NALP award recipients honored at ELEVATE

The National Association of Landscape Professionals held its annual conference and expo, ELEVATE, in Dallas, Sept. 10-13, 2023. The conference attracted record numbers with a 42% increase in contractor attendees over the inaugural conference last year.   

The event also raised more than $60,000 for the NALP-PAC and nearly $200,000 for NALP’s Foundation.  

“Our second ELEVATE event was even better than the first,” says Britt Wood, NALP CEO. “We are thrilled to be receiving rave reviews from attendees which means that we are delivering on our promise of inspiring and relevant education and in-depth networking with top CEOs and professionals that makes ELEVATE the premier industry conference.” 

NALP also presented its annual leadership and landscape project awards at ELEVATE.  

Mike Rorie, founder of GroundSystems, was honored with the Lifetime Leadership Award for his years of service to the industry as a consultant, entrepreneur and mentor.  

LeAnn Ostheimer, COO of Lifescape Colorado, was honored with the Women Leader of the Year Award for her dedication to the industry, serving on many industry boards and committees, seeing her company through 10-fold revenue growth, and crafting award-winning landscape designs. 

Jenny Girard, area manager at R.M. Landscape, was honored with the Young Professional of the Year Award for her work mentoring women and young people in the industry, building company training programs and creating a culture of inclusion. 

Chris Senske, Founder, Senske Services, LLC, was honored with the Advocate of the Year award for his dedication to lobbying for the lawn care industry at the state and national levels. 

And, this year, 194 projects received an Award of Excellence from NALP. The awards honor outstanding landscape management, landscape contracting, design-build, lawn care and interiorscape projects. View a list of winners.  

In addition, each year, one or more outstanding projects receive a prestigious Judges’ Award. This year, Mariani Landscape received a Judges’ Award for their “Multi Level Living” project located in Chicago.  

ELEVATE received support from top partners John Deere (Platinum), Caterpillar (Silver), and Envu (Silver).  

Next year ELEVATE will be held in Charlotte, North Carolina, Nov. 3-6, at the Charlotte Convention Center.