October 2023

Bay Breeze

In This Issue

From the President

Juan Carlos Esparza, Urban Scapes

We have started the transition from summer into autumn and all of us who do maintenance are trying to figure out weather for October. Will we have a repeat of an early rainy season with a strong El Nino, or will it stay warm until November? And we need to start to plan the extra projects when we switch from mowing every week to every other week as well as the planting of annual color spots for the upcoming seasons.

Congratulations to Leslie and her fine crew for the picnic. This year there were no unexpected weather events to force a cancellation. It is so nice to have the picnic back and for all of us to get together and renew old friendships and make new ones.

The Jim Everett Memorial Golf Tournament is Tuesday, October 3, 2023, from 11:00am – 8:00pm, at Spring Valley Golf Course, Milpitas. Check the website for details.

We will be having a vendors’ night on October 19, 2024, at LYNGSØ GARDEN MATERIALS, INC., 345 Shoreway Road, San Carlos, CA 94070.

We are also moving towards the transfer of SFBA leadership to the new board. The current nominations will appear in this issue of Bay Breeze and I am excited that it is a mix of old board members and new faces. We will look forward to seeing them engage in planning activities for the coming year.

A healthy, active SFAC of CLCA benefits all of us in the industry.

Landscape Contractors Insurance Services, Inc.

Upcoming Events

Partners for Success Appreciation Event with the San Jose Giants

Sunday, May 5th | Excite Ballpark | San Jose

Gates Open at 12:00pm | First Pitch 1:00pm

Join us at historic Excite Ballpark and show appreciation for the years of support from our Partners for Success. Ticket holders will enter through the San Jose Giants Season Ticket Member Gate and enjoy world famous barbecue and beverages included with their ticket on the Elcor Electric suite style private patio along the first base line reserved exclusively for our group. Cheer on the San Jose Giants as they take on Lake Elsinore Storm in a front row field level box with suite service.

Cost is only $50 per ticket and includes lunch (all you can eat) and 2 drink tickets and a field level box seat.

Tickets are available to purchase through Thursday, May 2nd.

SFBA Chapter Celebration - Save the Date!

June 15 | Michael's at shoreline | Mountain View

Come and celebrate the brilliant history of the SFBA Chapter. We will also celebrate CLCA's Landscape Educational Advancement Foundation (LEAF), that has many named funds honoring our Forefathers and Foremothers. Details and Registration will be announced soon.

If you would like to donate items for the auction please contact Mary Cohen barrymarycohen@gmail.com

Auxiliary Report

The trees are changing colors and Halloween candy is in the stores. Fall is arriving early this year. I wonder what that means for the arrival of winter.

The Chapter Picnic on September 10 was a family-friendly event. It was great to see new faces and spend time with everyone. Thank you to the committee (Charlene and Leo Ott, Alice Domine, Vicky Parrott, Rick and Marina Camin, Girvin and Lesley Peters) for putting together a fun and festive day. Special thanks to Rick for chairing the committee, organizing the horseshoe tournament and acting as head chef! Putting on a picnic for 50 people is a large undertaking and it wouldn’t happen without our great committee. Many, many thanks!

Our last Auxiliary meeting of the year is Tuesday, October 24 at 6 p.m. at Cafe Vitale in Los Altos. This meeting is hosted by Chapter President Juan Carlos Esparza. All are welcome to attend. A Paperless Post invitation has gone out. If you did not receive an invitation and you would like to join us, please email me and I will send the invitation to you, along with a membership application. I look forward to seeing everyone there.

There are still a lot of activities through the end of the year. Vendor Night in October at Lyngso Garden Materials, installation of officers and membership night in November, the convention in Monterey, Thanksgiving, the Christmas Holiday Party, Hanukkah and Christmas. 2023 will be gone in a blink of an eye. Happy Halloween. Hope you get more treats than tricks!

Lesley Peters
Garden Designer
650-444-4580
gpland@sbcglobal.net

Annual Chapter Picnic is Back!

It takes a lot to surprise me these days after enduring Covid with the rest of the world. However, I was shocked last year’s picnic was rained out in the middle of September. I don’t think that has happened in the history of the annual picnic. I guess it was the first sign of the extreme wet winter that followed and we needed it!

This year’s Chapter Picnic was extra special catching up with everyone who came on a beautiful perfect sunny day at Cuesta Park in Mountain View. We had exactly 50 people attend the always fun event with the traditional horseshoe competition, chili cook-off and cookie contest. This year’s menu included BBQ chicken, tri-tip, hot dogs and chicken sausages. I think the food turned out pretty good because members of our BBQ neighbors, a French group, were constantly coming to our side to check out the food on the grill seemingly looking for a taste. – Desole!

