Bay Breeze

Barry and Mary Cohen, Co-Presidents

Dear Members,

Do you wonder how the quickly evolving world of Artificial Intelligence can be a benefit to the landscape industry? MARK YOUR CALENDAR for Thursday, October 17, 2024; 5:30pm and you’ll find out! Brand new member, Michael Ding, is the owner and brains behind Bobyard (bobyard.com), a new company that deals with just that! His program uses AI to help contractors do takeoffs and estimates “10x faster”. Would that be valuable to the efficiency of the bidding process in your business? We’re still working on the location, so check next month’s issue of the Breeze or the Chapter website (clcasfba.org) for more details. You owe it to yourself and your business to hear all about AI and the landscape industry.

I (Barry) want to thank my wife, Mary, for putting together a great Auxiliary Potluck. There were 22 members, including spouses and significant others, who came. We had a great time together and had some great discussions about the Chapter, its past, present and future hopes for maintaining an active chapter for decades to come and the special friendships we’ve shared.

Please remember, we need to build our chapter…new people, new ideas, new EVERYTHING. In the course of your daily business, if you meet a contractor who isn’t a member, be a spokesperson for the Association and tell them about CLCA. Invite them to a dinner meeting (dinner is free for a first-time member and one guest), secure in knowing you’re doing your part to elevate the professionalism of our industry. If you see a truck on the road with a landscape company’s information and no CLCA logo, jot down the phone number and give the company a call. Ask to speak to the owner and, again, talk to them about CLCA and invite them to a dinner meeting. I used to do this when I spent a lot of time in my car and it was actually fun to speak to fellow contractors and share information they were not aware of.

For yourselves, get involved, join a committee and see how you can help. There is a lot you can do and learn and we are appreciative and grateful for whatever time and expertise you’re willing to share. Speaking of getting involved, October brings the election of 2025 officers, who will lead our Chapter. Beth Valdez, Jackie Marsey and Scooter Wren have agreed to stay on, so we are looking for a member to serve as secretary. This is a five-year commitment to “move up the ladder” from secretary to ultimately chair of the Board. A lot of us long-time members have served in these capacities and I can tell you, without hesitation, that I learned more and improved the professionalism of my company more than I gave of my leadership skills and time commitment in our 49 years as contractor members. The best way to improve yourself, both personally and professionally, is to get involved in an organization that elevates your industry to the public and your clients. Think about it and, if you’re interested in serving, please reach out to any Board member and we would be happy to meet with you and share what serving means in the way of time, energy and sharing your expertise.

In closing, we want to formally welcome Craig and Vivian Rapp back to the Chapter Family. Craig served as Chapter president in 2008 and they’ve decided they have more to give to the Chapter and to CLCA. Welcome home, Craig and Vivian. We’re glad you’re back!

Until we gather at the Picnic,

Barry and Mary Cohen
Co-Presidents