landcare Network (PLANET) at the 2006 Green Industry Conference (GIC). “The public may not realize that we, as an industry, impact every person in the country,” Martin continues. “We are the people who are greening up America, developing areas for families to reconnect and for children to play.” Martin’s enthusiasm was not lost on conference attendees who found the energy at the conference overwhelmingly contagious. “As always, the networking and education tracks at this conference have made it superb,” says John E. Gibson, CLT, PLANET’s 2006 president.

Held from November 1 to November 4, at the Greater Columbus Convention Center in Columbus, Ohio, the event was very successful. “As our second PLANET annual conference, this was really exceptional,” Martin says, “Last year seemed like perfection and this year was even better.”

Attendance this year was up with more than 2,100 attendees, while last year logged in a record year of more than 1,900. GIC has hovered around 1,800 attendees over the past five years when the event was run by the Associated Landscape Contractors of America (ALCA) and the Professional Lawn Care Association of America (PLCAA), now merged as PLANET.

Highlights of the event included a large increase in first time attendees, up from 98 in 2005 to 485 this year; student attendance increased from 173 in 2005 to 272 in 2006; Breakfast with Champions attendance soared to 973, up by almost 100 over last year; facility tour attendance also increased to 781, with 140 more in attendance than last year. The Student Roundtables, an opportunity for industry to meet with students and discuss employment opportunities, was enormously successful. The event was sold out weeks before GIC and a waiting list was created.
Education tracks were expanded this year and included more Hispanic tracks as well. John Deere was the GIC Platinum Sponsor.

PLANET’s annual Crystal Ball Report was released at GIC. Lean Management for the Green Industry: An Operational Strategy that Delivers Value to Customers and Eliminates Waste, explains the principles of lean management, tools, strategies, and their application to green industry companies through the use of real-world case studies. The report focuses on the process of eliminating waste through continuous improvement. It is an operating strategy that seeks to maximize operational effectiveness in all areas of business by creating value in the eyes of the customer.

Attendance at this year’s facility tours was above last year’s — an indication of the growing interest in visiting other companies and facilities. Those attending the lawn care facility tour saw TruGreen Chemlawn’s branch in Groveport, Ohio; the design/build/installation tour visited BRICKMAN’s regional office and the Peabody Landscape Group facility, “The Homestead” at Stoney Creek, which is a turn-of-the-century working farm. The landscape management tour took participants to one of the largest landscape companies — EMI, Environmental Management, Inc., and to BRICKMAN’s regional office.

The Green Industry Expo and Field Day were also well attended, and there was a lot of discussion at both venues about next year’s alliance with OPEI. “Next year’s GIE will be a great opportunity to get all of our industries together and give everyone a chance to view the latest industry technology,” says Martin. “There will be increased exhibits, increased attendees, and an increase in industry buying power. Through this alliance, we will be able to further demonstrate the economic power of this industry.”

PLANET’s other new alliance was also discussed at GIC. Sheila Frace of the Office of Water at the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in Washington, D.C. attended GIC and participated in PLANET’s news conference to unveil the exciting, new PLANET/EPA partnership in the WaterSense program. The aim of the new EPA program is to decrease indoor and outdoor non-agricultural water use through high-efficiency products and programs as well as simple water-saving practices. The program helps consumers more easily identify water-efficient products and programs in the marketplace with a label backed by independent testing and certification.

“The goal of EPA’s WaterSense Program is to help Americans save water and money by offering simple ways to reduce water use through water-efficient product choices,” states Frace. “Using water more efficiently can help delay the need to create more supplies, saving communities money and resources as well as ensuring that water will be available for future generations.” Fully adopting water-efficient products, programs, and practices can save the average household approximately 30,000 gallons of water per year — enough to supply 150 homes with drinking water for an entire year.

Breakfast with Champions was enormously popular at GIC this year with more attendees and more champions. This was a great way to start the day and get a small-group opportunity to meet with a large roster of experts in a wide variety of fields. “This is just another great example of PLANET networking,” says Gibson, “members can select to meet with software, marketing, healthcare, employment, equipment experts, you name it; and then they spend time over breakfast hearing from the expert and being able to ask questions.”

Reports to Leadership on Saturday culminated with the installation of PLANET’s 2007 board and officers and a Town Hall meeting. John E. Gibson, CLT, symbolically handed over the presidential gavel to Jim Martin, CLP, with an emotional recap of his term.

GIC concluded with PLANET’s board meeting on Sunday. Jim Martin, CLP, led both visitors and the board through exercises to further outline the board’s focus and goals for 2007. “This organization has been successful because we are all willing to constantly re-evaluate how we’re doing and where we’re going,” Martin explains. “As an association that models itself on corporate America, we are going to have to constantly take the temperature and determine if the path we’re on is a good one.” Many believe that it is this ability to be flexible that has made PLANET the strong organization that it is today. “Many companies going through a merger take five to seven years, if not longer, to attain their goals,” adds PLANET CEO Tanya Tolpegin. “In two years, PLANET has made astounding progress in accelerating the merger process.”

PLANET represents approximately 4,400 green industry service provider companies and suppliers nationwide that specialize in design/build/installation, interior plantscaping, landscape management, and lawn care.  These firms and their employees represent more than 100,000 green industry professionals. For more information call PLANET at (800) 395-2522 or visit www.landcarenetwork.org.