President’s Message

NCNLA Staff

Richard Lawhun Executive Vice President Kathryn Stansbury Director of Business Development Victoria Torino Chief Financial Officer Cindy Whitt Director of Marketing & Communications Christine Wilks Director of Lifelong Learning Nursery & Landscape Notes is published quarterly by the North Carolina Nursery & Landscape Association, Inc. especially for nursery production, nursery research, interior and exterior maintenance and design build contractors in the landscape industry. The publication is distributed to approximately 1,200 horticulture producers, landscape professionals and industry suppliers. NURSERY & LANDSCAPE NOTES is provided as a member service.

2020 NCNLA Board of Directors

Hugh Crump

President Greenline Design, Inc. Charlotte, NC

Leslie Herndon

Vice President/Secretary/ Treasurer Greenscape, Inc. Holly Springs, NC

Jamie Thomas

Past President Swift Creek Nursery Clayton, NC Jeff Allegood Old Courthouse Nursery, LLC Warsaw, NC Kevin Cagle Greenthumb Nursery, LLC Ether, NC

Tim Johnson, II Tim Johnson Landscaping Statesville, NC

Trey Warrick Scottree & Shelby Nursery, Inc. Shelby, NC William "Bill" Bynam SiteOne Landscape Supply Pineville, NC

John Clark Pro Green, Inc. Morganton, NC

Educational Advisors

Justin Snyder Alamance Community College Graham, NC Dr. Joe Neal NC State University Raleigh, NC

Advertising

For advertising inquiries and publication schedule, please contact Cindy Whitt at cwhitt@ncnla.com or 919-819-9119, ext. 1002.

The inclusion of products or brand names in this publication is not an endorsement by the editor, or the North Carolina Nursery & Landscape Association.

Mission: To provide essential value to our members through education, marketing and advocacy. Vision: To promote and protect the interests of North Carolina's Green Industry.

Connect with NCNLA

 facebook.com/NCNurseryandLandscapeAssociation/  twitter.com/tweet_ncnla instagram.com/ncnla ncnla.com | BuyNCPlants.com GreenandGrowin.com | NCGreenprints.com We are nearing the end of a year full of challenges and new norms. The pandemic touched almost all aspects of our lives, including how we do business, how we stay in touch with each other and how we learn. For most of the year, NCNLA board meetings were held on Zoom, so we have all become accustomed to communicating with each other through a computer screen. As an industry we have always learned to adapt as circumstance dictates, and this is an extreme version of that.

We may miss seeing each other in person, shaking hands and catching up face-to-face, but right now it’s best to keep the health and safety of the people in our industry a priority, as many of you do daily with your family, staff and customers.

Hugh Crump

Greenline Design, Inc. Charlotte, NC

As you are already aware, we made the difficult decision to cancel Green & Growin’ Marketplace after reviewing feedback from members, and to modify the in-person education conference due to meeting restrictions on large groups. This was especially tough for several reasons. First, this is our flagship event for business, networking and education. The event is one of the premiere green industry trade shows and education conferences in the country, and it provides the funds to fuel the year-round operations and support we all have come to expect from NCNLA.

From a financial perspective this is a devastating loss of revenue, but we have begun to trim and adjust budgets to best deal with the challenges. Thankfully, the organization is in a strong financial position, but no business or association plans to lose 75% of its revenue. We owe a great deal of gratitude to past leadership and for the members’ faithful support in creating a (limited) long-term reserve fund to help offset unforeseen situations like this. I prefer to deal with tough issues in a direct and transparent style. We will be asking for your help and assistance to help overcome an anticipated revenue shortfall that budget cuts and available reserve funds will not cover. Thank you in advance for your support and assistance.

When the NCNLA board made the decision to cancel the Marketplace, we knew a bright spot in the situation was our ability to pivot our in-person education conference to an online program. We all have preferences for how we develop professionally, and there are advantages and disadvantages to both. Unfortunately, this year we don’t have as many options for continuing professional education, so let’s focus on the advantages.

