Arianna Griffiths, Asst. Arts & Life Editor—
If you’ve ever walked around Denison’s campus in the warmer seasons, you’ve certainly noticed the pristine landscaping and maybe your day has even been brightened by the vivid waterfalls of wisteria lining the Reese-Shackleford Common walkway, or perhaps the hillsides overflowing with Denison-red wildflowers. For their unique service to our community, Denison’s grounds crew has been recognized on the national scale, winning several awards and tying with historic sites in the process.
The Professional Grounds Management Society (PGMS) has a yearly competition called the Green Star Awards in which the professional grounds teams of universities, historical sites, and other famously well-kempt grounds are honored for their outstanding work. Upon viewing the online list of winners, the viewer is immediately greeted by the website’s header: a picture of a sunflower taken on Denison’s campus by our own Kevin Mercer, manager of grounds work. He was also recognized with the PGMS’ Special Award of Distinguished Service for his work as manager of the team that makes our campus the beautiful place it is. Mercer reflected on this award and talked about how he couldn’t have done it without the rest of his team, saying, “My team of eight has eight individual extraordinary talents that we rely on one from each other that makes us complete.”.
Denison’s grounds team came in first place for the Grand Award in the University and College Grounds category for small schools. Additionally, Denison tied for second place with the U.S. Capitol grounds for another award, The Olmsted Property, only behind the historic Biltmore Estate, the largest home in the entire country. In conclusion, Denison’s landscaping came in first place for small schools across the entire nation, which is no small feat. Regarding receiving this special award, Denison grounds manager Kevin Mercer said, “The award we won just showcases all their effort in what they do day in and day out”.
Next time you walk through the flourishing fields on Denison’s campus, know that the grounds team, Kevin Mercer, Ann Cherry, Dan Freeman, John Hill, Gram Lewis, Dominic Moore, John Palmer, Caden Snyder, and Mac Walker, put in the award-winning effort to make our campus the beautiful place that we all call our home on the hill.