CNGA LooseLeaf Aug/Sept 2019

colorad o nga.org LooseLeaf  Aug/Sept 2019 4 CNGA—  HERE FOR THE MEMBERS By Allison Gault, MBA, CAE CNGA Executive Director Plant Something Success & Upcoming Retreat Wow, what a season! I spoke to many members who have had their best year yet and others who struggled with the late snow and rain. The great news is that after nearly two years, the entire state is out of a drought. Our Plant Something Colorado campaign had another great year. We’re ending with a 35% increase in social media followers, an 8% increase in participation, and a 24% increase of website visits to our newly designed site. We also started a blog feature that has more than 1,500 visits. This year, we focused on videos, both for the posts and with two Facebook Live videos. Between the two live videos, we had more than 1,250 views. We have one more Facebook Live video planned for the fall. This year’s campaign was our best yet, and we will continue to build on our successes throughout the fall and winter and into next spring and summer. As you begin to think about and plan for future years, I would encourage you to attend the Horticulture Leadership Retreat. Our speaker, Bailey Nursery Sales & Marketing Director Marc McCormack, will be talking about Inventory Forecasting in the Green Industry. During the session, he will share how forecasting is done at Bailey Nursery, industry trends you should watch, what economic indicators are best for forecasting, and many more tips and tricks from his years of experience. At the end of the session, you’ll be able to identify areas of improvement your organization can make when it comes to planning for future inventory needs. In addition to Marc’s session, we’ll also have our popular roundtable sessions for you to discuss your most pressing and challenging business issues. The Horticulture Leadership Retreat will be held on Friday, November 8 and Saturday, November 9 at the Park Hyatt in Beaver Creek, Colo. Registration is available at coloradonga. org under the events tab. We hope to see you at several of the upcoming member BBQs and education events.