Control Solutions Inc. (CSI) added a new member to the Quali-Pro team: Justin Ruiz.

Ruiz will support the Quali-Pro brand in the newly created West area territory (Washington, Oregon, California, Idaho, Nevada, Arizona, Wyoming, Colorado, Utah, Montana and Hawaii).

Ruiz comes to Quali-Pro with a strong product background with his experience as a distributor sales representative in Western Washington and Western Oregon.

Before his experience as a distributor sales representative, he was a golf course superintendent for 15 years in both Northwest (cool season) and Southwest (warm season) climates.

Ruiz is also a certified golf course superintendent and has obtained a Master Greenkeeper certificate with the British International Golf Greenkeeper Association.

Ruiz received his bachelor’s of science in horticulture from Oregon State University and a master’s degree in agriculture with research in soil science from Washington State University.

TruGreen appointed Rebecca Schoepfer as chief human resources officer, effective Sept. 7.

Schoepfer will be responsible for leading the organization’s strategic human resources development, with a focus on attracting and retaining talent. She will report to President and CEO John Cowles.

Schoepfer brings over two decades of experience in human resources and talent management with Fortune 500 companies, most recently serving as SVP, talent and organizational effectiveness at Nationwide Insurance. She has extensive technical, managerial, and operational experience across industries including hospitality, pharmaceutical and government agencies.

The Andersons hired Ken Klopp to serve as territory manager for the company’s turf and specialty business. Klopp will manage the distribution of the business’s turf and ornamental products in the Southeast region of the U.S.

Klopp has a turf degree from The Ohio State University Agricultural Technical Institute. He brings a wealth of previous experience from working in distribution and manufacturing with companies such as Lebanon, Agrium and Koch Fertilizer.

“We are very excited to have Ken join our professional turf products team,” said Tony Goldsby, director of sales for The Andersons. “Ken’s vast experience in both the green industry and developing end-user technology platforms will make him a valuable resource for our customers.”

DLF presented Stacy A. Bonos, Ph.D., professor of plant biology, current director of the turfgrass breeding program and associate director of the Center for Turfgrass Science at Rutgers University, with its 2021 Excellence in Research award.

Bonos has been on the faculty at Rutgers University for 20 years, co-developing over 250 cool-season turfgrass cultivars. Thanks to her meticulous breeding efforts, significant advancement has been accomplished in turfgrass science related to disease resistance, wear tolerance and cool-weather active growth. Her substantial partnership with DLF has been crucial in the development of new turfgrass cultivars that deliver superior performance with less resource inputs.

The DLF Excellence in Research award, delivered to many research partners over its history, helps recognize the significant impact and progress made to date in turfgrass breeding and celebrates the continued collaboration between DLF and public turfgrass research programs.

Advanced Turf Solutions hired Beth Berry as vice president of turf and ornamental sales.

“Beth is a seasoned green industry executive with more than two decades of experience leading marketing, sales, business development, partner integration and customer support teams,” said Scott Brame, Advanced Turf Solutions president.

Most recently, Berry was vice president of growth and alliance for Real Green software, where she managed enterprise accounts and strategic partnerships for the green industry software company. Prior to Real Green, Berry was the director of customer service for Scotts Miracle-Gro.

Berry serves on the boards of Project EverGreen, National Pest Management Association-Technology and the National Association of Landscape Professionals, Membership. She is a member of the National Speakers Association, and NALP Women in Landscape Network and Women in Green Industry. In 2020, Berry was named one of the Top 50 Women Leaders in SaaS by the Software Report. She is a frequent industry speaker, and in 2021, Berry will host a weekly show for Turfs Up Radio focusing on innovation in the green industry.

Yanmar Compact Equipment North America named Tate Johnson as president, Lee Thole as director of aftermarket and David Gannon as director of channel development.

Johnson joined the organization as commercial director in September 2020, overseeing sales, national accounts, channel development and marketing. He brought extensive leadership experience with deep technical, channel development and business leadership expertise within the commercial industry. As president, Johnson will lead and further develop the growth initiatives for the company as the two brands progress in a joint vision of Yanmar Compact Equipment North America.

Thole brings more than 20 years of experience, with a strong background in parts, service and overall business operations. Thole’s responsibilities as director of aftermarket will include strengthening several post-sales support functions as well as leading further development and implementation of the aftermarket strategy.

Gannon joins his role with 30 years of multi-industry experience. His position as director of channel development will involve working closely with the dealer network, both by recruiting dealers and assisting existing dealers with being successful.