Wow, January was packed with amazing ALCC events! The Women in Green event on January 16 was fantastic! Hosted by member company, Lifescape Colorado, and sponsored by CPS Distributors, the event was wonderful. 2025 marks the start of the 3rd year of the Women in Green initiative, and each event continues to inspire me by the phenomenal women in this industry, and the impact we make every day. We were challenged to meet someone new during the event and I had the pleasure of meeting Karigene Burke. Karigene was the first woman voted onto the Board of Directors for the ALCC in 1986. Back then, the governance structure was much different than it is now. Besides the state board of directors, ALCC’s chapters each had their executive director and a formal slate of board members. Karigene started on the board of the Denver Chapter in 1986, became secretary in 1988, 2nd Vice President in 1989, Vice President in 1990, and President in 1991. She was excited to see the large group of women and to learn about the Women in Green initiative’s accomplishments and plans for the future. It was interesting to talk with her about being a woman in this industry almost 40 years ago, and she was excited to learn about the improvements and positive changes that we experience as women in the industry today. I am thankful I had the opportunity to meet her. Her experience and the progress made since then are inspirational and exemplify the impact women have and continue to make in this industry.

ProGreen ended January with a bang last week. Hopefully, you were able to attend. I have been to ProGreen for many years and find new value in it every year. This year the conference delivered in a big way. The class offerings were diverse and packed full of information for all aspects of my business- training for field staff, certification classes and testing, and business management information. The networking events provided time to catch up with old friends and meet new ones. I often walk out of ProGreen with so many ideas that I do not know where to start and this year was no exception. As an owner/operator, I find that it can be hard to implement the information learned at ProGreen as I usually get bombarded with the day-to-day when I get back to the office and I get sucked back into the routine. A few years ago, I started having meetings with members of my team who also attended the conference to go over our favorite takeaways and new ideas for our company. We go through the list and choose a handful of action items, a timeline for implementation, and assign tasks. We all learn enough that we could flip this company on its head and re-do everything, but that’s simply not realistic. Having a “review” session with my team narrows down the options to the ideas that we are all passionate about, think will be successful, and will have the biggest impact. This creates a solid plan and fosters accountability so we can work together and make positive changes in the coming year.

If you couldn’t make it to ProGreen or if it made you hungry for more educational opportunities, do not worry, we've got you covered. ALCC is launching a partnership with Outgrow Your Garage this month with a series of virtual workshops with content designed to help you improve and grow your business. Jessi Burg, owner of Outgrow Your Garage, previously owned and operated a landscaping company in the Denver area. After she sold her business, she wanted to start something to help new business owners avoid some of the common mistakes and mishaps that can derail the success and growth of businesses. It does not matter if your business is in year 15 or year 3, you can always learn something new, and these workshops will be a convenient and valuable resource to do just that. Several sessions will be offered in Spanish. The workshops are open to ALCC members only on the first Tuesday of each month and most are conveniently scheduled around the lunch hour or midday. Take a break, get some lunch, and take an hour to learn something to improve your business! The first session is coming up soon on Tuesday, February 4th. Keep your eye out for information from the ALCC on the schedule, workshop topics, and registration information.

Have a fantastic February and enjoy the last of the quiet days as Spring will be here before we know it! Will you be ready? With resources like this from the ALCC, how can we not be?