This year, National Safety Month takes on a sense of urgency as people around the globe deal with the COVID-19 pandemic. Workplace safety is more important than ever, and employers have new responsibilities to their employees, their clients, and their communities with regards to safety.

The Stanley Brown Associate Member Distinguished Service Award is presented to an associate member employee who has helped make the industry more professional, is known for outstanding association service and has been a loyal supporter of ALCC and Colorado’s landscape industry. This year’s recipient is Leo Degenstein with the LL Johnson Distributing Company.

The Colorado landscape industry mourns the loss of Bill “Smitty” Smith, founder of Smitty’s Sprinklers, Centennial. His family shared the following obituary: 

Veteran landscape professional in the Colorado mountain community Bill Whittaker, Whittaker Landscape Services, suffered a fatal injury on May 4th, 2020 in an accident near his home.

“Bill was a man of high integrity, and anyone who knew him will attest to his great attitude and professionalism,” said Matt Mueller, Siloam Stone, Inc. “The landscape industry has certainly suffered a great loss with Bill’s passing.”