ASCA Member Named ALCC’s Person of the Year

The Associated Landscape Contractors of Colorado (ALCC) has recognized Kim Jewell of Denver-based GroundMasters and Snow Management Services (SMS), with its John Garvey Person of the Year award for her work achieving legislative change for the snow industry in Colorado.

A long-time member of the Accredited Snow Contractors Association (ASCA), Jewell championed legislative efforts to get the association’s model legislation through the Colorado general assembly. Being named the ALCC person of the year was entirely unexpected, Jewell says.

“I’m very proud of what was accomplished, and it shows that if you put your heart into something you can really change anything,” she says. “This was a group effort and not the result of just me. This award really belongs to my peers who helped me in this process.”

ASCA Executive Director Kevin Gilbride says Jewell was the type of individual he needed to help drive grassroots support in Colorado’s professional snow and ice management community for the legislation.

“I ran into Kim at an industry event and I knew she was the once I needed in the lead in Colorado,” he says. “I asked her for a favor and she immediately accepted. She took the ball and ran with it.”

Through 20 years of work at Groundmasters and SMS, Jewell recognized the way snow management contracts were written placed much of the liability and risk on the snow removal contractor, and very little with the property manager.

As a result, many Colorado snow companies were completing work without pay just to limit their liability. Through her affiliation with ASCA and in collaboration with the Associated Landscape Contractors of Colorado (ALCC), Jewell advocated for the ASCA’s model legislation that would indemnify snow/ice management firms in Colorado.

“Kim helped me organize a legislative day and persuaded local snow contractors to attend, many of whom were not even ASCA members yet,” Gilbride says. “Kim led the charge in face-to-face meetings with interested parties, as well as explained to the bill’s opposition why this law was needed.

“She testified in support of the legislation before both the Colorado House and Senate committee meetings,” he adds. “She stayed with the process from beginning to end, and along the way got everyone on board – both contractors and property owners – to get this done. By the time we had our final hearing, Kim helped to get the bill’s opponents to back down. The law passed with no opposition.”

Since the bill passed into law, Jewell has also helped educate ALCC and Colorado ASCA members about the legislation and how to modify contracts, including at an ALCC/ASCA seminar last summer.

“This has been a great learning experience and it was very empowering at the end because having the legislation adopted into law gave me the sense of really giving back,” she says. “I just hope that with states like Illinois and Colorado adopting the legislation will lead to other states adopting it, as well.”

Created in 1997 and named for its first recipient, John Garvey, CLT, the Garvey Award recognizes an individual who has provided outstanding volunteer service during the past year. The Garvey recipient is someone who always steps up to the plate to help the industry, regardless of the amount of responsibility and effort involved.