Educator, innovator and founder of Irrigator Tech and the Green Industry Hall of Fame, Richard Daigle, 63, passed away on Friday, November 25th, 2022, peacefully in his sleep at his Ontario home.
Daigle had been a contributing member to the Irrigation Industry for over 37 years and his background reflects a diverse amount of experience and education. It all started in 1977 while attending Glendora High and participating in the Landscape Department's ROP Program. Bit by the bug, he went on to own and operate a Landscape Maintenance and Nursery from 1977-1983 before branching out to start Basic Irrigation Parts, a company based on an idea that repair parts were a much-needed item in the landscape industry.

Basic Irrigation Parts went on to become a division of Precision Controls, which refurbished brass impact heads for Cal Trans and other government companies. In 1999, Richard acquired the Valcon Valve Company with the goal of restoring and manufacturing the prominent valve that has been used by Cal Trans, private universities, and amusement parks nationwide since 1942. Ten years after the acquisition, Champion Irrigation purchased Valcon and Richard continued to support the company through Daigle & Associates, his sales firm that served the Irrigation Industry since 1988.

 

In 2001, Richard had a dream and a goal to start an educational school to teach basic irrigation concepts to all service providers and technicians in the field. It would be designed to give landscape contractors the opportunity to reach their career goals and had a mission statement of, "Raising the Professionalism in the Green Industry."

Starting out with basic certification courses, Irrigator Technical Training School taught beginning irrigation, implementing elementary techniques and practices and coupling hands-on instruction with classroom theory. Irrigator Tech has grown to offer a full range of classes with certification in areas that include Back Flow, Irrigation Auditor, Irrigation Repair, Irrigation Installer and SmartWater. These classes are offered to cities, schools, government agencies, business owners, property managers, municipalities, and maintenance companies.

Richard has served as President of the California Landscape Contractors Association (CLCA) Inland Empire Chapter from 2008-2014 and served on CLCA's Education Committee at the state level for several years. He founded the Association of Latino Landscape Professionals in 2010, Landscape Certified Contractors Association in 2013, and co-founded the Green Industry Hall of Fame in 2005.

Daigle had been an educator at The Landscape Expo since 2011 and an exhibitor with Irrigator Tech since 2013. This past November, he presented two sold out seminars at The Landscape Expo, Anaheim. Most recently he had developed a podcast through iHeart Radio called Irrigator Tech Talk which can still be heard at pod.co/irrigator-tech-talk.

The industry is deeply saddened by this loss. He leaves behind his daughter, Mckenna, three stepchildren: Megan, Grant, and Drew and his wife of over 25 years and business partner, Marcie Daigle.