NMNLA President's Message – January 2026

By Kristin Trojanowski

Flaska Landscaping LLC

Dear NMNLA Members,

As my term as President comes to a close, I want to take a moment to express my sincere gratitude to each of you. Serving this organization—especially as a founding member of the Northern Chapter—has been a true honor. 

Thank you to the Board, committees, volunteers, and members who dedicate their time, energy, and expertise. Your willingness to collaborate, share knowledge, and show up for one another is what makes this organization special. None of our progress would have been possible without your commitment and belief in the mission.

What began as an idea has grown into a strong, engaged community of professionals who are committed to elevating our industry, supporting one another, and building something meaningful together. I am incredibly proud of what we have accomplished over the last few years. Together, we set standards, shared knowledge openly, supported one another through challenges, and strengthened the sense of connection within our industry.

As we close the year and look toward the future of our Chapter, we know the continued success depends on the Energy, Creativity, and Passion of ALL OF YOU - our members.  

Through our programming, we try to cover a broad spectrum of engaging topics while educating and elevating our Green Industry.  

Here is a recap of some of the programs we put together for you this past year: 

WINTER – We began the year with a business-minded class which helped us dive into the numbers, and focused on Benchmarking and Budgeting. We had guest speakers Sean Baxter and Mitch Katz from Jeffrey Scott Consulting share data with us from 86 other landscape companies to help us compare and see where our own companies stand.

SPRING – We had a hands-on training event with Brian Zimmerman of Four Season Nursery. He shared best practices with us for plant installation and handling, and also challenged us with a fun plant identification session.

LATE SUMMER – We enjoyed breaking away from the grind and developing lifelong friendships at the 2nd Annual NMNLA Golf Outing at Antrim Dells Golf Course.  

EARLY FALL – Another wonderful 2-day event was delivered at The Botanic Garden at Historic Barns Park for the Great Lakes, Great Plants Symposium. Speakers from across the country shared their passion and expertise with us, and the plant offerings at the dinner/auction were rare and diverse.

LATE FALL – We headed into fall with a Safety Summit sponsored by PURE Custom Landscapes, keeping us on our toes with MDARD, MIOSHA and MI State Police safety practices and updates, and increasing our industry standards.

WINTER – We ended the year a few weeks ago with a well-known and entertaining guest speaker Frank Mariani of Mariani Premier Group and a fabulous networking event at The Botanic Garden at Historic Barns Park.

If you missed any of these, you missed out on fantastic opportunities to grow and further develop your business, your skills, and your industry knowledge – not to mention the networking and friendships. We encourage you to get involved and join in on the great events we have planned for you in 2026. 

I look forward to supporting the next leadership team and remaining actively involved as we continue this journey.

With sincere appreciation,

Kristin

Kristin Trojanowski

Flaska Landscaping LLC / 2025 NMNLA President