Georgian Lakelands this week: January 5, 2011

Georgian Lakelands Chapter this week
Add the Georgian Lakelands Chapter page and the LO events calendar to your bookmarks

Chapter welcomes new coordinator

Lexi Dearborn is welcomed to the Landscape Ontario team, as she takes over as the Georgian Lakelands Chapter Coordinator. Lexi brings her great energy and passion for the industry, which she
demonstrated tirelessly as a volunteer on the Chapter Board in the past number of years. Lexi’s
experience and energetic leadership will certainly provide her with the skills needed
to support the Chapter. To contact Lexi, call 1-800-265-5656, ext. 2317, her cell 705-623-2970, or email ldearborn@landscapeontario.com.

Visit Chapter booth at Congress

The Georgian Lakelands Chapter is hosting Booth 23 at Congress next week. Showcased will be the Georgian Lakelands ‘Events Trailer,’ as well as information regarding sponsorship opportunities within the chapter and and opportunity to meet chapter board members. Packages and information are now available for the Landscape Ontario Snow Day 2011. Register at the booth for a great day on the slopes.

LO’s annual snow day, Feb. 11
Enjoy a day on the slopes with the Georgian Lakelands and Toronto Chapter Annual Snow Day. The event will take place on the hills of Alpine Ski Club in Collingwood. Each year everyone raves what a great time they had at the snow day. Take advantage of the opportunity to learn more about the popular event by visiting the Chapter booth at Congress.

LO this week

Only six more days to register for Congress by clicking here.

LO member G&L Group provides a white Christmas
Pat
Lamanna from the G&L Group (including Earthco and Draglam) was part of CityTV’s
Breakfast Television plan to provide a local family with a white
Christmas. Frank
Ferragine, a Breakfast TV host and LO member, asked if LO
could arrange to provide snow to family that weather forecasters predicted would have a green Christmas. Pat Lamanna came forward and delivered two
truck-loads from the London area’s vast supply, just in time for Christmas. The CityTV video can be seen
here White Christmas.

As a member of Landscape Ontario, you are exclusively entitled to post employment ads
on LO’s Job Board at Congress 2011. To find out how
you can take advantage of the job board, click here.

Awards of Excellence ceremony
The 38^th
Annual Awards of Excellence Ceremony is set for Tues., Jan. 11. The
evening begins at 4:45 with our President’s Wine and Cheese Reception, featuring Landscape Ontario’s president Tom Intven, followed by the ceremony at 5:15 p.m. Tickets are $35 each; buy a ticket here.

Corporate
Financial Management Study Group, Jan. 10
Are
you working on getting your designation? If so, you won’t want to miss the full-day Professional
Corporate Financial Management Study Group on Jan. 10 with instructor
Paul Doornbos CLT, CLP. More details and registration can be found by clicking here.

Designer Conference offers creative connections, Jan. 10

In addition to
keynote speakers Rosalind Reed on
Business Plans and
Ron Koudys covering the Impact of Influential Landscape
Architects and Designers on our landscape today, the annual designer’s conference
at Congress 2011 will feature the ever-popular Beth Edney. She will give
some creative solutions to small spaces,
while in another breakout room, Dave Maciulis will talk about creating a
healthy and successful workplace. More details and registration can
be found at www.locongress.com under Education and Conference.

One IPM Symposium, one date: Jan. 10
Do not delay, register today! You don’t want to miss the
opportunity to listen to
respected speakers, Dr. Roger Funk
and Dr. David Shetlar (The Bug Doc). New this year is a networking reception
with thousands of dollars worth of door prizes. More details and registration can be found at www.locongress.com under Education and Conference.

Get Smart about Irrigation at irrigation conference
This year’s
line-up at the Irrigation Conference on Jan. 10 includes topics such as
World Water Trends, Water Efficient Products, the Impact of Irrigation on
Water Resources, and even Business Opportunities with Rain Water
Harvesting.You don’t want to miss out at this great event at the Toronto
Congress Centre. More details and registration are at www.locongress.com, under Education and Conference.

Legacy Room opens Tuesday
The Legacy Room at Congress 2011, hosted by the Ontario Horticultural Trades Foundation, is open Tues., Jan. 11 from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., at the Toronto Congress Centre’s Pachter Room. Refreshments will be served. It’s a great opportunity to
network with others in the industry and meet with the pioneers who laid the foundation of the association.

Foundation raffle to help industry
Try your luck in the Ontario Horticultural Trade Foundation raffle, and help support your industry. Tickets are $20 each; first prize is $5,000, second is $1,000 and third is $500. Only 1,000 tickets were printed. The draw will take place at
Industry Night at Canada Blooms on Thurs., Mar. 17. All proceeds to
go to scholarships and research projects. Stop by booth 5D at Congress to
talk to members of the Foundation and purchase a ticket.

