Farwest Show Adds to Workshop Offerings for 2009
The Oregon Association of Nurseries recently announced new features debuting at this year’s Farwest Show, Aug. 20 to 22 in Portland, Ore., at the Oregon Convention Center.
“The Farwest Show is more than a trade show. We are building on our tradition of providing meaningful and thought-provoking educational content to help our industry leaders succeed today and in the future,” said John Aguirre, OAN executive director. “Attending this year’s workshops will send owners and employees home with profitable ideas for today and the years to come.”
The creation of the Interactive Learning Center provides intensive hands-on skill building focused on garden center management. Linda Cahan, a renowned retail design strategist, will discuss affordable store design and emotional and sensory merchandising on Thursday, Aug. 20. Garden Centers of America is producing the Visual Merchandising Workshop on Saturday, Aug. 22. Led by Aaron Shriver, boutique designer and visual merchandiser for Monrovia, the merchandising workshop will offer participants the opportunity to work together to build store displays.
Other new features include networking events for women (Aug. 21) and young professionals (Aug. 22), which are aimed at fostering relationships and professional contacts in an informal environment.
The Managers Circle is an exclusive interactive workshop designed for industry owners and key managers. Challenging times provide a unique opportunity for leaders to accelerate the changes they seek; with that in mind, the strategic workshop “Tough Times: Opportunity for Innovation and Corporate Makeover,” which will be held Friday, Aug. 21, will help attendees create a plan to rebuild their businesses in this economically stressful environment. Gary Heil, co-founder of the Center for Innovative Leadership, will lead the workshop and challenge participants to examine their organizations’ culture in the context of current marketplace realities.
“People are in search of information they can use in their businesses today,” said Allan Niemi, OAN director of events and education. “The new show features were created to inspire and challenge green industry professionals to look at their businesses with a new perspective and to help them take immediate steps to improve their bottom line.”
For more information about the 2009 Farwest Show, produced by the Oregon Association of Nurseries, including a seminar schedule, nursery tours and show hours, visit the event’s website.
Video Library 
