Our Association

Here in the Pacific Northwest we have such a lovely climate for growing beautiful plants, for living and recreating, and for raising our children. That being said we all face daily struggles that must be dealt with head on - whether personal or in running our businesses. 

Last night I attended a Farwest Show committee meeting.  www.farwestshow.com The Farwest Show is put on by the Oregon Association of Nurseries.  In essence it is put on by all of us growers, suppliers and retailers that are members of this association.  At our meeting we talked about the many benefits of the show itself - networking opportunities with peers, learning about new products, attending seminars to learn new ideas that will help us be successful in our endeavors. But what struck me is that many of the associations members don't know that the shows success goes far beyond that.

Take a look at the OAN website ( www.oan.org )- at the Legislative issues we follow, at the marketing campaigns for our products and your stores that are happening, at the learning opprotunities that are happening every month.  None of those things are posssible without an income stream into the association.  A healthy robust Farwest show means that our workers can get drivers cards to get to work. A well attended Farwest show means that we can respond to threats to our businesses (lack of water resources, invasive pests and diseases). A fully stocked Farwest show means we can create more opportunities for learning and moving the ball forward for our industry.

Some of the key takeaways from the meeting were how many new people attended the show, and how many people were looking for new vendors.  Are you new to the industry? Are your vendors not meeting all of your needs? Do you have new needs?  Maybe you just want to keep current about what's happening in the industry.  Whatever your reason for going to the show - you benefit from being there. What's more, you benefit beyond the show.