Meet the newest members of the Board!

Patrick Freeman entered the landscaping industry in 1994 and began working for Bland Landscaping in 2003. Patrick holds a degree from NC State in Ornamental Landscape Technologies and is a Certified Landscaping Irrigation Auditor, a Stormwater BMP Maintainer, a Landscape Industry Certified Manager, a Landscape Industry Certified Technician, a NC Licensed Pesticide Applicator, NC Licensed Irrigation Contractor, and holds a NC Restricted Limited Plumbing License.  Outside of work, Patrick spends time with his family, plays golf, enjoys good food, and is an avid supporter of NC State athletics.

Brandon Gurley is a partner at North American Lawn & Landscape which has been in business for 29 years. 

Brandon graduated from Oklahoma State University in 1992 with a BS in Horticulture and Landscape Architecture. Since graduating and moving to North Carolina in 1995, he has earned the Plantsman Certification and is a NC Registered Landscape Contractor. Brandon is a NC Licensed Irrigation Contractor, has earned his backflow certification and has a NC Restricted Limited Plumbing License.  Brandon is married and has two daughters ages 15 and 21. Brandon spends most of his weekends on a soccer field with his younger daughter.  He also enjoys shooting pool,  playing golf, running, skiing, riding his motorcycle, and attending live concerts.

Dr. Garry Grabow, is Associate Professor and Interim Department Head in the Department of Biological and Agricultural Engineering (BAE) at NC State.  He is a registered Professional Engineer, and holds degrees from UC Davis, Utah State, and the University of Tennessee.  His Extension work has been in the areas of animal waste management particularly in land application, and in irrigation water management.   His applied research program covers areas similar to his extension programs, and has included research on emerging technologies such as subsurface drip irrigation, and sensor-controlled irrigation for both turf and agricultural crops.  Prior to his current position at NC State,

he was with the Water Quality Group in BAE, where he assisted national projects with water quality data monitoring and analysis.  He teaches two graduate level courses "Open Channel Hydraulics for Natural Systems" and "Watershed Monitoring and Assessment".  Prior to coming to NC State, Dr. Grabow worked at an irrigation district in California and was in consulting where he worked on water resources projects, including several projects in East Africa.  He has also consulted on water reuse projects in the Middle East while at NC State.

Mark Krouse is an Environmental Program Coordinator for the City of Charlotte. He holds an Associate Degree in Civil Engineering, Certified as an Operator of Responsible Charge (ORC) in Cross Connection by the NC Water Treatment Facility Operators Board of Certification. He has 30 years of water and sewer industry experience with Charlotte Water. He is the City of Charlotte's registered State Certified ORC for Cross Connect and has developed and manages the City's Cross Connection Control and Backflow Prevention Program since 1991. Through the years, Mark has served in many capacities for the City of Charlotte including Technical Advisor on City Code Recodification efforts, special task force dealing with the Democratic National Convention security efforts and water conservation. After a community backflow incident, he played a major role in developing responses to the regulators, identified and developed and implemented changes in the City's Fire Hydrant Permitted Use program. He is an active member on Charlotte Water's "Partnership for Safe Water: Distribution System Optimization" group. He is recognized across the state as a Backflow Prevention Assembly Testing Trainer. He holds Backflow Tester, Backflow Inspector and Backflow Trainer certifications from the University of Florida's TREEO center. Mark developed and has coordinated backflow tester certification training with Central Piedmont Community College since 1993. He has been involved in the irrigation industry issues since 1991. Recently, he was the project manager for an effort by Charlotte Water to incentivize water conservation by offering discount water rates for customers using Smart Irrigation technologies in their system design and operation. Mark is an active member in the NC American Water Works Association as an instructor in the regional Collection and Distribution Schools which are charged with teaching operators of NC water systems the proper industry standards, techniques and procedures to assure public health. A married family man with 4 boys, he has coached both baseball and basketball. A 15 year Scout he is a Wood Badge Trained (and beaded) leader who believes the Scout program is one of the best leadership programs for our youth today.

The Board welcomes all of its newest members and is looking forward to an exciting and productive New Year!

• All licenses expire 12/31 and must be renewed by midnight in order to avoid a late fee.
• Continuing Education must be earned between January 1 and December 31 of the previous year to renew for the next year.
• A Licensee must earn 10 credits of Board approved continuing education. It is required that 2 to 4 of those credits are business and the balance irrigation turf related.
• An individual cannot repeat the same course more than every three years in order to earn credits.
• If your company is a corporation, LLC or partnership you are required to have a corporate license in addition to your individual license.
• Surety Bonds must be kept up to date to avoid having your license suspended and paying a reinstatement fee. This is especially important to remember when you are changing employment.
• Licensees are responsible for submitting any changes in contact information to the Board. This information must be in writing and can be sent by fax, email or US mail.