Kurt K. Thompson, CGIA, CIC, CID, CIT, CLIA, CLWM, has been working as an irrigation contractor and in irrigation distribution and manufacturing since 1981. He is the owner of K. Thompson and Associates LLC, a professional development instruction and outdoor water use evaluation and planning company. He is also a principal in IrriTech Training, an online and in-person training provider. He is a nationally recognized author and collaborator of many certification and training manuals and programs, study guides, training courses and presentations. Additionally, Thompson is a certified site water planner, an NALP Trailblazer for irrigation and water management, an EPA WaterSense irrigation provider, and a member of educational councils and committees of national and state associations. He is the lead irrigation AP trainer for the Florida Water Star program and continues to be a lead instructor for the IA. Thompson is one of only a few people in the world to currently hold all nine of the IA's landscape irrigation certifications.