Prompt: Provide a photo or spotlight picture of a colleague or mentor, and provide a written piece of their impact on your life or career
Todd Cowing has not technically been an employee of mine, but on paper, maybe one time. I am going to tell the story of Todd, my salesperson, colleague, and ultimately my good friend, and how he has drastically influenced my life since meeting him in 1987.
He won’t like any of this because he likes to keep a low profile, but tough, we are getting too old to worry about profiles. This collage of pictures will drive him crazy, and he may not know I have many, many more (including videos).
I met Todd in 1987 when I was the Golf Course Superintendent at The Elkridge Club; and his boss from T.E.S.C.O. Irrigation brought him along on Todd’s first day on the job with this Toro Irrigation Dealer. We were to discuss a complete upgrade of the irrigation system to a fully modern standard.
Todd had khakis and a golf shirt on that day, and unfortunately for him - his boss made him crawl around in the rafters of my maintenance building looking for wires.
The poor guy came out completely covered in black / grey dirt and dust. This was the beginning of how this man would go above and beyond to influence my life for 38 years now, and still going.
As the years went forward – like many Superintendents and great salespeople, we formed a close working relationship in my 19 years as a Golf Superintendent and Todd kept me ahead of the crowd with irrigation upgrades to the tune of millions of dollars.
I believe the last system we put in is still there with over 1500 irrigation heads, computers, etc.
During that time, we went to many functions together locally and across the country; he became a top salesman for Toro and was having a great career. I was having one too with his help and friendship, then that “50 Years Old and Out” hit me and I went into sales.
For the next five years of my sales career with Growing Solutions and Syngenta, I would run into Todd at many local and national events. I soon moved on to work with Mike Del Biondo and Genesis Distribution, and something strange happened: Todd also became an employee of Genesis.
Genesis was growing fast with Mike, and he wanted to start an “Aggregates Division”. Todd applied and was the guy. He took what was very new and at an infancy stage, and turned it into a wonderful asset for all of us. At the time, I was VP of Sales & Marketing, so we were once again working together. With what Todd has done for that Division of Genesis, he has made tremendous impacts on my life and career again.
One cannot quantify what this man has done to create and mold this division and how it helps us all. As you can see in some of the pictures, we were forming a bond not only with each other – but with many, many friends and colleagues in and around our business. As Mike Del Biondo always says, Genesis is A Family! Under Mike’s guidance, Todd has brought many people and their families into the Genesis Family. I am proud to say that our wives are close friends, and we have even vacationed together. He truly has impacted my life and career for 38 years, and I hope it continues for many more.
Thank you, “Sandman” !!!
-Mark S. Merrick, CGCS Retired
Introducing ‘Merrick Mondays’, a segment where we hear from Mark Merrick, our resident brand Ambassador, Chief ‘Cool” Officer, and general source of wisdom and secrets of the universe, to spotlight a dose of interview-style content, weekly.