The regional needs of members are served through a network of 10 chapters. Through monthly meetings and promotional activities, the chapters represent an ideal way for member companies to keep abreast of concerns regarding the profession. The two most sought after membership benefits — education and networking opportunities — are provided through the association’s regional chapter structure.
Jump to: Durham, Georgian Lakelands, Golden Horseshoe, London, Muskoka North, Ottawa, Toronto, Upper Canada, Waterloo, Windsor
Durham Chapter
Board Members
Jon Agg, President
Rob Havery, Provincial Board Rep/Vice-President
Carol Fulford, Treasurer
Catrina Chiodo, Secretary
September has traditionally always been our golf tournament month, and even though we have now had two golf tournaments since September 2024, I will mention our second annual tournament went great (and our third as well did).
One comment we have consistently received is that we have a lot of contractors show up! This is significant, because often Landscape Ontario golf tournaments attract a lot of suppliers as they as part of their jobs are supposed to network and connect with contractors, but if you end up having a large group of suppliers show up for a day of golf, there often isn’t much "business" taking place. I don’t know why or how this happened, but again, I think it is a great thing that we attract a lot of suppliers to our event to showcase their goods and contractors are able to have a fun day golfing while catching up and networking at each hole with suppliers.
As Christmas approached, we also learned that a long-time member of the Durham Chapter and also happened to be someone that I had worked with for many years and considered a friend, was very sick. John Fulford died on boxing day 2024 and left a huge hole in anyone that knew him well. He and his wife Carol had been huge supporters of the Landscape Ontario community for many many years and he will be very missed.
We continue to work with Durham College and the Region of Durham to bring Fusion Landscaping and the pathway to apprenticeship, to the forefront. Shane Jones has been a great partner at the college.
We also spent a lot of time working with a few of the local conservation authorities on projects related to Tree’s for Life and the Hero Forest program, which actually occurred in the fall of 2025 and will be discussed more in next year’s report. A big thank you to Dutchmaster Nurseries and Arnt’s – The Landscape Supplier for their amazing donations!
Cassie Cotter had to resign in January of 2025 due to her time commitments with her company and family. She was a great addition to our board and is very much missed. We still have open seats on our board for anyone that is interested.
This was also the year that we started pushing Landscape Ontario (in the) Kawartha’s ss they fall under the Durham Chapter, but truly do not receive much service from us there. We have two dedicated people that are trying to get something started and a few meetings/events have now occurred.
We have also been active with working with the Region of Durham on phragmites and with the hope of having a proper plan in place to deal with them over time.
Respectfully submitted,
Jon Agg
Durham Chapter President, 2024-2024
Georgian Lakelands Chapter
Report to follow.
Golden Horseshoe Chapter
Report to follow.
London Chapter
Board Members
Ben Gleiser
Erica Johnston
Darren Lackenbauer
Matt Curiale
Mike Lavigne
Carla Bailey
Michael Luelo
As 2025 comes to a end, our chapter has been involved in many events in the London area.
February
Plant Symposium at Fanshawe College
July
Touch a Truck event
August
Golf Tournament at Pine Knot Golf Course
September
Conflict resolution seminar held at Ivey Spencer Leadership Center
October
Social event at Forked River Brewing Company
November
Selling Your Business with MNP Presenting
December
Christmas Social at Palasad Social Bowling
2026 brings a new vision to the London Chapter, as we are focused on membership involvement. Extoling the benefits of being a member and the skilled professionals that make this industry great. We have a team of highly skilled motivated people whose passion can be seen at all our events and meetings and the experience we put together which brings us all together for one common goal… we love our job and the visions we help create for our clients. I consider myself fortunate to be working with my fellow board members.
Respectfully submitted,
Mike Luelo
Chapter President
Muskoka North Chapter
Board Members
Emily Keown, President
Brooklyn Welsh
Emma Rogers
Jennifer Davies
Alex Brackenrig
Emily Maw
Nic Bell
Lindsay Smith
Sean Christie
Sherri Hornsey
Year two momentum
Year two of the Muskoka North Chapter continued with strong momentum. It was an excellent year for our chapter, made possible by the continued support and engagement of our members. We are incredibly fortunate to have such a dedicated group who consistently show up, contribute, and support the work of this association.
