In memoriam Erris van Ginkel

It is with great sadness that we heard the news about the passing away of our former president Erris van Ginkel. He passed away on Friday February 9^th at the age of 88. Erris was our president from 1998 until 2001. On behalf of our president Henrik Bos and the members of the ELCA-Board, I would like to pay tribute to him in this short In Memoriam.

I met Erris in 2009 when I started as director of the Dutch Association of Landscapers and Gardeners (VHG). He was a Member of Honour of VHG, because of his great achievements for the Association and the sector. As president of VHG, in the period of 1989 until 1999, he managed to build a bridge between the two existing associations at that time and convinced them to unite their forces. This was the foundation of the current VHG. Erris was a strong believer in cooperation. There were many organizations, amongst others on promotion and vocational training, in which he was active in bringing our sector in The Netherlands to the next level. That was something he really enjoyed, was passionate about, in his serving way that was typical of his character. Sometimes I met him at the family company Koninklijke Ginkel Groep in Veenendaal, where his roots were. He kept close contact after his son Wim took over. Every day he was there to read the papers and have a talk. Once a year we had our lunch with the Members of Honour of VHG, during which he told me about his experiences in the positions that he had in his time. I learned a lot from him. If you understand the past, you can build the future.

Erris had warm feelings for ELCA. From 1998 until 2001 he was our president. At that time our office was in Bad-Honnef (Germany), where he was in close contact with Edda Burkhardt, Hermann Kurth and the team of BGL. He felt great appreciation and spoke with warm words about them. Erris understood that bridging cultures is vital to achieve results at European level. Tony Berger, from Switzerland, succeeded him as president. After his presidency Erris remained active within our European network by, for example, joining the professional excursions of the Committee of Firms, together with his wife Corrie. He enjoyed talking to his ELCA-friends and to share his opinion on the developments in our profession. He was forced to stop joining the excursions when his energy started failing him. That was something he absolutely regretted. Despite this, the interest for ELCA remained. He asked me many times about the developments at European level and often it occurred to me that Erris was already well informed about the actual situation. A sign of his ever-lasting involvement.

We remember Erris as a decisive leader, visionary, connecting and sympathetic. He is respectfully remembered. Our thoughts are with his wife Corrie, his children, grandchildren and all who held Erris dear. We wish them courage and strength in this difficult hour.

If you want to send condolences to the family, the address is Postbus 11, 3900 AA Veenendaal (The Netherlands). Thank you very much for that.  

Egbert Roozen, on behalf of the ELCA-Board