Twenty-six ball fields in Milwaukee got makeovers courtesy of WLCA members and Project EverGreen in early November. Using seed and fertilizer donated by Spring Valley, Carlin/Progreen+, Reinders and Milorganite, lawn and landscape firms aerated and overseeded ball fields at churches, schools and community parks across the city and suburbs.
“We selected our ball field because this field is shared by many families in our community and it touches the most people,” said Mike La Rosa of La Rosa Landscape Company. “We live and breathe green spaces and we’re proud to join forces with the rest of the Milwaukee green industry community.”
Ball fields that were renovated include:
Project EverGreen initiated an EverGreen Zone in 2009 in Milwaukee, joining Akron, OH as a site where Project EverGreen promotes the benefits of managed green spaces. Large renovation projects like this are part of the overall plan in an EverGreen Zone. In 2010, EverGreen Zones will be conducted in Akron, Milwaukee and the I-40 Corridor from Raleigh to Winston-Salem in North Carolina.
From the “Green, Green Grass of Home” to Green Day, GIE+EXPO attendees rocked it Project EverGreen-style this year as they played “Name That Tune.” The contest invited GIE+EXPO attendees to match songs with a green connection to the booth where they were played for a chance to win an iPod Shuffle.
The five lucky winners are:
“Congratulations to the lucky winners – we are so glad to learn there are so many people with an ear for green,” quipped Den Gardner, executive director of Project EverGreen. “And special thanks to our many supporters for including our contest in their booths at GIE+EXPO. The Name That Tune Contest was a fun way to connect with people in the green industry and remind them of the important work we do to promote the benefits of green spaces.”
Project EverGreen would like to thank the following companies for hosting the contest in their booths:
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Last April, Charlene Westbook made a wish on behalf of her husband, Sgt. 1st Class Kenneth Westbrook, on the website wishuponahero.com. Her husband was finishing a tour of duty in Afghanistan with the 1st Brigade, 1st Infantry Division of Fort Riley, KS, and she wanted him to come home to a new backyard. With just a month left on his deployment, the highly decorated Westbrook began filling out his retirement paperwork. He had long dreamed of serving his country, but after serving in the Persian Gulf in 1991, two tours in Iraq and 11 months of a one-year deployment to Afghanistan, he was ready to return home to his wife and three sons for good.
Tragically, Sgt. Westbrook was injured in September. He was transferred to Walter Reed Army Medical Hospital, where he died in his wife’s arms on October 7.
“He fought, he fought so hard to stay with us,” Charlene said on a local news broadcast.
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Weeks later, a GreenCare for Troops team arrived at the Westbrook house to renovate the family’s back yard. Nearly 20 volunteers from all over Colorado spent the day fulfilling Charlene’s wish. “My heart goes out to her. I told her that her husband is a hero,” said volunteer Mike Premer. “This was a small thing that I could do to help her out a little bit and hopefully make her life a little bit easier.”
The Project EverGreen Board of Directors met at Wakefield Plantation December 10-11 at its semiannual meeting in Raleigh, NC. The meeting was hosted by Kadent GranTek, with support from NuFarm, Bayer, Quali-Pro and BASF.
The newly elected Board includes:
Officers: Norman Goldenberg of The TruGreen Companies, board president; Mike Sisti, consultant, board first vice president; Bill Klutho, Deere & Company, board second vice president; Tom Delaney, PLANET, secretary; Kirk Hunter, Turfgrass Producers International, treasurer; Chris Kujawa, Kujawa Enterprises, Inc., past president; and Den Gardner, Project EverGreen, executive director.
Executive Committee (which includes previously listed officers as well): Cynthia Amos, Irrigation Association; Dan Carrothers, DataCore Marketing; Neil Cleveland, Bayer Environmental Science; Margaret Bell, Syngenta Professional Products; Scott Frith, Lawn Doctor; Paul McDonough, The Davey Tree Expert Co.; Alan White, Project EverGreen Canada; Cindy Code, B Communications; and Deborah Kuo, HighGrove Partners.
Board Members: Jeff Bollig, Golf Course Superintendents Association of America (GCSAA); Sean Casey, Nufarm Turf & Ornamental; Emily Sword, MTD Products, Inc.; Deanna Griffith, Jacobsen; Phil Fogarty, Weed Man USA; Linda Frerichs, Arysta LifeScience NA; Bryan Gooch, Agrium Advanced Technologies; Randy Harris, The Toro Company; Rich Kalik, BASF; Michele Sullivan, National FFA; Mark Miller, PBI/Gordon; Patti Niewoehner, Phoenix Environmental Care; Allen James, RISE; Dale Siems, Consultant; Steve Trusty, Trusty & Associates; Mark Urbanowski, Dow AgroSciences; and John Marchionda, Husqvarna. Newly elected to the Board: Estelle Grasset, The Fertilizer Institute; Russ Mitchell, Quali-Pro; and Bill Vogel, Spring Valley.
In other action: Selected the I-40 Corridor from Raleigh west to Winston-Salem, NC as the third EverGreen Zone, beginning in 2010. It will join Akron, OH and Milwaukee, WI. The EverGreen Zone concept was created in Akron in 2008 (and Milwaukee in 2009) to blanket a population area with positive messages about the importance of taking care of lawns, sports fields, community parks, golf courses and other green spaces.
The Board selected Kansas City as the site of the June 2010 meeting. It will be hosted by DataCore Marketing, led by Dan Carrothers.
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On December 17th, Twin Cities sake brewery Moto-I hosted a fundraising event for GreenCare for Troops. More details will follow in the next installment of The Project EverGreen Update.