Earlier this month, Colorado’s landscape industry association, Associated Landscape Contractors of Colorado (ALCC), announced the recipients of its 2021 ELITE Awards. The ELITE Awards is the only program of its kind in Colorado and recognizes landscape companies and professionals who demonstrate professionalism, excellence, management practices, sustainability, and innovation.
“This year’s award winners demonstrated outstanding commitment to the central values of our industry, even during one of the busiest and most challenging seasons we’ve ever had,” said ALCC Chief Executive Officer, John McMahon. “They have exhibited impressive environmental stewardship as well as sound business practices and community service.”
ELITE Award categories also mirror the services and amenities ALCC member companies provide their clients, with awards for Community Stewardship, Design/Build, Innovation, Landscape Construction, Landscape Maintenance, Plant Design, and Sustainability. In addition, the Most Valued Player (MVP) category recognized four landscape professionals for their outstanding service and dedication to the industry.
More than 120 landscape professionals gathered to celebrate Colorado projects that placed in the Awards, and the organizations that created or maintain them. This year’s recipients, finalists and a brief description of their project submissions are as follows:
Community Stewardship
Gold Award: Designscapes Colorado – outreach program for underserved children during the holiday season in the Denver metro area
Design/Build
Gold Award: Lifescape Colorado – application of Xeriscape principles on a 1930s Tudor-style Denver, CO home
Silver Award: Tree of Life Landscapes – creation of a private entertaining space that balances an ultramodern Boulder, CO home
Bronze Award: Phase One Landscapes – renovation of a Parker, CO outdoor living space to cater to all generations
Innovation
Award: Rocky Mountain Trees and Landscaping – unique approach to business focusing on key clients and unusual labor sources at a landscape company in Crested Butte, CO
Landscape Construction
Gold Award for Commercial Landscape Construction (shown below) : Western States Reclamation – extensive landscape renovation outside a north Denver community recreation center
Silver Award for Commercial Landscape Construction: Landtech Contractors – construction of a new “outdoor gateway” to Coors Field, the Colorado Rockies stadium in Denver
Bronze Award for Commercial Landscape Construction: Tree of Life Landscapes – landscape renovation outside a Denver, CO apartment community
Gold Award for Residential Landscape Construction: Changing Landscapes – landscape renovation at a Boulder, CO home
Maintenance
Gold Award for Commercial Landscape Maintenance: Environmental Designs, Inc. – extensive upkeep of a condominium community in Loveland, CO
Gold Award for Residential Landscape Maintenance (shown above): Lifescape Colorado – meticulous maintenance at an English, garden-style home in Denver, CO
Sustainability
Gold Award: Environmental Designs, Inc. – upkeep and revitalization of irrigation system in planter beds outside industrial buildings in Loveland, CO
Plant Design
Gold Award for Commercial Plant Design: Environmental Designs, Inc. – color beds including a logo design in Loveland, CO
Silver Award for Commercial Plant Design: Lifescape Colorado – vibrant and extensive gardens at a faith-based organization in Centennial, CO
Bronze Award for Commercial Plant Design: Environmental Designs, Inc. – design and revision of colorful display of planters along an urban, Denver street
Gold Award for Residential Plant Design: Tree of Life Landscapes – perennial garden including low water use plantings at Boulder-area home
MVP Award Recipients
- Steven Beacon, Brightview Landscape, Denver, CO
- Sophia Gonzales, Rocky Mountain Trees and Landscaping, Crested Butte, CO
- Dalva Hedlund, Phase One Landscapes, Denver, CO
- Michael Hofmann, Colorado Stoneworks, Colorado Springs, CO
More information on all the ELITE Winners and their projects can be found at the Associated Landscape Contractors of Colorado (ALCC) website.
For more than 55 years, ALCC has guided landscape professionals to address Colorado’s unique climate and to promote sustainable landscapes. ALCC promotes the responsible use of water and other natural resources and provides educational and industry certification opportunities to Colorado’s landscape professionals.
