The Edge June/July/August 2026

seeing what makes them different is cool.” Ben Hollis, a first-year landscape and plant production technology major at Pennsylvania College of Technology, says his favorite part of NCLC was the career fair, as the different business owners were more than willing to share tips and advice. “It shows how much the actual industry cares about the upcoming future,”Hollis says. “It’s really cool that they all come out here and support and try to recruit people and give them the best opportunities they can really get.” Employers were equally inspired and excited by the students they networked with during the event. “It’s really invigorating to come to a place like this and see that there is a bright future for the industry, because some times you forget,”says Chris Lee, president of EarthWorks, based in Lillian, Texas. “You get caught up in the day-to-day grind and doing business, and you don’t realize that there’s this whole world of super bright, super enthusiastic kids. It gives me not just hope, but it gives me a lot of confidence in the future of this industry.” Stephanie Serbedzija, an account man ager with Alan Horticulture, LLC, based in Bartlett, Illinois, says they decided to attend this year because they are looking for up and-coming people in the industry. “No matter what your end goal or what you’re looking for as a desire to come to a competition like this, the big thing that you’re going to gain is just the refreshment

“It’s a once in a lifetime event,” Hawks says. “There’s nothing like it. It tests your skills and builds your skills. It sets you up for your future.” Reynolds says he appreciates how the various competitive events allow different students’ skills to shine through. “At the end of the day, it’s awesome to see NCLC give a platform for so many different people to compete and really showcase the skills that they’ve tailored to be able to do excellent events that maybe aren’t typically what you’d see,”Reynolds says. A new event this year was lawn care spreader sprayer operations, which allowed many students to explore a new aspect of the lawn care side of the industry. CONTINUING THE LEGACY Lee encourages others in the industry who have never attended to give NCLC a shot. “There’s no way you can get the level of passion, the level of excitement and the level of competency,”Lee says. “These are sharp kids. They’re kids who need far less training and work than a lot of the people we hire on a regular basis.” Milanes says this is their second year attending, and it isn’t even a question if they’ll attend next year. “We will come back every year,”Milanes says. “It’s so important to come because the talent here is unmatched. You get to see them actually compete in competi tions, do cool work, and you get to build really strong connections with these students. These are the kids that will be leading the industry in 10 years.” NCLC is one of the best ways to support the future of the industry and strengthen the workforce development pipeline. “If we’re concerned about our future, this is it,” says Anterro Graham, general manager for Pro Cutters Lawnscapes, based in Conyers, Georgia. “If we don’t

of knowing that there are people out here who are really hungry to explore different avenues,” Serbedzija says. Katelyn Milanes, director of culture and employee engagement for Fisk Lawn scapes, based in Colorado Springs, Colo rado, says the passion of these students is contagious. “They are bright, they are inquisitive, they ask great questions,” Milanes says. “They are informed, and they are so pas sionate. It’s beautiful to see how passionate these young students are, and they’re so excited about the industry.” Sarah Robbins, a junior landscape sys tems major at Brigham Young University, says she is very grateful for the industry’s involvement in NCLC. “It’s such a close-knit and beautiful com munity, so that they’re willing to do this and willing to help us succeed, it’s really, really beautiful,” Robbins says. “I’m really happy that I’m coming into landscaping because I’m like, ‘Oh, they want me to succeed. It’s going to be great.” EXPLORING AND TESTING SKILLS The 781 students from 56 different schools were not afraid to get their hands dirty or step out of their comfort zone during 30 different competitive events held on Thursday, March 19 and Friday, March 20.

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