The Awards of Excellence are far more than just a plaque to go on the office wall. For many landscape companies, they are a powerful marketing tool, a way to boost team morale and a reinforcement for quality standards.
“If you have the time, do it,” says Daniel Klemencic, marketing manager for David J. Frank Landscape Contracting, Inc., based in Germantown, Wisconsin. “It’s a valuable team-building exercise. It strengthens employee engagement, and if you win, it is a cost-effective way to market your services. With about 10 categories, there’s something for every landscape company, not just the mega projects for contracting/installation or design/build. Plus, there are different price classifications. The lowest starts at under $25,000.”
Selecting Projects to Enter
Projects don’t necessarily have to be the flashiest to become award winners. The judges are looking for work that shows levels of excellence that set it apart from the competition.
“We select projects that best represent our company’s commitment to quality and attention to detail,” says Leslie Martinez, associate branch manager for EarthWorks, Inc., based in Lillian, Texas. “Whether it is a landscape or maintenance project, we look for work that shows great results from planning through execution.”
Greg Fox, project transition and quality control for Clean Scapes Landscaping, based in Austin, Texas, says it’s almost a year-round process where they ask account managers for their submissions, look for pictures and decide which properties have a ‘wow’ factor they want to enter.
Photo: EarthWorks
“We’ll start whittling down from a list of 75 or 100 submissions from properties that are all award-worthy, and trying to get those 10 is something else,” Fox says.
Trey Rice, an account manager with Clean Scapes, agrees that it’s tough deciding which properties to enter, but he focuses on projects that they’ve managed to transform. He says there’s more to Awards of Excellence entries than just submitting some pretty photos. Rice recommends standardizing a process where you document the different challenges and capture the story of the project.
“Throughout the year, I try to keep tabs and be able to tell the story of the property for that year,” Rice says. “I want to be able to create an accurate narrative and portrayal of this is why we’ve worked so hard on this. These are the challenges that we faced. These are the environmental impacts.”
Klemencic says they have a cross-functional team with representation from production, management, sales, and marketing who pick the projects to submit.
Utilizing Awards as a Marketing Tool
The Awards of Excellence are a strong marketing method for both existing and potential clients as it indicates the quality of your work.
Klemencic says they emphasize to current and potential clients that they are competing against the best landscape companies in the country. He says in Wisconsin, it’s uncommon for another landscape company to win an Award of Excellence, and receiving a national award from the industry’s foremost trade association helps them stand out from their competition.
“Winning local and state awards are great, but getting a national award carries more weight and has more of a wow factor with consumers,” Klemencic says. “It actually has led to clients asking if we can enter their properties.”
Photo: David J. Frank
Martinez agrees earning Awards of Excellence has helped differentiate EarthWorks from the competition as well. She notes receiving industry recognition reinforces the quality, professionalism, and attention to detail that EarthWorks brings to every project.
“We also include our award-winning projects as part of our portfolio when presenting proposals to prospective clients,” Martinez says. “These awards provide third-party recognition of our commitment to quality, giving potential customers added confidence in choosing EarthWorks.”
Both Martinez and Fox say they have their awards displayed in their office locations so it is one of the first things that visitors see.
Rice says when one of his clients’ properties earns an Award of Excellence, he takes them out to lunch to celebrate and provides them with a plaque of their own.
“I often ask them, ‘Hey, are there any other properties you want to make award winning, or anything you want to look at as something we can make an impact on?’” Rice says. “I just leave it at that. I’m not pushy with them or anything. I just let the work speak for itself.”
Turning Recognition into Team Pride
Winning an Award of Excellence is also a good way to celebrate and highlight the effort and contributions of your team members, especially those in the field.
“They see their work, they see the reward, the worth of their work, and how important it is, and it just really makes them feel like everything they do is worth something,” Rice says.
Rice says he’ll often take his award-winning crews out to lunch to celebrate, and they’ll take a picture with the plaque. Klemencic says whenever they win an Award of Excellence, it is highly celebrated in their newsletter, on posters, on social media, and at their company meetings.
“This just validates our profession in a way, and really sets us apart as a real industry,” Fox says. “We are a multi-billion-dollar industry that people just dismiss at times, and this is validation for that. This is why we do it. This is what we can do, and it’s not just pushing a lawn mower. It is selecting the right plants, putting them in the right place, and really just having pride in what we do.”
Martinez agrees that it’s a great opportunity for them to take pride in their work.
“Entering the Awards of Excellence involves the entire team — from planning and design to execution and maintenance,” Martinez says. “It gives everyone the opportunity to show their hard work and dedication while creating a rewarding experience for all involved.”
Reinforcing Standards
Additionally, the awards process can help your company determine what excellent work looks like and motivate teams.
“Entering the Awards of Excellence reinforces our commitment to quality and continuous improvement,” Martinez says. “It motivates our field teams to perform their very best on every project, knowing that their hard work and attention to detail can be recognized.”
Photo: Clean Scapes Landscaping
Rice notes that when he lets crews know he wants a property to be award-winning, it excites and energizes them.
Even if you don’t win every time, it can inspire your team to figure out where you fell short. Fox says it also gives them a chance to analyze what other companies’ standards are and strive to be better.
“You might be in a market that you think has a high standard, and you see somebody else’s market, and you’re like, ‘Wow, that’s my new standard,’” Fox says.
Rice adds that the Awards of Excellence Celebration held during ELEVATE is a prime opportunity to pick the brains of other landscape companies that win numerous awards.
“Just try to learn from the best,” Rice says. “Learn from other great people. You can just go and participate or you can get really active and get a lot out of it.”
Want to participate in the Awards of Excellence? Submit your entry by July 31, 2026.