With the Green & Growin’ 21 Virtual Education conference, attendees will have access to the quality programming they expect from NCNLA, but with more flexibility. If registered attendees cannot join the live sessions held Jan. 11-13, 2021, they will have access to the recorded sessions until April 30, 2021. Virtual Education has other advantages, too. The time and expenses involved with an event are lessened, and attendees will have time to take classes of interest to them instead of focusing solely on credits for licensure.

Rest assured, in-person events will never go away at NCNLA, but online education has been part of plans to offer additional member benefits. We hope that you will give it a chance because we are positive there is something available for everyone, just as in past years. When things go back to “normal,” we plan to resume in-person events with the addition of virtual components so that we can continue to offer a greater variety of educational information in more convenient ways.

Now is the Winter of Our Discontent Cancellation of G&G’ 21 Marketplace Will Make for a Challenging Year

On Nov. 10, 2020, the NCNLA Board of Directors made the difficult decision to cancel the Marketplace at Green & Growin’ 21, scheduled for Jan. 14-15, 2021, in Greensboro, N.C. Their decision was based on the results of an exhibitor survey conducted the prior week and the best interests of the health, safety and welfare of NCNLA members, exhibitors and attendees. The November 2020 survey was especially revealing, as only 89 exhibitors expressed a willingness to participate in an in-person event compared to nearly 240 exhibitors who expressed a similar willingness in response to a July 2020 survey.

The decision to cancel the G&G’ 21 Marketplace followed an earlier decision by the board to move the G&G’ 21 Education Program online as a result of reduced meeting room capacities imposed by COVID-19 guidelines. Staff worked closely with the NCNLA Education Committee to develop an online program that includes more than 25 live sessions and offers continuing education credits (CEUs) in a variety of areas, including LC, LCB, LA, IC, ICB, ISA, PA and NALP. (NOTE: Some licensing boards suspended CEU requirements for 2021. See page 26 for additional information.) Registrants who are unable to participate in the live sessions on Jan. 11-13, 2021, will have the opportunity to watch recorded sessions anytime through April 30, 2021. For additional information and to register, visit the G&G’ 21 website at greenandgrowin.com.

As you can imagine, the decision to cancel the Marketplace and repurpose the Education Program places a significant financial burden on NCNLA during the current fiscal year. G&G’ 20 was one of our most successful shows to date and generated nearly $880,000 in combined revenue. To assist in offsetting a portion of this lost revenue, over the next several months, we will increase online education offerings, place greater emphasis on the CPP program, expand advertising/sponsorship opportunities and offer membership events throughout the state as the public health environment allows. These programs and services are projected to reduce lost revenue by approximately $270,000.

In an effort to reduce expenses, we already started the process of terminating contracts, dropping memberships in ancillary organizations, canceling recurring services, eliminating performance incentives, reducing payroll, delaying equipment upgrades, closing our storage facility and holding all meetings via Zoom. These cost-cutting measures are projected to reduce our overall expenses by more than $310,000, which results in a projected deficit of approximately $250,000 for FY20-21. During the first quarter of 2021, we will continue to seek additional opportunities to increase revenue and/or decrease expenses in an effort to further reduce the projected deficit and maintain the financial stability of NCNLA.

A healthy, vibrant association is essential to the well-being of the nursery and landscape industry. For this reason, I encourage you to support NCNLA by registering for G&G’ 21 Virtual Education, sponsoring an online event, submitting a contract/payment for G&G’ 22 or making a voluntary contribution. With your assistance, not only will we persevere, but we will also be positioned to offer bigger and better opportunities in the latter parts of 2021 and beyond. Until then, stay well and stay passionate about the industry you love! Richard Lawhun NCNLA Executive Vice President

A healthy, vibrant association is essential to the well-being of the nursery and landscape industry. For this reason, I encourage you to support NCNLA by registering for G&G’ 21 Virtual Education, sponsoring an online event, submitting a contract/ payment for G&G’ 22 or making a voluntary contribution. With your assistance, not only will we persevere, but we will also be positioned to offer bigger and better opportunities in the latter parts of 2021 and beyond.