Prepare to be inspired and informed at the 2018 Winter Symposium on Jan. 26 in Charleston. Speakers with backgrounds in design, outdoor lighting, public gardens, plant research, software design, marketing, and labor are poised to present concepts and answer questions. The 2018 conference will be held at Embassy Suites.
As usual, two sessions will run simultaneously, one with a focus on design elements and the other featuring successful business practices. Attendees may connect with colleagues over breaks and lunch and hear from other WVNLA members and horticulture and landscape architecture students from WVU during a post-lunch forum.
Cost to attend is $50 for WVNLA members and $100 for nonmembers. To see the day’s schedule, click here.
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Design speakers
NatureScape Lighting owner Michael Deo will present “Designing a lighted landscape.” Michael is the president and founder of NatureScape Lighting in New Jersey, where he is an award-winning lighting designer. Since he is also formally trained in landscape design, his lighting projects reflect a deep knowledge of horticulture. He is keenly aware of how plants change, not only with the seasons but also over time and how each will react to light.
Richard Hawke of the Chicago Botanic Garden will discuss “Top performing plants from trials” as well as “Green roof plant trials.” Richard is the plant evaluation manager for the botanic garden. He’ll hone his presentations to include plants selected to thrive in local horticultural zones, which he points out is a more inclusive list than those that will survive Chicago’s winters.
Timothy Tilghman of Untermyer Gardens will present a fascinating look at the garden’s “Past, Present and Potential.” Timothy is the horticulturist at Untermyer Gardens in Yonkers, New York. In the 1920s and 1930s, the privately owned Untermyer Gardens were among the most celebrated in the United States. Sixty gardeners were employed to maintain the 150-acre estate. The gardens languished after the owner’s death in the 1940s, but are being restored today with Timothy at the helm.
Tim Edick of Unilock Pavers will walk attendees through a demonstration on “3-D Design of hardscapes with software.” Unilock is a manufacturer of concrete interlocking paving stones and segmental wall products.
Business speakers
Kerry Scott, or an associate of MASLabor will shed light on the evolving challenges of hiring seasonal workers through H2B Visas. Help is available, but the process is complicated. Hear the details as the MASLabor representative presents “Wading through H2B.”
Dave Tucker, who developed CLIP software, will speak on two topics, both geared toward improving business systems, processes and profit through technology. Dave is the president of Sensible Software. He developed CLIP software to efficiently handle the routing, scheduling, and reporting needs of lawn care companies. He will present “Motivating employees: how to make your employees think like you do?” and “Systems: the name of the game. Creating a business that runs itself”
Michael Deo of NatureScape, who is also speaking on lighting design (above), will fill out the topic with a presentation on “Lighting as a profit center.”
Profits Plus speaker Tom Shay will present “Strategies to win in a changing economy.” As consumers change the way they do business, owners must adapt to survive. Tom is a fourth generation small business owner who has written and spoken extensively on small business management.
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