This past year also saw the addition of new members, as we continued to spread awareness of Landscape Ontario and the value it brings to our region and industry.
Leadership transition
After two rewarding years, I have decided to step down as president of Muskoka North Chapter. While the term itself was two years, much of the foundational work for this chapter began well before its official launch. I previously served on the Georgian Lakelands Chapter Board for a year, which helped lay the groundwork and provided valuable insight as we worked toward establishing the Muskoka North Chapter.
As I reflected on the past year, it was clear that our board members were stepping forward with incredible energy and leadership. At times, life requires us to step back, and for the 2026 season, I will transition into the role of past chair, confident that the chapter is in strong and capable hands.
2025 highlights
Annual MTO meeting (March)
We kicked off the year with our Annual MTO Meeting, welcoming over 70 members and non-members.
Golf tournament – Deerhurst
Our Golf Tournament sold out, hosting 120 golfers and supported by 21 generous sponsors.
Trees for Life project
The Trees for Life Project received approval from the Township of Muskoka Lakes, with ground-breaking planned for Spring 2026.
AGM and holiday social
We wrapped up the year with an excellent turnout at our AGM and Holiday Social, where we also welcomed additional board members.
Looking ahead to 2026
The Muskoka North Chapter is excited to continue building on this momentum in 2026.
Speaker Event – January
Our first event of the year will bring together local professionals to discuss shared challenges within the Muskoka region, along with emerging design trends and opportunities.
Muskoka North Bursary Program
We are proud to announce the Muskoka North Chapter Bursary Program, supporting students pursuing careers in the horticulture and landscape industry.
horttrades.com/muskoka-north-chapter-bursary-program
Community project bursary
A new community bursary has also been introduced to support projects relevant to the horticulture and landscape industry.
horttrades.com/muskoka-north-chapter-bursary-program
On-the-Job training
Another hands-on training session will be hosted at Rockscape in Bracebridge.
2026 MTO meeting
Scheduled for March, with location and details to be announced.
2026 golf tournament
Booked for Septr. 3, 2026, once again at Deerhurst Resort.
Year-end AGM and holiday social
We will close out the year with our AGM and holiday social.
Respectfully submitted,
Emily Keown
Muskoka North Chapter President 2024-2025
Ottawa Chapter
Report to follow.
Toronto Chapter
Board Members
Marc Green, Vice President
Jon Durzi, Past President
David Milne, Provincial Board Rep.
David Hlady, Treasurer
David McEldon, Secretary
Wendy Ladd
Jonas Spring
Shane Adamson
Aaron Harpell
Marcelo Manfrini
Shada Morris
Rohan Harrison
Alex Eremita
The 2025 season has been a busy year for our Toronto Chapter, filled with engaging events, valuable partnerships and meaningful contributions to our community. Here’s a recap of the key highlights and accomplishments:
April: The kickoff and welcoming of our new board of directors.
This month gave us the opportunity to welcome many new directors. These members of the Chapter have made this year our largest chapter board, thus lining up great support to the season for our members.
June: Dorothy Ley Hospice outreach
Our season really began June 1 with a spring cleanup and mulching of all the gardens at the Dorothy Ley Hospice located in Etobicoke. Members from our Toronto Chapter cleaned up the grounds and garden beds in hopes of bringing new life to the softscapes for the visitors to embrace when enjoying time outdoors. This was phase one of a two part project. Thank you to all the supporters who graciously donated the time in support of our event.
August: Toronto Chapter Golf Tournament at Angus Glen Golf Course
Headed up by Wendy Ladd and others from the Toronto Chapter, our annual event was once again very successful. A heartfelt thanks to our sponsors for their unwavering support, contributing to an enjoyable day of great weather and camaraderie. We are looking forward to another sold out event for 2026.
September: Community support
In September we had completed the second part to a two-part installation for the Dorothy Ley Hospice. We had many volunteers out for a couple days to support a tree planting that was also assisted by Trees for Life and the following day a shrub and perennial planting that was supported by The Green Cities Foundation. All these groups came together to plant 32 trees and 400 perennials and shrubs. The two days were filled with much love and camaraderie as the project had come to an end. The Toronto Chapter values everyone who was able to assist in such a great cause and thank you to our supporters from Trees for Life and The Green Cities Foundation for their assistance.
