As we begin the fourth year of LSMP, we are getting a feeling that we are just beginning to hit our stride in providing you with entertaining and educational information affecting your day-to-day life as a Landscape Superintendent.

As you may know, LSMP is the younger brother of both Landscape Contractor National (LCN) and Landscape Architect and Specifier News (LASN). And like many a younger sibling, LSMP is getting along a bit quicker than the older kids . . .

Over the past four years we have forged an alliance with the Professional Grounds Management Society that is also beginning to flourish. Be sure to check out the current Green Star Award winners starting on page 42. This is the first time they have been displayed in LSMP and we are looking forward to going more "In-Depth" on several of the award winning facilities throughout the year.

Watch for the PGMS to grow over the next several years as more and more facilities are recognizing the value of keeping the landscape crew ???in-house'. You know, LSMP has its own research department and while we haven't finalized the research yet, we are finding that more and more cities and facilities who had hired out the landscape are switching back to in-house crews.

The story goes like this . . . They had an in-house crew, but workers comp and other costs seemed to always increase so they shopped around. In doing so, they found that by hiring out the landscape work they were saved from all the employee hassles and from maintaining all that equipment . . . And they may even have been promised to save a few dimes along the way . . . However . . .

As with many contracts, they are now finding that the original prices did not cover all the areas that were covered by the in-house staff. They are also finding that while the salesman for the outside firm sure cared about the project, that nurturing does not always carry forward to the crew working the site.

In fact there is a very strong case to support the notion that an in-house staff is more economical and reliable than an outside staff. For one thing, most workers are more dedicated to their employer than to a project.

Of course I'm just preaching to the choir here, but the above is worth noting . . .

Another event of note, especially for LSMP, was the successful acquisition, promotion and production of the Western Turgrass and Landscape Expo. While this 46-year-old industry event had enjoyed many years of success, it was also an ongoing struggle for the Southern California Turfgrass Council as it was mostly the product of volunteers . . . You gotta give credit to Carl Clifton and Richard Wills and the SCTC for handing us an event with some momentum.

With the closing of the GIE show (which joined the Outdoor Power Equipment Expo in Louisville) the Western Turfgrass and Landscape Expo has really become the premier trade show for Turfgrass and Landscape Professionals west of the Mississippi. With more than 100,000 square feet of Exhibit space and dozens of seminars and other events in 2006, the WTLE will grow even bigger in 2007 and . . . You Are All Invited!!!

So thank you for reading LSMP and being a part of this ???growing' publication. After all it is you who increased the reader response in 2006 by nearly 30% over 2005 (and that's before we add in the two additional issues!) It is also you who get to enjoy another issue in 2007 as LSMP grows from 10 issues a year to 11 in '07 . . . (We would have gone to 12 but it didn't have the same ring as 11 in '07 . . ;-)

So anyways . . . Thanks again for a great 2006 . . . Be sure to check out LandscapeOnline.com for past LSMP articles, for articles from LCN and LASN, for new products from more than 5,000 vendors or to find a local turfgrass producer, tree nursery, or wholesale facility to meet your needs . . .

And most of all . . . Have a Great 2007!!!!

??"God Bless