2008 Year in Review

2008 Year in Review - Green Industry Council

The NC Green Industry Council had a productive and successful 2008! Many of the issues we tackled were spun from the ‘07 drought that affected numerous businesses in our Industry. The GIC Executive Board, lobbyists and volunteers were committed to being the voice of our members on various water issues around the state. Below is a synopsis of the work and accomplishments for the GIC in 2008.   

Water Issues:

• GIC established a Water Task Force comprised of GIC volunteers
• Distributed a survey to the GIC membership to gather data on the effects of the drought on green industry businesses and published the results
• Met with the Governors office to discuss the effects of the drought on the green industry
• GIC Regions 4 & 5 attend Charlotte and Raleigh City Council meetings on water restrictions
• Hired two nationally renowned water consultants; one to assist at the state/legislative level and the other to help us promote water efficiency across the state
• Held meetings with Charlotte and Raleigh mayors to discuss water restrictions.
• Met with OWASA board multiple occasions to defend industry use of water and to attempt revision of water restrictions; work on water restriction guidelines for future droughts
• GIC met with OWASA and Durham staff with our water consultant to present information on water budgeting and smart controllers
• Attended and spoke at numerous Environmental Review Commission meetings held around the state to make sure green industry issues were at the table
• Attended Water Visions meeting of water purveyors and UNC School of Govt.
• GIC hosted three Smart Irrigation Controller training sessions in Greensboro, Charlotte and Raleigh resulting in 6 Toro smart controllers being set up around the state (donated by STI)
• GIC attends NCDA Water Use Survey meeting in Raleigh
• Met with Duke Gardens staff to propose model garden using smart controllers for irrigation; GIC will assist with installation of controller and training after installation
• Participated with the Catawba Wateree Drought Management Advisory Group (24 municipalities and Duke Energy) in changing water restrictions for spring and fall plantings. Offered suggestions to revising water restrictions that follow Low in Flow Protocol for different levels of drought.
• Developed a Water Efficiency Study/Pilot working with the City of Charlotte and HydroPoint Technologies
• Developed and Proposed a Water Efficiency Study with Duke Energy and HydroPoint Technologies
• Met with Charlotte, Hickory and Hendersonville City Councils, Union County Commissioners and DMAG to discuss water restrictions
• Proposed two comprehensive studies to the Catawba Wateree Management Group 5 Year Strategic Plan
• Developed and proposed to Union County a water efficiency study/pilot to aid in Peak Demand Management
• Plans to meet with the City of Hendersonville to propose Conservation Tiered Rates and a Water Efficiency Study/Pilot program in the near future
• GIC attends ERC year end review of the Water Allocation Study presented by the Nicholas Center for Environmental Studies and the UNC School of Government.
• GIC attends ERC hearing to present comments on the Water Allocation Study.

 Legislative 

• GIC attended a fundraiser for US Senator Lindsey Graham in Columbia, SC
• GIC attends NC Gubernatorial Candidate Forum at Duke
• GIC meets with US Congressman Bob Etheridge
• GIC attends a fundraiser for NC Gubernatorial candidate Richard Moore
• Purchased grassroots software to communicate/advocate our legislative issues
• GIC attends Farm Bureau Policy review
• Successful in getting the NC Irrigation Contractor Licensing Bill passed in the General Assembly, which will become effective in early 2009
• Successful in getting language in the Governor’s drought bill changed, to be more friendly to green industry businesses when the state is in a period of drought
• GIC conducted a mail-in PAC Fundraiser
• GIC hosted successful fundraisers for Senator Kay Hagan and Mayor Pat McCrory, and co-hosted a fundraiser for Commissioner Steve Troxler
• GIC attends fundraiser for Lt. Governor candidate Walter Dalton
• GIC attends Ag Forum meeting with Governor-Elect Perdue
• GIC attends external advisory committee meeting for Research Stations

Public Relations/Promotion:

• Held the 2008 Annual Meeting in Greensboro
• GIC held several meetings with Dean Wynne at NCSU to discuss possible future  partnershipsGIC attends SNA Officers Conference and GGIA meeting in Atlanta
• Formed a PR task force to work on promoting the green industry and also  help design a new GIC logo
• GIC and consultant Bruce Adams meet with Farm Bureau and attend meeting with NC Rural Center
• Attends Southeast Plant Conference in Columbia, SC
• Held the most successful sponsorship drive to date, which netted over $142,000 used for promotion/marketing and contracting with the water consultants
• GIC launched a new website
• GIC participated in three trade shows in 2008
• Awarded a Golden Leaf and NCDA grant to promote and market water efficiency across the state and educate consumers
• Developed and printed 530,000 new Water Wise Works water efficiency brochures for consumers, which are being distributed to garden centers and municipalities across North Carolina
• Held a media day to bring awareness to the green industry with a Q&A on how to plant in a drought
• Produced four Water Wise Works television ads which ran from May – June, featuring Bryce Lane from “In the Garden” as our spokesperson
• Produced radio spots to promote water efficiency which ran from March – June
• Ran 30 second TV spots in late summer in certain markets, using new Bryce Lane ads
• GIC launched the E-Courier, an electronic newsletter for members
• GIC meets with Sierra Club in Charlotte
• Attends National Weather Service Climate Change meeting in Asheville
• Awarded $300,000 in funding from the NC Legislature to help in promoting the green industry and assist with consumer education
• Applied for and established a 501 (C) 3 named the Green Industry Sustainability Foundation, Inc.
• GIC participated in the League of Municipalities 100^th Annual Conference in Charlotte with a booth/exhibit and provided landscaping for the main aisle of the show; met with numerous mayors and council members around the state and offered solutions to water management in times of drought; explained different types of Smart Water Technology
• Developed and printed 500,000 “Watering Tips Guide” brochures as a companion piece to the Water Wise Works brochure