News (blog)

The Office of Indiana State Chemist will offer a Core Testing Opportunity at Primo West Conference Center in Plainfield, IN. on April 24^th.

This is an excellent opportunity to have your new applicators take the core at a central location.  Primo West is at the intersection of I 70 and SR 267 just west of the Indianapolis International Airport.

We would emphasize that this is testing only and that no training will be offered prior to the examination.

Registration is now open by calling the Indiana State Chemist Office at 1-800-893-6637.  I would urge you to make these arrangements as soon as possible as the session is limited to the first 100 people applying.

Bob Andrews
Executive Director
Indiana Professional Lawn & Landscape Association

Applicator Licensing Testing at IPLLA Regional Workshops

IPLLA’s Regional Workshops are scheduled for February 2013 and pre-registration is coming in daily for these popular events.  Workshops are scheduled for:

    February 12 –The Hotel Fort Wayne (formerly the Ft. Wayne Marriott)

    February 13 – Merrillville at the Radisson Star Plaza

    February 19 - Seymour at the Jackson County Learning Center

    February 20 - Plainfield at Primo West Conference Center

For the first time ever, we will be offering you the opportunity to have employees take the Registered Technician or Core Exam at Ft. Wayne, Merrillville, and Seymour.  The employee must be registered for the respective workshop, but there is no additional cost to then take the Registered Technician (RT) exam.

Your employee can attend the morning educational sessions and then take the RT Exam in the afternoon.  Should they pass the exam, they will receive Continuing Credit Hours (CCH’s) for those sessions which they attended that morning.  This is quite an opportunity for your employees to take the exam in your local area and we hope many of you will take advantage of it.

Remember, this is exam only and any training materials can be purchased through the Purdue Extension Education Store by call (765) 6794.

So, go online now at WWW.IPLLA.COM and get registered for the workshop of your choice, and the opportunity to have your employees take the applicator exam.  If you have already registered to attend the workshop, then you can simply still sign up your employee for testing.

We’ll see you soon at the 2013 IPLLA Regional Workshops.

Bob Andrews
Executive Director
IPLLA

We have received member inquiries regarding who is and who is not eligible for unemployment compensation during the normal downtime of the lawn and landscape season.  These questions have arisen as a result of actions taken by the Indiana General Assembly in 2011 that do have some impact on contracted employees or those who are on-call, or those who are taking paid vacation during a normal lay-off period.

For your information, I am enclosing a copy of this Alert forwarded to us by the Green Industry Alliance.  Their ability to promptly respond to such questions is one of the real benefits of being a member of the Indiana Professional Lawn and Landscape Association.

The alert, and new guidelines, are linked below.

It is my opinion that the new regulations will not affect lawn and landscape companies unless they are, in some manner, compensating their employees during a layoff period or paying them to be on call during a layoff period.  Determining how, or even if, these changes impact your individual operation is something that should be discussed with your accountant.

Caryl Auslander of the Corydon Group, our government affairs representative, will be on hand at the December 19^th Winter Workshop to give us an update on the upcoming legislative session.  I have asked her to include this topic in her briefing.

We look forward to seeing you at the Winter Workshop.

View Unemployment Eligibility ALERT here

IPLLA 2012 Winter Workshop Registration Information

Bob Andrews
Executive Director
Indiana Professional Lawn & Landscape Association

The Indiana Professional Lawn & Landscape Association is joining forces with the Office of the Indiana State Chemist to offer Core Exam Testing at various regional and statewide meeting sites starting in 2013.  The announcement comes as the association prepares its education program for next year.

“One of our real concerns has been the lack of statewide Core Exam testing opportunities for new industry employees” said IPLLA Executive Director Bob Andrews.  The new program will be launched starting with the association’s regional meetings scheduled to be held in February in northern, central, and southern Indiana.  Such testing will also be offered at the annual Summer Field Day scheduled to be held in Danville on August 22, 2013.  Those firms registering to attend such an event will have the chance to register employees to take the Core Exam as part of the educational event.  The testing opportunity will be limited to 30 people at each site who will then earn appropriate Continuing Credit Hours (CCH’s), for that event, should they successfully pass the Core Examination.

Detailed planning is now underway and more information on the program will be announced online and at the IPLLA Winter Workshop which will be held  December 19^th at The Oak Hill Mansion in Carmel.

IPLLA President Kyle Chaffee, Owner of Chaffee Turf Service in Batesville, says this offering will expand testing opportunities throughout the state and takes place during critical hiring periods of the year.

Bob Andrews
Executive Director
Indiana Professional Lawn & Landscape Association

It was the summer of 1994, and I had just graduated from college and was entering the lawn care business. During this time, I had been researching my options for equipment and chemicals and working on my lawn care program. I had just joined the Indiana State Lawn Care Association--now called IPLLA. I received a brochure through the Association about an upcoming summer field day that August, and I thought it could be a great opportunity to make the most out of my membership and learn something. Boy, was I ever right!

During my first summer field day, I developed a relationship with an insurance provider and saved over half on my business owner’s insurance, located sources of equipment, found a reliable chemical supplier, and developed what has turned out to be long-term relationship with my sales representative. I didn’t realize at the time how beneficial that field day event really was, but looking back on it, I appreciate how much my membership had paid off for me--I didn’t know how much I didn’t know!

Being an active member of IPLLA has helped our company grow professionally. The numerous educational events held throughout the year have been invaluable, and I rarely miss one. In addition to earning CCHs at the events, I am able to speak to other business owners who face the same challenges I do, and I always learn something. I’m sure I learn as much from the classroom sessions as I do from talking to others, whether the conversation takes place in the hallway, over lunch, or at an exhibit booth. Joining IPLLA 18 years ago was one of the best decisions I’ve made.

This Thursday is our 26th Annual IPLLA Summer Field Day and I hope you will join us! See you there!

Steve Mattingly                          
Mattingly Lawn Care, Inc.
Indianapolis, IN

Register ONLINE for the 2012 Summer Field Now! Click Here!