Great Southern Tree Conference Scheduled for December

Florida Nurserymen & Growers Association and the University of Florida team up to offer an unique educational program on December 4 & 5 in Gainesville, Florida.

ORLANDO-Join nursery and landscape industry members from across the southern United States for the third annual Great Southern Tree Conference (GSTC) in Gainesville, Florida, on December 4-5, 2003.

GSTC is a conference devoted entirely to tree selection, landscape, production, establishment and marketing issues in the southern United States. This premier industry event will establish a cutting edge educational conference centered around an outdoor demonstration area developed in conjunction with the conference.

The 15-acre demonstration site, supplied by the University of Florida, has more than 20 ongoing projects that have and will continue to help the industry implement new technologies into daily practice. Vital components of this conference will be hands-on training, applied field demonstrations and current project updates. Green industry members will see for themselves the results of various production practices and techniques, and learn how to put them to use in their businesses immediately. Indoor presentations will be combined with outdoor demonstrations for this two-day event.

All segments of the industry benefit from this conference, including growers, managers, owners, landscape architects, landscape contractors, arborists, municipalities, researchers and educators, all coming together for an annual conference to share experiences and project results in growing, planting and using quality trees. This is the only conference in the United States designed specifically for hands-on training of green industry members.

Decembers conference will feature Jim Paluch of JP Horizons, Inc (Topics: Enjoying the Risks and Rewards of Change and Scoring in Sales), Jim Urban of Jim Urban Landscape Architect (Topic: Urban Design that Realizes the Benefits of Trees), and John Ruter from the University of Georgia (Topic: Expanding Your Tree Palette).

This unique educational program was developed through the joint efforts of the Florida Nurserymen & Growers Association (FNGA) and the University of Florida IFAS. Conference partners play an important role in the conference. The 2003 Champion Level Conference Partners include: The ACCELERATOR®, Be-Mac Farms, Bent Oak Farm, Florida Chapter ISA, Harrells Fertilizer, Inc., Holloway Tree Farm, Marshall Tree Farm, SMR Turf & Trees, Shadowlawn Nursery, Skinner Nurseries, Stewarts Tree Service, Inc,. and Tree Introductions, Inc.   

Individuals interested in attending the 2003 GSTC should contact the FNGA office at 800.375.FNGA (toll-free) or visit the conference website at www.greatsoutherntreeconference.org.   
      
The Florida Nurserymen & Growers Association represents Florida's environmental horticulture industry, with an estimated $9.9 billion in sales. For more information, visit the FNGA website at www.fnga.org, send an email to info@fnga.org, or call 800.375.FNGA.

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