Tag Archive for: Awarded

Man City’s John Ledwidge Awarded Pioneer Mark 001 

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John Ledwidge Awarded Pioneer Mark #001: The Grounds Management Association (GMA) is pleased to award John Ledwidge Pioneer Mark #001 in recognition of his contributions to the industry.

The ‘Pioneer Legacy’ initiative celebrates individuals who have made a lasting impact on the industry through the GMA’s NextGen group, formerly known as the GMA Young Board.

John Ledwidge Awarded Pioneer Mark #001

John Ledwidge Awarded Pioneer Mark #001

Pioneer Mark

Each Pioneer Mark is uniquely numbered and represents the individual’s contribution to supporting the next generation of grounds people.

The presentation of John’s award is particularly timely during National Apprenticeship Week, which highlights the crucial role apprenticeships play in creating career pathways in the industry.

Ledwidge, himself, began his career as an apprentice at Coventry City Football Club and, after 18 months away, returned as Grounds Manager where he was also part of the first GMA Young Board cohort between 2011-2014.

As the group’s inaugural chair, he played a key role in laying the foundations for its evolution into GMA NextGen which supports and develops emerging talent within the industry.

Since his time with the Young Board, Ledwidge has progressed through senior positions at Leicester City Football Club and is now Head of Grounds and Landscapes at Manchester City Football Club.

What they said

Jennifer Carter, Director of Communications and Marketing at the GMA, said: “John’s journey not only with the GMA but within the industry highlights his dedication to the profession and his ability to inspire meaningful change.

As the first chair of the Young Board, he showed great leadership that set the foundation for GMA NextGen. Seeing his achievements recognised with Pioneer Mark #001 is a proud moment for everyone who has worked alongside him.”

Commenting on the award, John Ledwidge said: “It is a genuine honour to be awarded with the #001 pioneer mark from the GMA. As the first chair of the young board and part of the founding group, we created something that had never been done before, hopefully laying the foundations for today’s NextGen group to continue the legacy we left.

Personally, I feel we all have a responsibility to encourage and develop new and emerging talent and to share our knowledge and expertise with them. I have always been proud of what I do and will always be grateful for the opportunities this wonderful industry has given me and my family, so it is such a pleasure to receive this recognition from the GMA.”

For more information about the Pioneer Legacy initiative or GMA NextGen, please visit thegma.org.uk/who/ambassadors/.

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Walton Heath awarded international distinction

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Walton Heath awarded international distinction: Walton Heath Golf Club, host venue of this week’s AIG Women’s Open, has achieved GEO Certified(r) status for sustainable golf, underlining its strong commitment and performance across key themes for sustainable golf course operations.

GEO Certification is overseen by GEO Foundation for Sustainable Golf – the international non-profit organisation dedicated to delivering programmes that help people on the ground to evaluate, improve and credibly communicate their sustainability work. The international distinction confirms the facility satisfies all the certification criteria; meeting a credible standard in the areas of nature, resources, climate and community, and is committed to continual improvement.

Walton Heath awarded international distinction

Walton Heath awarded international distinction

Michael Mann, Course Manager at Walton Heath, said: “Becoming GEO certified really fits in with what we are trying to achieve at Walton Heath. Is is good for evaluating resource efficiencies, particularly with rising costs, and with the focus on nature and this being such an important conservation site it is important to manage the courses in the right way. Our rainfall capture systems and borehole extraction for example all fit with the GEO Certification and anything which helps you explore ways to improve is rightly a good thing. Demonstrating the positive impacts golf brings is so important to the club and wider community.”

Carole Kerrey, Credibility Manager at GEO Certification Ltd, said: “Walton Heath is a shining example of positive action in sustainable golf. The accredited third-party verifier was very impressed by the practices in place and the commitment and enthusiasm to do more. The club’s awareness of the importance of its site and progressive drive and determination to continually improve highlights what can be achieved towards building a more sustainable future.”

Walton Heath’s Sustainable Golf Highlights include:

*A biodiversity audit of the Old Course at Walton Heath undertaken in 2022 highlighted 175 different species. This included 12 Species of Principal Importance, such as the small heath butterfly and brown long-eared bat (also a European Protected Species), and five birds of conservation concern: two red listed, and three amber listed.

