November's Greenkeeper of the month was awarded to Madison Dalton. Madison is the heart and sole of our Landscape Department. She joined us full time last April and has done a great job since. You may also know her from the Hudson House/Hut counter. The landscape position can be a little overwhelming because it requires that one balance a number of important priorities. There are things like blowing the sidewalks and common areas each and every morning around the entire campus. In spring, there is the rush to install mulch and ground covers followed by annual plantings. Once summer comes, the focus shifts to maintenance, specifically watering, mowing lawns and deadheading. Then fall comes along and it seems like the leaves will never stop falling! By end of fall, it's time to start pruning back for next spring. In addition, our campus continues to grow. Croquet, employee housing, LEC, Fairway Villas, 10 entrance columns, clubhouse and Hudson House...the job is entirely different compared to the job description in 2001, when I started at Highlands CC. In short, there is a lot asked of Madison on a daily basis and it takes someone who is passionate about the job as well as being a self-starter and motivated individual. It's not a job where I, as the Superintendent, can assign specific tasks each day because Madison develops an innate sense of what is happening with each area and what needs to be done. Madison checks all those boxes. This past month, she has been a machine, getting all of her fall responsibilities knocked out before mid-December, which has always been our goal. We are grateful for Madison's efforts and look forward to many more successful seasons! Congratulations, Madison!