Lawn Care Associations Poised to Merge

The new lawn care association will be based in offices at 950 Herndon Parkway, Suite 450, Herndon, Va., 20170. More information is at www.alca.org.

The close to 4,000 members making up the Associated Landscape Contractors of America and the Professional Lawn Care Association of America have until Sept. 3 to cast votes for or against the organizations' merger.

The merger was approved by ALCA and PLCAA Boards of Directors in May and is expected to win final approval in this summer's vote. Early indications are that the merger will pass.

?EUR??,,????'??The voting is going well with the majority of respondents approving the merger,?EUR??,,????'?? the ALCA's Lynn Meloche said. Rules require two-thirds of all votes cast or one-half of all members-whichever is less-to approve the merger for it to pass.

The leadership of both organizations have been talking about the merger for several years. Creating one big lawn care organization will maximize the group's voice for lobbying efforts in Washington, organizers said. ?EUR??,,????'??There's been a lot of duplication,?EUR??,,????'?? ALCA spokeswoman Vicki Bendure told Landscape online. ?EUR??,,????'??We've been having our yearly meeting(s) together for several years now (to increase efficiency).?EUR??,,????'??

The name of the new group hasn't yet been determined. The unified organization will be based at 950 Herndon Parkway, Suite 450, Herndon, Va., 20170, with satellite offices at PLCAA headquarters in Marietta, Ga.

The new group will continue to push for guest worker reform to ease the lawn care industry's continuing labor shortage.

The ALCA is the older organization, founded in 1961. The PLCAA was founded in 1979.

Members can cast paper, mail-in ballots or vote online.

More information is at www.alca.org and www.plcaa.org.