The Professional Landcare Network (PLANET) welcomed new companies as PLANET Academic Excellence Foundation (PLANET AEF) ambassadors due to their pledging $25,000 to the foundation. PLANET AEF awards scholarships to students enrolled in landscape contracting and/or horticulture programs at two-year or four-year colleges and universities.
The new ambassadors include:
- James River Grounds Management in Glen Allen, Va.;
- Jeffrey Scott and Corine Koornhof, of Jeffrey Scott Consulting in Trumbull, Conn.;
- Pacific Landscape Management in Hillsboro, Ore.; and
- Fullmer’s Landscaping in Dayton, Ohio (through the OLNA/ AEF State Association Partnership).
“PLANET AEF thanks our newest ambassador companies for their generous support,” said Tom Fochtman, PLANET AEF president. “Their generous gifts will have a huge impact on the lives of many students as well as on the industry as a whole.”
PLANET AEF is halfway through its five-year campaign, developed by the PLANET AEF board of directors, to raise the fund balance from $2 million to $5 million over the course of five years. To date, the fund has grown to $3.7 million.
As part of that effort, the foundation recently launched a new website and made tax-deductible donations acceptable throughout the year at any level. Since its inception, PLANET AEF has provided scholarships for 720 students totaling more than $730,000.
