2025 BOARD OF DIRECTORS
PRESIDENT Chris Connors, MCLP Grove Street Services Boston, MA
VICE PRESIDENT Miriam Hellweg, MCLP, MCA A Blade of Grass, Sudbury, MA
SECRETARY / TREASURER Andy McDuff, MCLP Landscape America, Inc., Wrentham, MA
PAST PRESIDENT Karen Kerr, MCLP Upton, MA
DIRECTORS Johnny Kwasek, MCLP John Anthony’ s Landscaping Roslindale, MA Katie Merrifield, MCLP Merrifield Garden and Design Wayland, MA
MANAGEMENT TEAM
Mike Landry, MCLP Riverside Services, Inc. Hopkinton, MA Matt McCoy, MCLP Harrison McPhee, Inc. Millis, MA
M. Virginia Wood Peggy Benjamin Carrie Martin Charissa Sharkey
MALP NEWSLINE is a publication of the Massachusetts Association of Landscape Professionals, Inc.
MALP NEWSLINE is published four times a year for the Massachusetts Association of Landscape Professionals( MALP) and is distributed free of charge to members. The purpose of the newsletter is to disseminate information to promote general standards and ethics in landscape contracting, as well as to foster research and share knowledge with its members. MALP is a not-for-profit corporation dedicated to communications between its membership and the industry. MALP believes the information in this publication to be accurate as of its publication date and is not responsible for inadvertent errors. The MALP and Massachusetts Certified Landscape Professional( MCLP) logos are trademarks of the Massachusetts Association of Landscape Professionals, Inc. Qualified MALP members and certified members only are permitted to utilize the logo. Logos for MALP and MCLP are available through the MALP office.
EDITORIAL Readers are encouraged to submit articles, announcements, review of products, or letters. Address correspondence to the attention of the MALP Newsletter Editor at the address below.
PRESIDENT ' S MESSAGE
Yes— it’ s true, summer has officially arrived. As I write this, we’ re bracing for what will be our 13th straight rainy weekend. While we all know steady rain keeps our industry thriving, a dry Saturday or two wouldn’ t hurt! I hope you’ re all hanging in there and making the most of whatever Mother Nature sends your way. In my spring message, I talked about the value of sharing knowledge and experience. This was perfectly exemplified in April when Bob Maffei received the 2025 Beacon Award. Bob’ s leadership, honesty, and practical advice have helped many landscape professionals find their footing in this industry.
Looking ahead, we’ ve got a great chance to continue learning from one another at our Business Building Seminar on August 27, featuring Billy Butts of Outdoor Pride. Billy is one of the top sales leaders in the business, with a real talent for building trust, growing relationships, and turning conversations into meaningful opportunities. If we’ re lucky, we’ ll be able to get a famous Billy Butts’ selfie with all of us in the background!
Then, mark your calendar for our Fall Field Day on September 24 at the beautiful Warren Conference Center in Ashland. This year’ s event has been reimagined to include top-tier speakers, hands-on learning, and great networking opportunities— all in partnership with the Massachusetts Arborists Association. It’ s a fun-filled day you won’ t want to miss.
I look forward to seeing you at upcoming MALP events. Let’ s keep learning from each other and building a stronger, more connected professional community.
Chris Connors, MCLP President
ADVERTISING For advertising rates and information, contact Charissa Sharkey at csharkey @ mvwoodco. com or at the MALP phone number below. Ads may be submitted as high-resolution pdf files. Discounted advertising rates are available to MALP members.
DISCLAIMER The views and opinions expressed in this newsletter are those of the individual authors and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the MALP.
Massachusetts Association of Landscape Professionals 67 West Street • Medfield, MA 02052 phone: 508.653.3373 info @ mlp-mclp. org • MLP-MCLP. org
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