Memorial for Gordon Witteveen, Jan. 8

Details have been set for Gordon Witteveen’s memorial service. The event will take place on Sat., Jan. 8, from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. at The Country Club (Toronto Board of Trade Country Club), 20 Lloyd Street, Vaughan. A light lunch buffet, reflective stories and a video presentation will take place. All are welcome. Gordon Witteveen (1934-2010) was a well-known golf course superintendent, mentor and author. He passed away on Dec. 16. To read his obituary, click here.

Landscape Industry Certified written test, Jan. 13
At Congress 2011, written tests in all categories of Landscape Industry Certified will take place
in the Toronto Congress Centre’s Patcher Karsh Room. To register, contact Rachel Cerelli, certification coordinator, by email rachelc@landscapeontario.com.

Earn money by taking free safety training program
SCIP is a free training program created by the Workplace Safety and Insurance Board (WSIB) that promotes workplace safety, with opportunities coming up in London, Milton and Ottawa. This group focuses on landscaping and related services in partnership with Landscape Ontario. Participating companies receive a one-time fixed five per cent rebate on their firm’s WSIB insurance premiums. To find out more about the program, check out the flyer. Complete and submit SCIP firm application form to Carol Divitkos by Jan. 21, Workplace Safety and Insurance Board, 200 Front Street West, 11th Floor, Toronto, Ontario M5V 3J1, by fax – 416-344-3493, telephone 1-800-663-6639, ext. 3431, or carol_divitkos@wsib.on.ca.

Professional development seminars
Quit hoping for Profit: Plan for it, Jan. 17
Lean and Green: the Landscaper’s Boot Camp for Waste Elimination, Jan. 20
Growing Gretzky’s: How to Find and Develop Superstars, Jan. 21
Installation & Construction Week Jan. 24
Quit hoping for Profit: Plan on it Jan. 24
Landscape Design: An Introduction Jan. 25
Chiseled in Stone-Intro Jan. 26
Estimating to Win Jan. 27
Benchmarking your Overhead Jan. 28
Quit hoping for Profit: Plan on it Jan. 31
Chiseled
in Stone-Inter Jan. 31
Keep
your Engines Running Jan. 31
The
Hardy Woody Plant Jan. 31
Plant
Doctor in the House Jan. 31

To register or get more information, click seminars.

Green Communities, Parks and Partnerships
The Honourable David C. Onley, Lieutenant Governor of Ontario, will present the keynote address at Green Communities on Tues.,
Jan. 11. Ontario Parks Association, Communities in Bloom – Ontario and
Landscape Ontario will come together to celebrate our treasured parks
and greenspaces, and promote the enjoyment and healthy lifestyle
benefits that open spaces provide to Canadians. It will be held in conjunction with
Congress 2011, at the Toronto Congress Centre. Register here.

Growers’ Group Short Course, Feb. 9
The annual LO Growers Group Short Course will take place at the Royal Botanical Gardens, Burlington. The program will focus on important production
issues, including weed management, effective IPM strategies and lots of
research updates. This year’s featured speaker is Charles Gilliam from
Auburn University. Pre-registration price is $65 for LO members, $75 for
potential members and $25 for students. On-site registration is $90.
Online registration will be available shortly. Read More.

Rainwater Harvesting Systems course, Feb. 9
A one-day course, from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m., will focus on the
regulatory and technical aspects of Design, Installation and Management
of Rainwater Harvesting Systems for both residential and
ICI (Industrial, Commercial, Institutional) buildings. The course will take place at Earth Rangers Building,
The Living City Campus at Kortright, Vaughan, and is targeted
at contractors, builders, designers, architects, regulators or anyone interested
in learning about the design, installation and management of rainwater harvesting systems. Cost is $300, plus GST (includes lunch and
a copy of the Guidelines and Design Tool Software). To register, click here.

Building your Prosperity seminar, Feb. 17
The introductory Prosperity Partnership seminars will get you started on to the road of success. The next program is scheduled for Landscape Ontario home office at 7856 Fifth Line South, Milton. It is intended to help green industry members clarify what they excel at and what components of their business need attention and improvement. A seminar workbook will be provided. Take this online survey, to measure your strengths and weaknesses in the six Prosperity pillars. Click here for more information, or to register.

Ontario Turfgrass Symposium, Feb. 23 -24
Rozanski Hall, University of Guelph, is the site for the 20th annual Ontario Turfgrass Symposium. Speakers from both industry and academia will provide information pertaining to the symposium’s theme, ‘On the Cutting Edge.’ Sports and recreation staff, lawn care, golf course workers and nursery sod growers will benefit from the many sessions, including pest and disease controls to safety and liability issues in turf environments. Registration for the symposium is available at Symposium, or call 519-767-5000 for more information.