February March 2018

3 colorad o nga.org LooseLeaf  February/March 2018 MESSAGE FROMTHE BOARD By Dan Wise, CCNP CNGA Board President I’d like to start by saying what an honor it is to serve you, the members of CNGA, as your President of the Board of Directors for the 2018-19 term. This organization has done so much for me professionally and for my company over the years, and I am truly grateful to have this opportunity. The educational offerings, advocacy, certification programs, and networking activities, provided by this great organization, help all of our businesses become stronger and improve the professionalism of our industry. I am very excited and looking forward to a productive term as your President. One of our goals as your Board of Directors is to become more fluent in the language of legislative advocacy. Although this is one of the major components of CNGA’s mission, many of us as horticultural professionals, myself included, are unaccustomed to advocating for ourselves in legislative matters on a regular basis. Beginning in 2018, the CNGA board will train to become more aware of how we, as nursery and greenhouse experts, can have our voices heard by our elected officials. I would encourage all CNGA members to be active and informed in regards to how the local and national political landscape affects our industry. On that note, I would encourage you and your staff to stay informed by the Lighthouse Program email updates, a member benefit provided by the association. These updates from AmericanHort are excellent summaries of our representatives’ current activities in Washington that have impact on our industry. If you aren’t already receiving them, contact the staff at CNGA to subscribe. I also would encourage you to follow AmericanHort on Facebook, to have access to timely news about green industry-related happenings on Capitol Hill, posted by Craig Regelbrugge, Senior Vice President of AmericanHort. CNGA provides another great member benefit by representing you at the Colorado Legislature through active participation in GreenCO, a partnership between CNGA, ALCC, GCC, CALCP, the Colorado Chapter of ASLA, the Rocky Mountain Chapter of ISA, and the Rocky Mountain Sod Growers Association. GreenCO contracts with Hicks & Associates to lobby our state representatives and advocate on our behalf. The organization also forms a legislative committee of members from all partner organizations to monitor and review happenings at the state legislature. For the 2018 legislative session, GreenCO’s legislative priorities include many issues that we as horticultural professionals are directly affected by. Water, logically, is at the top of the list, including support for development of infrastructure, conservation, and making funding of water projects a priority. Legislation regarding pesticides is also of great interest, watching out for proposed increases in regulatory burdens and nonresearch-based bans. Other legislative activities that are monitored relate to construction, particularly issues that inhibit ease of doing business for contractors, supporting investment in public infrastructure and transportation, uniform sales and use tax policy, and finally supporting funding of vocational education that can address one of our industry’s great challenges of an understaffed workforce. You can review the full list of issues on CNGA’s website under the Resources tab. Again, I look forward to the coming two years of service to CNGA. I hope many of you will join me in expanding your awareness of our industry’s place at the political table. You never know when the next grassroots movement may be needed to help protect the businesses we’ve all worked so hard to build. Advocating for the Green Industry “I would encourage all CNGA members to be active and informed in regards to how the local and national political landscape affects our industry.” Colorado Certified Nursery Professional (CCNP) Exam ProGreen EXPO, Colorado Convention Center, Denver, Colo. Tuesday, Feb. 13, 1 – 5 p.m. Certified Greenhouse Grower Classes & Exam ProGreen EXPO, Colorado Convention Center, Denver, Colo. Tuesday, Feb. 13 – 15, 2018 ProGreen EXPO Colorado Convention Center, Denver, Colo. Tuesday – Friday, Feb. 13 – 16, 2018 Young Hort Professionals Happy Hour ProGreen EXPO, at Bubba Gump Shrimp Company, 1437 California St., Denver, Colo. Wednesday, Feb. 14, 2018 Industry Celebration Happy Hour ProGreen EXPO, at Rhein Haus Denver, 1415 Market St., Denver, Colo. Thursday, Feb. 15, 2018 NewMexico CertifiedNursery Professional Classes and Exam Bernalillo ExtensionOffice, 1510Menaul Blvd. NW, Albuquerque, N.M. February/March 2018 CNGA calendar To get more information about CNGA programs and events, visit the Events page at coloradonga.org , or contact the office by phone: 303.758.6672, fax: 303.758.6805, or email: info@coloradonga.org .

RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy Nzc3ODM=