October: AGM
We had the opportunity to support our Toronto members at our AGM that was held at the Latvian Ctr in North York. We had Lexi Dearborn in attendance to speak on behalf of the Designers Group. Lexi spoke to New Trends, New Products and Designing for the new Reality. We also had Joe Salemi present to give the Toronto members a recent update as to what was new and the current going ons within Landscape Ontario. Thank you to Lexi and Joe for taking the opportunity to collaborate with Toronto members and speak at our event. Our event came with some new changes to the board as we added a couple extra supporters. Our board consists of 13 supporting members.
November: Mental health seminar
Toronto Chapter supported our members with a mental health seminar once again welcoming Jeff Carolin for the third year in a row. This event was held at the Toronto Plant Market in Etobicoke. Jeff spoke to mindfulness, connection, and community for thriving businesses. Jeff created a warm environment where we can share our strategies, tips, and tricks for stress management, fatigue, healthy routines, and coping with the seasonal demands of our industry. Jeff also provided an opportunity to understand mental rests during a busy day. Finally, he reminded us that it’s through our connections with each other — in particular, by being able to offer a non-judgmental listening ear — that we can offer each other a lot of support through the many challenges of running a business.
December: Winter social
Our Winter Social was once again held at the Crooked Cue in Etobicoke. The atmosphere and ongoing tradition of the event was filled with holiday cheer, much conversation, great foods and drinks. This yearly event gives us all the opportunity to unwind after a busy season to really enjoy our members and our profession.
Toronto Chapter Bursary Program
Headed up by David Hlady, the Toronto Chapter of Landscape Ontario has a long-standing tradition of financially supporting local community projects as a way of giving back to the neighbourhoods our members live and work in. In the past this has taken the form of a single larger contribution to a worthy project. This year the Chapter will distribute their contribution through grants of up to $1,500 each, in support of multiple small-scale projects that will benefit various communities and neighbourhoods within our region.
December: Holiday season and toy drive
Wendy Ladd is once again leading the way, collaborating with Landscape Ontario and the Marner Assist Foundation to gather toys for the holidays. The Give-A-Gift 2025 toy drive was a huge success that collected donations of cash, gift cards, books and new, unwrapped toys for children in need. Several members and their business locations as well as Landscape Ontario in Milton supported as drop off locations.
Once again, our Toronto Chapter’s season of events and chapter meetings has been fruitful. All of this would not be possible without the efforts of our Toronto Chapter team and assistance from Landscape Ontario staff.
Our Toronto Chapter as many other chapters consists of industry leaders who periodically put their own endeavours on hold to support our members and our profession. This dedication is unmatched and much appreciated. I appreciate you all as individuals that have given time to our team. Thank you for allowing me to lead our group through many years of success. Looking forward to the future.
Respectfully submitted,
Jon Durzi
Toronto Chapter President 2024-2025
Upper Canada Chapter
Report to follow.
Waterloo Chapter
Chapter Board
Blake Sicard, President
Brandon Pawlowski, Vice President
Jason Dietrich, Provincial Board Rep
Collin MacMillan, Treasurer
Darren Murawski
Brenda Walsh
Missy Tester
Jason Falco
Matt Pyke
Sam Bauman
Ryan Dean
It has been another year of ups and downs, success and set backs.
Yet again, Waterloo Chapter struggled with attendance for general meetings, while having success with our events. Touch a Truck was tremendously successful and an event that I see growing more in the future. The baseball tournament was a sell out again and continues to be a strong chapter event.
Our hockey nights are starting to become more popular as well.
For our general meetings we have moved to day time moving forward. After speaking to many members in our chapter it has become clear that evening meetings will struggle to gain interest and attendance. Waterloo Chapter will continue to provide the best value possible at our meetings with a focus moving forward on communicating with members.
The chapter engagement committee will continue to work with and reach out to new and current members as we try to spread awareness of meetings, events, benefits of being a LO member (beyond the truck discount).
