March 15, 2008
By Stephanie Smith
Membership services coordinator

Denis FlanaganBy the time you read this I will have been with Landscape Ontario for four months. As I travelled around to all of the chapters, I have been surprised by all the questions that the members have had about how LO works, and how members can benefit from what we have to offer. I thought it would be a good idea to use this forum to answer questions, reply to ideas, and hear suggestions from you — the member.

So far, I have learned that our association has some of the most generous volunteers that I have ever been fortunate enough to meet. The countless hours of personal time given to LO to promote the industry is exceptional. The teamwork and energy that goes into making the association bigger and stronger is amazing. When I speak with these dedicated volunteers, they are filled with pride and are always looking forward to the next event.
For those of you who have not been out to any LO events or any chapter meetings, my question to you is, Why not?

Chapter meetings are good business. Where else can you find all the information you need for all aspects of running a business? Or getting up-to-date on industry information? Or to network? It’s much more proactive to take the time to come to an LO meeting and get the information straight from the source. Where else can you send your employees to learn for free?

There are always opportunities to get involved with the LO chapters. For our associate members, what better venue than a chapter meeting to have a one-on-one opportunity to speak to your customer? Sponsoring a chapter meeting is one of the most economical and effective ways to reach your target audience.

The chapter meeting schedule is winding down as members are gearing up for the spring rush, but here are some meetings you may wish to attend:
March 20 - Windsor Chapter Meeting
March 27 - Georgian LakelandsChapter Meeting
March 29 - Winter Blooms - Landscape/Garden Expo and Symposium, Windsor
April 8 - Upper Canada Chapter Meeting
April 18 - Waterloo Chapter Spring Thaw Social and Dance

More details are available on the Coming Events page at the beginning of this issue, or at www.horttrades.com.

At LO we are here to help you succeed! We value your input and hope that you will send us more questions to answer here in this forum. Please e-mail your questions to ssmith@landscapeontario.com.