Two Educational Venues Create 2013 Collaborative Program
Two long-standing educational venues familiar to upper-Midwest green industry businesses are hosting a collaborative program in 2013. The Garden Center Symposium (48 year history) and the Midwest Perennial Conference (24 year history) will offer a joint educational opportunity for Garden Center and Landscape Operations on January 23 and 24, 2013 in Waukesha, Wisconsin.
“We’re all in the same business, so the idea of asking people to choose from similar educational offerings amounts to a duplication of effort as well as expense for everyone concerned,” according to Eileen Nelson, Executive Director of the Garden Center Symposium. “By providing a program with speakers and subjects relevant to a broader audience both groups feel they will be able to maximize their value to the industry,” said Nelson.
Speakers scheduled include Anna Ball, Ball Horticulture; Bridget Behe, Michigan State University; Dan Heims, Terra Nova Nurseries, Inc.; Stan Pohmer, Pohmer Consulting; Bobbie Schwartz, Bobbie’s Green Thumb in Shaker Heights, Ohio; and Linda Zoerb, AAF CFD ; La Crosse Floral, La Crosse, Wisconsin. All are leaders in the industry in their particular subject matter area and have been featured speakers at programs across the nation.
Presentations will be relevant to owners, managers and employees in garden centers, landscape and growing operations with topics including new plants (perennials) and their use, marketing to prospective customers, industry trends and directions and employee relations – keeping them happy and hard working.
Attendees will also have the opportunity for one-to-one conversations with the speakers through the popular round-table event on Wednesday evening.
In an added offering, attendees will be entered into a drawing for a “Terra Nova Sampler Pack” donated by Dan Heims, President of Terra Nova Nurseries. The “Terra Nova Sampler Pack” is a selection of 18 of the nursery’s newest plants which will be shipped in May, ready for planting and sale in the summer of 2013. The lucky winner will also be encouraged to provide feedback on how the plants did in their particular location; if they provide feedback to Terra Nova they will be eligible to participate again the next season as a trial grower for Terra Nova. The drawing will take place on Thursday afternoon during Dan’s presentation. The attendee will need to be present to win.
Additionally, the trade show will feature a wider range of products, given the expanded audience.”
Both the Garden Center Symposium and the Midwest Perennial Conference provide scholarship opportunities for students interested in futures in the green industry. Scholarship information and program and registration information can be found at www.gardencentersymposium.com.
The joint Garden Center Symposium and Midwest Perennial Conference will be held January 23-24, 2013, at the Country Springs Hotel and Conference Center in Waukesha, Wisconsin.
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