The horseshoe competition is always exciting and amazingly Ed and Jonathan Ott repeated as champions. However, they ran into tough early round competition from newcomers Dominic Bryan and Jakie Marsey who almost pulled off a huge upset. After a tight game, the defending champions prevailed and cruised to the finals to take on the tough young Domine brothers of Nicho and Alex. Ed must have been hitting his stride going into the finals because he scored five ringers which I think may be a final record for a crushing 21-8 score! Congratulations to Ed/Johnthan Ott and Nicho/Alex Domine for taking first and second place this year!

Below are the judges and big winners of the annual chili and cookie contest.

Chili judges: Beth Valdez, Cindy Singletary and Simon Parrott

Chili entries: Jackie Marsey, Dominic Bryan, Alice Domine and Michelle Ott

Winner: Dominic Bryan

Cookie judges: Vicky Parrott, Cindy Singletary and Rick Camin

Entries:

Reese’s chewy peanut butter cookies by Carlee Hess (Mary Cohen’s granddaughter)

Peanut butter blossoms by Virginia Hess (ditto above)

Confetti Rice Krispy treats by Alice Domine

S’mores Caramel Cookie Bar by Tobin and Briar Bayless (Alice’s granddaughters)

First place: S’mores Caramel cookie bar by Tobin and Briar Bayless

Second place: Reese’s Chewy peanut butter cookie by Carlee Hess

The Chapter Picnic takes an entire team to run smoothly every year. A special thanks to everyone who helped this year including:

Vicky Parrott – prizes. Leo Ott – name tags, Charlene Ott – salad, Alice Domine – games. BBQ chef’s Marina and John Camin, Kitchen help – Michelle Ott, Girvin Peters – set up. And of course, a huge thank you to Lesley Peters who is our outstanding president and auxiliary leader who keeps us in line to make sure every event is a huge success for the benefit of our members – thank you everyone!

Hope to see you next year!

Rick Camin
2023 Chapter Picnic Chairperson

CLCA Conference

Join friends and colleagues in Monterey!

Vendor Night

Please join us for an evening of fun and insightful presentations at Lyngso Garden Materials as the CLCA SFBA Chapter comes together to learn about new products & services from our industry suppliers.

Join us as we celebrate Lyngso’s 70th year in business with John Lyngso himself and the greater Lyngso family! We will have vendor booths and tables set up like a mini tradeshow as well as a barbeque truck thanks to Ewing Irrigation. This event is for contractors who want to learn about the latest in battery powered equipment, lighting transformers, drip systems, timers, turf, hardscape and tools. Any new or prospective members are more than welcomed as well as existing members. There will also be a tour of Lyngso Garden Materials for those curious about bulk materials, traffic patterns around a supply yard or just wanting to learn about new mulch & ground cover.

This event will be a special and unique evening where participants will have a chance to connect with our favorite rep’s.

Hope to see you there! October 19th 5:00p-8:30pm

The 2024 Slate of Officers below will be presented for a vote by general membership.

Chairperson of the Board – Juan Carlos Esparza, Urbanscapes
President – Barry and Mary Cohen, Life Members
Vice President – Beth Valdez, Davey Tree
Treasurer – Scooter Wren, Peninsula Building Materials
Secretary – Jackie Marsey, Paradise Garden & Landscape
Associate Liaison Officer – Marin Villalpando, Greenwaste

Cost (includes food, drinks): $30

Life Members and Students $17.50

Partner Spotlight

The Month’s Partner Spotlight is Hunter Industries

New Solar Panel Kit Brings Cost and Energy Savings to NODE-BT Controllers
Contractors can save time, money, and resources with the new Solar Panel Kit for Hunter NODE-BT Controllers. This sustainable add-on provides convenient solar recharging of controller batteries, eliminating the need for replacement every season.

Fully charged out of the box, the Solar Panel Kit offers easy installation and a durable design for worry-free, long-term performance. It can also convert temporary irrigation projects into permanent systems, which ensures limited maintenance support for years to come.

Maintenance-free operation eliminates the need for annual battery replacement
Ball-mount installation provides flexible mounting options for a variety of applications
Includes 40″ of UL-rated wire for outdoor sunlight exposure

CLICK HERE to LEARN MORE about the NODE-BT

Contact your local Hunter Industries representatives today

Jeff Calhoun
jeff.calhoun@hunterindustries.com
(619) 719-2342

Chris McNairy
Chris.McNairy@hunterindustries.com
(707) 695-3890

Jeremy Yearton
Jeremy.Yearton@hunterindustries.com
(669) 253-3755