With all the talk about targeting millennials for the workforce, landscape company owners shouldn’t lose sight of other demographics when marketing their services. Baby Boomers are still considered the best prospective customers, according to recent research.

Last Friday, the US Department of Labor Employment and Training Administration's (ETA) Office of Foreign Labor Certification (OFLC) announced an emergency procedures initiative to address the backlog of H-2B applications:

The Employment and Training Administration's (ETA) Office of Foreign Labor Certification (OFLC) will host a public stakeholder webinar today, Monday, February 22, 2016, starting at noon Mountain time. The webinar will run approximately 1.5 hours. To join the event, please use the below instructions:

• Go to or click on: https://dol.webex.com/dol/onstage/g.php?MTID=e5d2c3aa2de3806cdaa9937a40c8e8d6c
• Enter your first name, last name and e-mail address.
• If prompted, enter the event password: Abcd123$
• Click on "Join Now"
• Dial the toll-free number 1-866-421-8739 and enter access code: 939 193 9 to hear the audio portion of the webinar or use the audio function of the Web Ex software to stream audio.

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State Representative Jon Becker Named Legislator of the Year by the Green Industries of Colorado

DENVER, CO – Representative Jon Becker (R-Sterling) was named “Legislator of the Year” by the Green Industries of Colorado (GreenCO). The award was presented to Representative Becker at the annual ProGreen EXPO conference and tradeshow on February 10, 2016.

“GreenCO chose Representative Becker as its Legislator of the Year because of his knowledge and support on a variety of key GreenCO legislative issues in the past year, including transportation and tax issues, but most notably for his work on reauthorizing the state Pesticide Applicator law,” said GreenCO lobbyist Jay Hicks. “He is a knowledgeable, business-friendly legislator and an asset at the state capitol.”

House District 65 includes which includes Cheyenne, Kit Carson, Logan, Morgan, Phillips, Sedgwick and Yuma counties. Currently, he is the ranking Republican on the House Transportation Committee. Representative Becker was elected in 2014. Since being elected, Rep. Becker has also been named the Community College Legislator of the Year.

Outsourcing the refueling process has increased efficiency for Swingle Lawn, Tree and Landscape Care’s fleet management. With 170 vehicles to manage and many needing a fill-up more than once a week, the service saves staff time, congestion and addresses safety issues.

Swingle’s fleet manager, Terry Overhuls, shared with Colorado Green NOW how the process works and how it has boosted overall company efficiency.

Colorado Department of Agriculture (CDA) has released an updated brochure for dealing with the threat of Emerald Ash Borer. View or print the brochure, “Emerald Ash Borer: Options for Safe Handling of Ash Tree Wood.”

Colorado Green NOW spoke with Laura Pottorff, M.S., CGG about the latest information available. Laura is CDA’s Program Manager (Nursery, Phytosanitary, Plant-Pest Quarantine, Seed).

Colorado Green NOW: Are there developments with Emerald Ash Borer that have surprised you? Or is it developing as expected?

Laura Pottorff: Since we only have 2 to 3 seasons of observations it's hard to draw any conclusions. Similar to the Mid-west, this pest is very hard for us to detect early. If anything, we have been surprised and frustrated with how hard the pest is to detect.

Millennials are the largest single demographic and will soon be the majority of the workforce. Hear what Mountain States Employers Council has to say about adapting to the wants and needs of this next generation.

I just completed recruiting engagements with two companies. One required a salesperson and the other, a sales manager.

Here are three things I discovered:

Tom Sunderland and Becky Hammond of Native Edge Landscapes recently shared with Colorado Green NOW the story of they developed a way to turn terrific seasonal employees into year-round staff members.

Mid-summer last year, we realized at Native Edge that we had put together a really great team of employees who may not be available next year. We didn't want to take a chance of losing anyone by having to lay off people when the winter months arrived, as we had in the past. We decided to find a way to keep this team year-round.

On Tuesday, February 9, at 2:00 PM, the Colorado Senate Finance Committee is scheduled for a hearing on SB36, which will help reform the Colorado sales tax system. ALCC will testify in support of the bill. View the fact sheet about the bill here.