Eichenlaub Receives Penn State College of Ag’s Outstanding Alumni Award

University Park - Long-time PLNA member and leader Dan Eichenlaub received the Penn State College of Agricultural Sciences Outstanding Alumni Award at a dinner of the College’s Armsby Honor Society on March 29, 2022 in State College.

The Armsby Honor Society honors alumni and friends who have demonstrated a profound commitment to the College of Agricultural Sciences through their service, scholarship, teaching, and philanthropy. In addition to Dan, PLNA members Calvin Ernst and PLNA’s government relations consultant Gregg Robertson are members of the Society.

Dan is president and co-founder of Eichenlaub, Inc., a full-service, design-build landscape construction and maintenance firm that has provided award winning service to residences and businesses for 40 years. It’s a business he founded alongside his brothers, which allowed them to fund their college educations.

In the presentation of the award, Wayne Martenas, a past present of the College’s Ag Council, said the following:

Dan is the exemplar of an entrepreneur. In addition to Eichenlaub, Inc., Dan co-founded and is currently Vice President of AgRecyle, a composting company creating an environmentally friendly market for past waste products. He was also a founding principal for LandOpt, which provides managed business processes to landscape contracting companies. He leveraged this experience and served as a volunteer consultant to the College of Ag Sciences to modernize the Penn State Extension business infrastructure and expand digital educational delivery.

Dan is an advocate for the college and the land-grant university system and has spoken before Congress and state legislators. He co-leads the college’s Volunteer Development Council, and he and his wife, Barbara, have established the Dan Stearns Landscape Contracting Program Endowment, the Eichenlaub Inc. Landscape Management Apprenticeship Program, and the Barbara U. and Daniel J. Eichenlaub Trustee Scholarship.

His enthusiasm for education and entrepreneurship also led to an invitation for him to join the college’s Entrepreneurship and Innovation Advisory Board. He regularly mentors undergraduate students enrolled in the Entrepreneurship Minor and other programs, and serves as a judge in the annual Ag Springboard Competition.

Most recently, Dan has been active with the college’s efforts against the invasive spotted lanternfly, and truly understands the role companies like his play in raising awareness, mitigating the impact, and controlling the spread of the pest.

In addition to his service to Penn State, Dan has served on the board of PLNA and the PLNA Foundation, having taken on leadership roles in both organizations. Dan is currently the chair of the PLNA Foundation and chairs PLNA’s Government Relations Committee. In 2017, Dan received the PLNA Hall of Fame award for his service to PLNA and the industry.