May 15, 2008
Energy and enthusiasm evident in all chapters
Robert Adams
LO President
I took advantage of my downtime during the winter to visit with each chapter of LO. I was more than impressed with the energy and efforts put forth by our members, into both supporting the association and building business relationships.
Ottawa chapter: I attended the January meeting which was a full house. The Ottawa chapter has converted to daytime meetings, which seems to be successful so far. The chapter presented a special award to Sheila James, Ottawa’s farm safety rep, for 15 years of service. Heard at the meeting: Tim Kearney commented that he never had an employee leave who did not start his own company; something to think about.
Upper Canada chapter: This is LO’s youngest chapter, a very strong chapter with excellent leadership. They have learned a lot in four to five years. Their meeting had 25 people in attendance which was a great turnout. Recent exhibits at the Quinte Home Show did the chapter and LO proud.
Durham chapter: The Durham chapter has had and continues to have strong leadership on its board. There is a renewed enthusiasm to produce more informative meetings and seminars for the upcoming season including a Supplier’s Barbecue Night in September. The chapter was heavily involved in the very successful Make a Wish Hayden’s Garden Project. The MTO meeting was one of the most highly attended across the chapters. Well done Durham!
Georgian Lakelands chapter: This chapter is doing great things to promote LO, such as its involvement in the Kidd’s Creek restoration project. They are spreading their meetings out across the chapter (recently in Huntsville with another planned for Collingwood). Georgian Lakelands has several new members on the executive this year, and I am proud to have been part of this chapter’s birth.
Toronto chapter: Our largest chapter, with approximately 1,000 members, is involved in lots of public events, including Canada Blooms. I am looking forward to attending the David Suzuki lecture Toronto Chapter is sponsoring this November.
Golden Horseshoe chapter: Their MTO meeting in March was one of the best I have been to. The chapter is benefitting from a fresh energetic executive with a lot of potential. They are looking for a community project to hang their hat on.
Waterloo chapter: This chapter is still going strong with good attendance at meetings. It was great to see the mix of newer members with the old guard. There was a strong LO presence at the recent Home and Garden show, with both the chapter and individual members sponsoring booths.
London chapter: Another strong chapter with good attendance and involvement in public events — most recently Alex’s Butterfly Garden and the Banting House National Historic site. The chapter works well with staff and students at Fanshawe College. The college built a magnificent display at Congress this year. There were several new members at the chapter meeting. It was good to see and also have a chance to talk to them.
Windsor chapter: WOW! Winter Blooms was a huge success. I hope the chapter members are as happy with the success of Winter Blooms as I was. They are proud to be supporting and involved with the Hospice of Windsor. It is an excellent community project. I met several new members as well as potential members at the show. There is some very exciting stuff happening in this chapter.
With all this committed volunteer energy, it is no wonder that when we decide to do something, it gets done with exclamation marks. Thank you to all of our members for making us proud to say, ‘I’m a member of Landscape Ontario.’
Robert Adams may be reached by email at robertadams@landscapeontario.com.
LO President
I took advantage of my downtime during the winter to visit with each chapter of LO. I was more than impressed with the energy and efforts put forth by our members, into both supporting the association and building business relationships.Ottawa chapter: I attended the January meeting which was a full house. The Ottawa chapter has converted to daytime meetings, which seems to be successful so far. The chapter presented a special award to Sheila James, Ottawa’s farm safety rep, for 15 years of service. Heard at the meeting: Tim Kearney commented that he never had an employee leave who did not start his own company; something to think about.
Upper Canada chapter: This is LO’s youngest chapter, a very strong chapter with excellent leadership. They have learned a lot in four to five years. Their meeting had 25 people in attendance which was a great turnout. Recent exhibits at the Quinte Home Show did the chapter and LO proud.
Durham chapter: The Durham chapter has had and continues to have strong leadership on its board. There is a renewed enthusiasm to produce more informative meetings and seminars for the upcoming season including a Supplier’s Barbecue Night in September. The chapter was heavily involved in the very successful Make a Wish Hayden’s Garden Project. The MTO meeting was one of the most highly attended across the chapters. Well done Durham!
Georgian Lakelands chapter: This chapter is doing great things to promote LO, such as its involvement in the Kidd’s Creek restoration project. They are spreading their meetings out across the chapter (recently in Huntsville with another planned for Collingwood). Georgian Lakelands has several new members on the executive this year, and I am proud to have been part of this chapter’s birth.
Toronto chapter: Our largest chapter, with approximately 1,000 members, is involved in lots of public events, including Canada Blooms. I am looking forward to attending the David Suzuki lecture Toronto Chapter is sponsoring this November.
Golden Horseshoe chapter: Their MTO meeting in March was one of the best I have been to. The chapter is benefitting from a fresh energetic executive with a lot of potential. They are looking for a community project to hang their hat on.
Waterloo chapter: This chapter is still going strong with good attendance at meetings. It was great to see the mix of newer members with the old guard. There was a strong LO presence at the recent Home and Garden show, with both the chapter and individual members sponsoring booths.
London chapter: Another strong chapter with good attendance and involvement in public events — most recently Alex’s Butterfly Garden and the Banting House National Historic site. The chapter works well with staff and students at Fanshawe College. The college built a magnificent display at Congress this year. There were several new members at the chapter meeting. It was good to see and also have a chance to talk to them.
Windsor chapter: WOW! Winter Blooms was a huge success. I hope the chapter members are as happy with the success of Winter Blooms as I was. They are proud to be supporting and involved with the Hospice of Windsor. It is an excellent community project. I met several new members as well as potential members at the show. There is some very exciting stuff happening in this chapter.
With all this committed volunteer energy, it is no wonder that when we decide to do something, it gets done with exclamation marks. Thank you to all of our members for making us proud to say, ‘I’m a member of Landscape Ontario.’
Robert Adams may be reached by email at robertadams@landscapeontario.com.