*11 notable plant species were also recorded, including all three native heathers: common heather, bell heather and cross-leaved heather, all of which are Near Threatened in England.

*The greenkeepers at Walton Heath painstakingly manage areas of nationally important lowland heathland and acid grassland across the golf courses to ensure that these habitats support a diverse range of wildlife.

*Since 2000, Walton Heath have collaborated with various organisations, including Natural England, the Forestry Commission, The RSPB, Surrey Wildlife Trust and the Surrey Heathland Project to restore nine hectares of pure heath.

*Areas of the practice range are left as buffer zones for pollinators. Heather nursery areas are encouraged alongside expanses of unmanaged but monitored rough.

*Water supply and efficiency has been boosted with the construction of a reservoir to store water drawn from a borehole along with a rainfall capture system alongside the M25 bank which runs along the boundary of the site. As well as reducing potable water consumption, the reservoir was designed with a marginal shelf to create support habitat and biodiversity. A new irrigation system installed in 2022 further improves precision and efficiency.

*Solar panels power the maintenance complex with all electric and hybrid equipment are charged using renewable energy. Surplus energy is sold back into the grid and all the club’s energy needs are obtained from renewable sources.

*The chef purchases much of the produce used from local sources – within a 10-mile radius.

*The club manage a car park used for daily dog walking and other recreational activities, maintaining clean and safe access to the common for the community. The club and greenstaff also manage a recreation ground on site for football and other sports, Break Lane school fields for the school, the old pheasantry and the local pond within the village of Walton on the Hill.

This week’s AIG Women’s Open will also see a range of sustainability actions implemented through The R&A’s Greenlinks programme including nature walks around Walton Heath in partnership with the RSPB. Such actions help continue to raise awareness of positive impacts highlighted at tournaments through the joint LPGA and LET Celebrating the Green presented by Dow initiative.

For further information: www.waltonheath.com

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Reesink awarded outstanding sales achievement

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Reesink awarded outstanding sales achievement: Pitched against Toro distributors from across the globe, Reesink has been awarded by Toro the International Outstanding Sales Achievement award for 2022 – high praise indeed for the company.

In order to qualify for the award, distributors must have exhibited excellence in sales growth, a positive market share trend, and win rate – which includes new projects, large fleet replacements, and renovations. They must have participated in relationship building activities and delivered solid industry support.

Reesink awarded outstanding sales achievement

Reesink awarded outstanding sales achievement

Reesink Turfcare has succeeded on every level in demonstrating these core components. Jon Cole, divisional business manager for Reesink Turfcare, says: “To be considered for this award at all is an honour, and to win it is a massive achievement for our sales team and dealer partners.

“The number of machines we’ve managed to get into clubs, even amid the challenges of industry wide shortages, speaks for itself and is testament to the hard work our sales team and dealer partners put into building those relationships with our customer base. Over the past year we’ve seen more and more clubs invest in electric models and increasing numbers turning red as they look to invest in quality machines. I cannot emphasise enough just how thankful we are to all our customers for their patience and understanding in what have been, and remain, extremely challenging circumstances.

“Our aim is always to set the customer up with the right machines for their course, and deliver to them a product that is going to perform, and last a very long time. This sales achievement award is a reflection of those values and the passion Reesink and our partners share in delivering quality equipment.”

To talk to someone about Toro technology and how the Toro range could suit your course, call 01480 226800.

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Allett Awarded Queen’s Award

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Allett Awarded Queen’s Award: Today, Allett Limited welcomed the Lord-Lieutenant, Mr Ian Dudson, the Queen’s representative in Staffordshire to meet the staff and present a commemorative vase and ‘Grant of Appointment’ deed for the Queen’s award for Enterprise.

In April 2019 Allett, the Staffordshire based specialist cylinder mower manufacturer won the coveted Queen’s Award for Enterprise: International Trade 2019 in recognition of its growth in exports and contribution to the British economy.

