Founder of business based on concern for employees receives Scanlon Stewardship Award.

John Chipman founded a business because he did not want to lay off his landscaping crew during the long Michigan winters. His company Landscape Forms now leads the nation in the production of outdoor commercial furniture. John is being recognized May 12, 2004 with the Scanlon Stewardship Award, the highest honor of the Scanlon Leadership Network.

March 18 2004--John Chipman, founder of Landscape Forms, Inc. is the 2004 recipient of the Scanlon Stewardship Award. Back in 1969, concerned that he had no work for his landscaping crew during the long Michigan winters, John put them to work making public space furniture in his barn. Today Landscape Forms employs over 200 people and leads the nation in the production of outdoor commercial furniture.

Management consultant William Greenwood III wrote, I have observed no other President, CEO or Chairman more universally admired and loved by his people than John and for those who might confuse his style with soft-hearted paternalism they need only look at the companys sustained success and employees continuous growth.

Dr. Carl Frost, Michigan State University Professor Emeritus, calls John one of a few Quiet Giants and compares him to John Donnelly, founder of the Donnelly Corporation; Hugh DePree, former CEO of Herman Miller; and Charles Conrad, founder of Thermatron.

The business press is full of stories of business leaders who show little regard for their employees in the name of business survial. John Chipman has shown that a successful business can be built on caring for the average worker.

Landscape Forms customers include organizations like Cisco Systems, Hewlett Packard, Harvard University, Disney, Chrysler, Mayo Clinic, Sprint, Gateway and Kelloggs Cereal City.    

The Scanlon Stewardship Award is the highest honor given by the Scanlon Leadership Network. The Network pioneered labor management cooperation, open-book management, employee involvement, gainsharing, and servant leadership concepts in business. The Network is named after Joe Scanlon, prizefighter, research director of the Steelworkers and MIT Lecturer. The Stewardship Award will be presented to John Chipman on May 12, 2004 in Kalamazoo, Michigan.

Past recipients include Dick Ruch (former CEO Herman Miller) Dr. Carl Frost, Dr. Dwane Baumgardner (former CEO Donnelly Corporation), D.J. DePree, Hugh DePree, Max DePree (former CEO's Herman Miller), Dr. William Greenwood, Pat Thompson (founder Trans-Matic), Robert Kersman (CEO Lorin Industries) and Dick LeVan (former CEO Wescast Industries).