Landscape Designer Glenn! Switzer was honored with the “Judges Choice Award” at the Minnesota Nursery & Landscape Association (MNLA) Landscape Gala 2012
March 10, 2012 – The Woman’s Club of Minneapolis – Minneapolis, MN
The Minnesota Nursery & Landscape Association gathered Saturday Night to recognize the Landscape Award Winners for 2012. Glenn! Switzer, Sr. Landscape Designer at Switzer’s Nursery and Landscaping, received the “Judges Choice Award” in the category of Landscape Design. The “Judges Choice Award” is selected from all of the Landscape Design Awarded projects as the judges’ favorite project. The winning project is a Balinese inspired landscape design tailored for outdoor living in Minnesota. The water feature with two waterfalls and a long rectilinear pond, reminiscent of a Balinese plunge pool, is the focal point in the design. Three distinct outdoor rooms make up the project; The Outdoor Dining Room, The Outdoor Living Room, and the Garden Room.
The MNLA Landscape Award program gives their members a chance to showcase their talents. Award applications are submitted in the fall of the year for judging. The MNLA describes the award process as, “A panel of professionals in landscape education, landscape architecture, and horticulture juries the MNLA Landscape Awards. Judges evaluate the entries and, when warranted, grant Grand Honor Awards or Merit Awards. The panel assesses a landscape plan, digital photos, a written narrative and a performance chart for each entry. The type, size, and cost of the project are not the criteria for judging. Quality of the design, installation, or management, plus materials, and workmanship are factors considered by the judges.”
The MNLA further explains the Grand Honor Award, “MNLA’s Landscape Awards Program honors companies for superior performance in the fields of landscape design, installation and management. A Grand Honor Award is the highest level of recognition given to those companies and projects that exemplify outstanding values. These projects showcase the best work of the Minnesota Nursery and Landscape Association.”
The 2012 Grand Honor and Merit Award recipients were announced in January. During the Minnesota Green Expo held at the Minneapolis Convention Center in early January each award winner gave a short presentation about their project. A slide show of before, during, and completed photos for each project was part of the presentation.
The 2012 Landscape Gala was held at The Woman’s Club of Minneapolis. It was a chance for the landscape professionals of the MNLA to share in the accomplishments of the past and get excited for the upcoming season. Each Landscape Award winner was presented with a plaque for their accomplishment. The excitement of the evening culminated with the announcement of the “Judges Choice Award.” Glenn! was honored to have been selected as a Grand Honor Award recipient and humbled to have had his project selected as the favorite project of the judges. Glenn! simply said, “Wow!! This is pretty cool… thank you.”