The Hall of Fame

When our family visited Baseball’s Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, N.Y. one summer, and while I am not the biggest baseball fan, it was a special treat. I highly recommend the stop. The place was filled with history, showing timelines, changes in the game and, of course, all the legends. It is every baseball fan’s “Field of Dreams,” designed to make sure the stories, legends and magic are passed on from generation to generation.

Induction into the Hall of Fame is rare – a tremendous honor. According to the Baseball Almanac, 17,742 players have made an appearance in the majors. Doug Mead wrote in 2013, that only 208 of those players have made it into the Hall of Fame, representing just 1.17 percent of the total number of players since 1876. Meaning, of course, that only the best of the best is recognized.

On September 9, 2022, our workplace will honor four retired landscape legends as the first inductees into the Landscape Hall of Fame. These four were voted in by the current landscape employees using the Landscape Creed as one of the main criteria for being selected. Each inductee’s character, work ethic and behavior align with our Landscape Creed and they will be introduced with an explanation of how they modeled one, or more, of the Creed’s core values.

The purpose of creating our Landscape Hall of Fame program is to, yes, honor these individuals, but also to inspire our current employees to honor the Creed’s beliefs and attitudes. We want to honor excellence and connect generations of workers to the bigger purpose of their magnificent work.

Before retiring these inductees fostered their own personal growth, displayed dedication to our high standards and made an impact on our many customers. We want to show our gratitude to them for their service to our industry and the outstanding contributions they made toward our organization’s national awards. In doing so, we step outside ourselves, pay tribute and continue to cultivate greatness. 

The Baseball Hall of Fame honors baseball players for the same reason. If the legends and the stories are never lost, then the excellence continues in the minds and hearts of other players and fans. Excellence is honored and valued.

“We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, therefore, is not an act, but a habit.” ~Aristotle

Go cultivate some legends!

Jeff