As we approach the 44th anniversary of Earth Day I'm reminded of the role all in the Green Industry play to protect and preserve the environment. We don't celebrate over the course of a week or make any particular day special. Instead each of us who plant and maintain turf for a living is an active participant - a practical activist if you will; a collection of professionals who day in and day out contribute to the good of Mother Earth.

Earth Day is an event whose birth came well before my brother's or mine. Our father, Kip Connelly, was a young man in 1970 who shortly after Earth Day's inception was thrust into the role of leading W.S. Connelly after the sudden death of his father. So under my dad's leadership all of us at W.S. Connelly and Landscape Supply have essentially grown up watching Earth Day grow to become an international phenomenon.

My brother and I have spent our formative years as active members in the business. Throughout we have both been heavily influenced by Kip's strong commitment to doing what is right for the environment. As a product of the 60's and 70's Kip embraced much of what Earth Day represented. He made the environment a key tenant of all the company stood for simply because it was good business to do so.

As Kevin and I have assumed more and more responsibility for the business we've also adopted a strong commitment to continuing what Kip made foundational to Landscape Supply...namely stewardship of the environment.

However, the thrust and focus of our commitment differs in some respects from all the Earth Day Network advocates. We are not campaigners or community organizers. We are first and foremost businessman. We are hard workers who must balance commitment to the environmental with the demands all businessman face...paying the bills, meeting a payroll and making a profit.

As owners of Landscape Supply we respectfully call attention to Earth Day but in doing so please understand our focus will remain squarely on education. Education of both the industry and all those practitioners who work tirelessly to grow and maintain turf. We firmly believe the products we sell and you apply represent a real and meaningful contribution to protecting and improving the environment.

So as April 22nd comes and goes we will all wake up with a passionate commitment to serving our customers. We will remain dedicated to providing the best and most environmentally sound products science and technology can produce. We will faithfully adhere to the regulations issued by government and to playing an active role as leaders of the Green Industry. No days off, no national holiday, no parties...just another day of providing solutions to the challenges each of you face growing and maintaining turf.