Allett Awarded Queen's Award

Allett Awarded Queen’s Award

The Queen’s Awards for Enterprise are for outstanding achievement by UK businesses in the categories of:

  • Innovation
  • International trade
  • Sustainable development
  • Promoting opportunity through social mobility

Allett won this award after the company had demonstrated exceptional and year-on-year growth in export sales over a five year period  and had made a minimum of £100,000 in export sales in the first year of entry.

The Russia World Cup was an important factor in Allett’s overseas sales success however the Company has also seen a huge rise in sales to other countries such as America where sales into the top baseball and football clubs has been a strong and growing market.

Export Manager Dave Allett played a major role in partnership with Allett’s Russian distributors, Moscow based Unisaw, before the world’s biggest football tournament to supply host stadiums, training grounds and contractors with a range of Allett machinery.

Dave Allett and James Till (Allett Director) were invited to attend a Royal Reception at Buckingham Palace last summer.

“We’re very honoured to receive the Queen’s Award,” says Austin Jarrett, Allett’s Managing Director, “This prestigious award recognises our achievements and team efforts in bringing innovative developments in our mowing systems to meet challenges in overseas markets with large potential. Because of increased export sales the business no longer subject to the seasonality of sales cycles in the UK. Our mowers and turf maintenance systems are used throughout the world where they maintain sports surfaces and lawns to the highest standards. The groundsmen in the UK are acknowledged to be the best in the world and these customers demand the highest standards from their equipment suppliers,” says Jarrett. “This relentless demand from our UK customers over the years have driven our engineering team to improve and develop our mowing systems which subsequently help to produce near-perfect sports surfaces and garden lawns. Allett have benefitted from this and we are confident that we can deliver higher standards to the stadiums and lawns using our systems in the rest of the world. Every one of our machines proudly bears a Union Flag decal, and this really helps us in our export markets where the UK is revered for their lawns.

We will be hosting Pitch Maintenance training seminars in China this year,” adds Jarrett, “to help set standards and expectations for the playing surfaces in this huge country which is growing rapidly as a footballing nation. Allett is more than just a machine. We’re strengthening our technical support and embarking on a plan of new product development to concentrate on a wider range of grass and sports turf maintenance products.”

As part of the Award ceremony at Regal House, Allett’s manufacturing facility, Allett held a celebration on the 14th February 2020 to celebrate their success. The Lord-Lieutenant of Staffordshire was on hand to present the Directors with a ‘Grant of Appointment’ (an official certificate) and a commemorative crystal trophy. After an informative factory tour, the Lord-Lieutenant took the opportunity to talk with Allett employees over lunch. It was a special day for every member of Allett Mowers staff  who are extremely proud to have achieved the award and play their part in producing the machines used in some of the world’s most prestigious sporting venues.

Lord Lieutenant said;

“It was a privilege and delight to present a Queen’s Award for Enterprise today to Allett lawnmowers. Another Staffordshire manufacturing company leading the world in product design, performance, quality and reliability which has driven outstanding continuous growth in overseas sales over the last six years to achieve this well deserved prestigious recognition.

Great to be able to meet the entire workforce to offer congratulations and continued success.”

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AGS awarded ISO 9001 accreditation

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AGS awarded ISO 9001 accreditation: Advance Grass Solutions Ltd is pleased to announce it has recently been awarded ISO 9001 accreditation.  Certified by UKAS, the new 2015 standard places significantly higher requirements on companies than previous versions of the standard.

ISO certification is based on international quality management principles including strong customer focus, motivation and implication of top management, the process approach, and continual improvement and review. The goal is to ensure customers receive consistently high quality products, support and services.

AGS awarded ISO 9001 accreditation

“Being ISO certified means our customers can have confidence AGS is committed to quality and outstanding customer service” says Jamie Bennett. CEO “We are extremely proud of our team and their efforts to attain the ISO 9001 certification. It means that quality is not just a concept, but a reality and proves that we don’t just talk about quality, we live by it every day.”

Sam Honeyborne. MD added “The decision to certify AGS once again underlines our positioning as a premium supplier and certification reflects our commitment to our customers.”

Accreditation lasts for 3 years with annual audits. AGS is committed to delivering continuous improvement and ultimately providing our customers with an outstanding level of service and support.

For more information on AGS or to enquire about ongoing opportunities to join the team  please call 01183-914540 or email info@advancegrass.com.

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