The Waterloo board had some turn over this year and I am very excited with the new people that have joined us. Some very forward thinking business people that I feel will benefit the chapter tremendously. We have an eager and active board and I am excited to see where we can take this chapter.
Chapter Meetings
Feb 5, 2025: cancelled due to weather
Mar 5, 2025: cancelled
Apr 2, 2025: MTO, hosted by Premier Equipment Elmira
Oct 5, 2025: Snow and Ice MTO/ AGM hosted by Coleman Equipment
Nov 5, 2025: From Labourer to Manager
Dec 3, 2025: Whine and Cheese round table – focused on slip and fall claims
Chapter Events
Touch-A-Truck: 11 exhibiting companies, 400 attendees
Baseball Tournament: biggest tournament to date
Hockey Night Out: 100 attendees
Fall Freeze Up: 152 tickets sold
Respectfully submitted,
Blake Sicard
Waterloo Chapter President 2024-2025
Windsor Chapter
Board Members
Liana Desmarais, President
Jason Milling, Director
Vince Murphy, Tresurer
Shannon Murracas, Secretary
John Nowak, Director
Joe Santarosa Jr., Director
Jay Terryberry, Past President
Derek Trepanier, Vice-President
Kari Renaud, Director
2024-2025 Chapter activities
September 7, 2024
WRYM Charity Golf Tournament (Community Support)
- The Windsor Chapter supported the Windsor Residence for Young Men (WRYM) through sponsorship and participation in their annual charity golf tournament.
- Event raised approximately $19,500
- Supported youth transitioning from homelessness
- Strengthened our chapter’s community presence and charitable impact
October 24, 2024
Level Up Career Discovery Event (Youth Engagement)
- The chapter participated in the Level Up event in LaSalle, engaging with students and jobseekers interested in skilled trades.
- Promoted horticulture and landscaping careers
- Supported industry awareness and workforce development
November 7, 2024
Fall MTO Snow & Ice Education Session
- The chapter hosted a Fall MTO Update, providing members with:
- Winter safety protocols
- Regulatory updates
- Pre-season best practices
- This session prepared contractors and operators for the winter maintenance season.
December 14, 2024
Windsor Chapter Holiday Party
- Members gathered for our annual holiday celebration.
- Strengthened chapter community
- Offered networking outside of formal training settings
February 22, 2025
Climate Change & the Garden (Educational Sponsorship)
- Windsor Chapter sponsored an environmental education event featuring Lorraine Johnson on Climate Change and the Garden.
- Attendance: approximately 180 paid participants
- Windsor Chapter sponsorship: $500
- Reinforced our commitment to sustainability and community learning
March 20, 2025
Spring MTO Meeting (Dominion Golf & Country Club)
- The chapter hosted a Spring MTO Update, offering:
- Seasonal safety and equipment regulations
- Ministry of Transportation updates
- Pre-season training for members
Note: The Annual General Meeting, traditionally held in spring, was deferred to the next reporting period (December 2025) and does not fall within this report window.
Operational updates
Training Schedule Review – First Aid Moving to Biennial Delivery
- Based on decreased registration in 2024 and recognizing the two-year validation period, the Windsor Chapter will now deliver First Aid Certification every two years rather than annually.
- Next session planned for 2026 (outside this reporting window)
Workforce and community partnerships
Throughout the reporting period, the chapter advanced several initiatives, including:
- Discussions with the Windsor-Essex Chamber of Commerce regarding a community food drive
- Collaboration with UHC – Hub of Opportunities for job-readiness programming, employer connections, grant opportunities, and planning for a St. Clair College job fair
These partnerships support labour shortage solutions and strengthen local workforce development.
Closing remarks
The Windsor Chapter remains committed to advancing member education, enhancing community engagement, and strengthening professional connections across the Windsor-Essex region.
We appreciate the opportunity to contribute to the 2025 Annual Report and are proud to highlight the meaningful work accomplished by our chapter and its members.
If you require any additional details, clarification, or formatting adjustments, I would be happy to assist.
Respectfully submitted,
Liana Desmarais
Windsor Chapter President 2024-2025
