WVNLA hosted the 2025 Winter Symposium on Feb. 11 at Embassy Suites in Charleston. The two speaker tracks focused on design and business growth. Attendees heard from inspiring landscape designers and innovators and soaked up invaluable business advice from industry experts. VIEW SCHEDULE HERE.
Design Speakers
Christopher Barrett Sheridan, The Flower Sommelier, kicked off the design-oriented session as he highlighted the often overlooked role of fragrance in design when in “Capture the Spirit of the Garden: Designing with Fragrant Flowers and Aromatic Foliage.”
Mark Highland, Organic Mechanic, got to the root of the matter with “Soil Amendments and BioChar: Landscape Value and Benefits.” He delved into the drastic improvements changes to the soil can provide.
An expert on cultural landscape research and planning, West Virginia University’s Peter Butler, landscape architecture professor, took us through the progression of landscape planning in “Garden Design, A Historic Perspective.”
We finished out the session with lighting expert Aaron Perruchon, of Lumien Lighting and his look at the “Evolution of Outdoor Lighting Design.”
Profit Speakers
Business owners and managers picked up some tools to refine performance and results from our team of experienced speakers. Noted Design/Build guru Jody Shilan lined out “Design/Build Process From the Initial Call to Final Payment” in two illuminating sessions.
Experts on taxes, employee safety, licensing and permitting presented facts and answer questions businesses of all sizes need to know in a “Taking Your Business to The Next Level: What You Need To Know” panel discussion. Steven Harmon, CPA; Tiffany Rice, WVU Health & Safety Extension; and Mitch Woodrum, Commissioner of the West Virginia Department of Labor covered the sometimes confusing and complex requirements.
Putting your best foot forward on social media and marketing can be a challenge. The West Virginia Small Business Development Center is all about helping small businesses succeed. Will Miller of WV SBDC finished out the day’s business presentations with information on making social media and marketing work for you.
Lunch for all attendees included an introduction of our 2025 Marcus W. Rennix scholarship and George W. Longenecker recipients and door prize drawings.
Cost to attend was $50 for WVNLA members and $100 for nonmembers.
