Before you read our special section honoring the 25th anniversary of RISE, just take a minute to do this:
Imagine trying to do your job without the thoroughly tested, rigorously approved and carefully applied chemical tools you have today. How would you effectively control harmful, damaging pests? How could you successfully maintain America’s much-needed greenspaces or keep bugs out of family homes? How would your business survive without the benefits those scientifically sound tools provide?
If you’re like most of GIE Media’s 150,000+ readers in the turf, horticulture and pest control markets, a world without proven control solutions would be a bleaker place. And you might very well be in a very different business.
But, thanks to a quarter century of remarkable work by the leadership, volunteers and staff of RISE, the unimaginable has yet to happen. For that, we should all be very grateful.
I’m particularly grateful for RISE’s track record of fighting for common-sense solutions despite the nonsense we sometimes face from activists and the uninformed. It’s tough to play defense against a team that doesn’t follow the rules, but RISE has done an admirable job.
I’m also grateful to be part of a uniquely volunteer-driven association. We work with dozens and dozens of non-profits in the many markets our company serves, but none relies on the talents and dedication of individual members more than RISE. I learned early on that serving on a RISE committee is a real and important commitment. RISE volunteers are engaged and active, something nearly every other association would envy.
But, as I think back on 25 years of our company’s deep involvement with RISE, it’s the people and the passion for which I’m most grateful. I have made and kept many wonderful friends that I met at annual meetings. I treasure those relationships not just because RISE members are supporters of our publications but because they are truly passionate about helping their companies and customers survive and thrive. They may compete like warriors against each other every day, but RISE brings all of them together as allies for a common and very important cause. The association unifies us as a community in a very special way.
Finally, I’m grateful to RISE members who have been important partners of ours in the lawn, pest control, golf, nursery, greenhouse and garden center markets. Their investment in advertising and sponsorships allows us to deliver great business education to you and tens of thousands more people like you who keep our nation healthy, beautiful and clean.
As a small way of saying “thanks” to RISE and its members, we are publishing this tribute to the association’s 25th anniversary in all of our industry publications without sponsorship. We’re grateful for all the association has done for you, our readers, and we will always continue to be proud supporters of RISE.
Sincerely,
Christopher Foster
President
GIE Media
