DIRECTIONS

OLA members never cease to amaze me with their volunteer efforts and generous donations of time and treasure. The OLA had a garden at the Great Big Home and Garden Show again this February. And, as has happened for many years, competing companies joined together for the greater good and created a masterpiece garden to benefit the entire membership.

We received a lot of compliments on the garden from attendees concerning the accessibility of our garden, the colorful plantings, the workmanship, and the fact that we labeled our plants. We gave out a few thousand copies of Landscape Ohio!Magazine promoting the use of OLA members and our consumer website referral system. And, we were able to do all this with little monetary investment, thanks to those who volunteered their time and donated materials and use of equipment. In addition, this year we again included a colorful and interesting display about the great careers in the green industry. This display featured three banner stands with the main headline, “Love what you do! Do what you love!” Isn’t that a great message?

This display was strategically placed where everyone who visited the garden area would have to pass by as they exited the garden area. Our goal was that patrons of the show would be inspired by all the beautiful gardens and then be inspired to consider working in our profession. With the workforce development display, we had two different brochures as take-homes. Our PR and Marketing Committee, Board of Directors, and Rick Doll (staff) did a fantastic job with the messaging and are committed to expanding on this idea by creating additional Workforce Development resources. As always, your ideas are welcomed!

2020 GREAT BIG HOME & GARDEN SHOW TEAM Our sincere appreciation to the following people & organizations that made this year’s garden possible:

GARDEN DESIGNERS Ken Sasak, Sasak Landscaping, Inc. Kevin Sasak, Sasak Landscaping, Inc.

PROJECT MANAGER Ken Sasak, Sasak Landscaping, Inc.

ASSISTANT PROJECT MANAGER Kevin Sasak, Sasak Landscaping, Inc.

GARDEN CONSTRUCTION TEAM Cahoon Nursery & Garden Center Empaco Equipment J.A.G. Lawn Maintenance & Landscaping Ohio Landscape Association Sasak Landscaping, Inc. Working With Nature Yard Smart, Inc. Bedford Glens Garden Center Belgard Hardscapes Boyas Excavating Carvings by Chris Davis Tree Farm Empaco Equipment Corp. Iron Image Design Italgranite, LLC Mason Steel Ohio CAT Pete & Pete Phoenix Corporation Pioneer’s Pride Pond Supplies of Ohio, Inc. Sasak Landscaping, Inc. Site One Landscape Supply Smith Bros., Inc. The Great Big Home & Garden Show Vermeer All Roads Willoway Nurseries MATERIALS AND TRANSPORTATION

Again, many thanks to everyone involved in the garden! We appreciate all the people who came out to staff the garden as well. This is always a great opportunity to speak with the public. And a special thanks to Sasak Landscaping for going above and beyond to handle all the details and create a beautiful garden for the OLA!