Board Members
* = Denotes Deceased

Richard Daigle has been a contributing member to the Irrigation Industry for over 37 years and his background reflects a diverse amount of experience and education. It all started in 1977 while attending Glendora High and participating in the Landscape Department’s ROP Program. Bit by the bug, he went on to own and operate a Landscape Maintenance and Nursery from 1977-1983 before branching out to start Basic Irrigation Parts, a company based on an idea that repair parts were a much needed item in the landscape industry.

Basic Irrigation Parts went on to become a division of Precision Controls, which refurbished brass impact heads for Cal Trans and other government companies. In 1999, Richard acquired the Valcon Valve Company with the goal of restoring and manufacturing the prominent valve that has been used by Cal Trans, private universities, and amusement parks nationwide since 1942. Ten years after the acquisition, Champion Irrigation purchased Valcon and Richard continues to support the company through Daigle & Associates, his sales firm that’s been serving the Irrigation Industry since 1988.

In 2001, Richard had a dream and a goal to start an educational school to teach basic irrigation concepts to all service providers and technicians in the field. It would be designed as a way to give landscape contractors the opportunity to reach their career goals and had a mission statement of, “ Raising the Professionalism in the Green Industry.”

Starting out with basic certification courses, Irrigator Technical Training School taught beginning irrigation, implementing elementary techniques and practices and coupling hands-on instruction with classroom theory. Today, Irrigator Tech has grown to offer a full-range of classes with certification in areas that include Back Flow, Irrigation Auditor, Irrigation Repair, Irrigation Installer and SmartWater. These classes are offered to cities, schools, government agencies, business owners, property managers, municipalities, and maintenance companies.

Richard has served as President of the California Landscape Contractors Association (CLCA) Inland Empire Chapter from 2008-2014 and also served on CLCA’s Education Committee at the state level for several years. He founded the Association of Latino Landscape Professionals in 2010, Landscape Certified Contractors Association in 2013 and co-founded the Green Industry Hall of Fame in 2005.

Richard has been married to his wife and company partner, Marcie, for 25 years. He has a daughter, Mckenna and three stepchildren; Megan, Grant, and Drew.

Richard passed away in the late fall of 2022.