Executive Vice President’s Message

Haven’t We Been Here Before?

Richard “Rick” Lawhun

NCNLA Executive Vice President Rick

“It’s like déjà vu all over again!” This quote from Yogi Berra was the first thing that popped into my head as I reviewed my winter 2021 column in preparing for this year’s column. Another 12 months have passed, and yet it feels as if little has changed since 2020. “Let’s do the time warp again!” I am thankful to work in an industry that has remained vibrant and positive during this period, even though the situation has made us all a little whacky at times. Currently things seem to be trending in the right direction, but as Yogi also said, “It ain’t over till it’s over” — so let’s work to make every day a little bit better than the day before. Note: Yogi Berra was a Major League Baseball Hall of Fame catcher with the New York Yankees many years ago who was famous for his malapropisms. “Time warp” is a reference to the movie “The Rocky Horror Picture Show.” On a positive note, it was great to see so many familiar faces in Greensboro at Green & Growin’ 22. Overall, attendance numbers at both the Education Program and Marketplace were down by about 20%, which was expected. The slight reduction in attendance did provide a good test run for implementing several changes, the most significant of which was a new registration system. The new system caused some consternation, as it required all attendees to develop profiles and enter their professional license numbers. Going forward, however, attendee profiles will remain stored within our system, only requiring occasional updates. Next year, registration promises to be a breeze for everyone who went through the process this year. (Please do not quote me on this, or, as Yogi would say, “I never said most of the things I said.”)

It’s never easy to improve on something that is working well, but we continue to seek improvements that enhance the value proposition for Green & Growin’ attendees. In some cases — like with the registration system — change requires a bit of a learning curve, but the goal remains the same: to make Green & Growin’ a premier event for the nursery and landscape industry. You can expect a few more tweaks for Green & Growin’ 23, to be held Jan. 16-20, 2023, in Greensboro.

As always, stay well and stay passionate about the industry you love!