Click here for the 2012 brochure.

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General Information

We're searching for the country's BEST MAINTAINED LANDSCAPES

40th Annual Professional Grounds Management Awards

You are invited to enter the 40th annual maintenance awards program sponsored by the Professional Grounds Management Society (PGMS). The annual Professional Grounds Management Awards Program brings national recognition to grounds maintained with a high degree of excellence. The program complements other national landscape award programs that recognize outstanding landscape design and construction. This program will salute the grounds superintendent responsible for maintaining a well-manicured landscape year round.

Grand, Honor and Merit Awards are offered in 15 categories, covering all types of private, public commercial and industrial landscapes. To qualify for entry, a landscape must be at least two years old and under your continuous maintenance for at least two years.

The awards will be presented during the 2012 PGMS School of Grounds Management held in conjunction with the GIE+EXPO in Louisville, Ky. from October 24-27, 2012. Grand Award winners will be featured in several industry publications. Award winners will also appear in the PGMS Forum. The deadline for entries is Friday, August 3, 2012. All entries must be submitted to the Grounds Management Green Star Awards, c/o Professional Grounds Management Society, 720 Light Street, Baltimore MD, 21230, 410-223-2861.

Purpose    

The goals of the Green Star Professional Grounds Management Awards program are:

• To bring national recognition to grounds manicured with a high degree of excellence.

• To recognize individual professional efforts leading to high maintenance standards and high quality appearance of the landscape.

• To challenge those responsible for maintenance of grounds throughout the country to achieve a higher level of excellence. In sponsoring this awards program, the Professional Grounds Management Society wish to extend its mission in promoting well-maintained landscapes throughout the country.

Eligibility     

An entrant must be professionally engaged in, and responsible for, the maintenance of grounds described in entry CATEGORIES. Projects for which any entry was submitted in a design or construction award competition are eligible in the PGMS Green Star Awards, even if the project won an award, because maintenance is the criterion upon which an entry is judged in this award program.

Grand Award-winning projects are ineligible to re-enter the program for a period of two years. For example, 2010 Grand Award-winning projects are ineligible until 2013.

Any size landscape for which the entrant has the main responsibility for, the maintenance and beauty may be entered. The judges will consider the quality, challenge, operating budget, and performance in maintenance of grounds for a period of at least two years, beginning at least two years after construction.

Awards  

There will be three classes of awards: Grand Awards, Honor Awards and Merit Awards. The judges may grant as many Grand, Honor and Merit Awards as they deem deserving, and may decide no entries are deserving in a given category.

How To Enter

1. Download application form by clicking here.

All Entries MUST Include:

2. A PowerPoint presentation featuring 26 digital photos, shot with a 3 megapixel digital camera or higher (please set camera settings to largest photo size) - 15 photos showing the overall beauty of the total landscape project, 5 photos showing your crew at work, 5 photos showing challenges you face in maintaining your site and 1 photo of yourself as the person in charge is REQUIRED. Entries containing less than, or more than, 26 digital photos will be REJECTED.

3. Include a brief description of your site on the introductory PowerPoint slide.

4. Furnish a descriptive caption for digital photos, on the bottom of each PowerPoint Slide.
DO NOT USE POSED SHOTS.
DO NOT USE ENHANCED OR ALTERED PHOTOS.

5. Send three CDs of your digital photos entry. Two discs should feature the PowerPoint presentation and 1 disc should just include the 26 digital photos as .jpg or .tiff files with a 300 dpi resolution.

6. All entries must include a COVER LETTER releasing the material for publication at the discretion of PGMS or use for other purposes as deemed appropriate by PGMS.

7. Enclose a check for the ENTRY FEE: $150 for PGMS members or $225 for others. For a reduced rate of $275, non-members may join PGMS and enter the contest. There is no limit to the number of categories an organization may enter. However, entries should be tailored to each category and as such, multiple entries should be distinctively different from each other. Each entry, accompanied by the entry fee, must be sent in a separate envelope.

8. If you have any questions call 410-223-2861 or e-mail PGMS@assnhqtrs.com.

9. Entries must be received no later than Friday, August 3, 2012.

Entry Categories

1: Small Site (commercial or primary work site with a budget under $80,000)

2: Residential Landscape (single residence or estate owner)

3: Public Works Site (includes parkways, greenways, and intersections)

4: Shopping Area

5: Hospital or Institution

6: Government Building or Complex

7: Cemetery or Memorial Park

8: Industrial, Commercial Site, or Office Park

9: Park, Recreation Area, or Playground

10: Multiple Sites under Management Company

11: Condominium or Apartment Complex

12: Hotel, Motel, or Resort

13: Amusement Park, Theme Park, or Zoo

14: A) Athletic Fields - baseball, football, lacrosse, soccer (high school, collegiate, semi-pro)
B) Professional Fields - baseball, football, soccer, tennis
C) Golf Course

15: A) School Grounds (kindergarten - high school, technical school, community colleges)
B) University and College Grounds
C) Urban University Grounds

JUDGING

A distinguished panel of judges, selected by the Professional Grounds Management Society will determine the award winners. All decisions of the judges are final.

PRESENTATION OF AWARDS  

Awards will be presented during the 2012 School of Grounds Management & GIE+EXPO in Louisville, Ky. from October 24-27, 2012.

PLATINUM PARTNERS IN PROFESSIONALISM

GOLD PARTNERS IN PROFESSIONALISM

SILVER PARTNERS IN PROFESSIONALISM

BRONZE PARTNERS IN PROFESSIONALISM