On the QT | The Official Newsletter of GWA April - May 2017 | Page 20

GWA Educational Sessions in Buffalo
OPENI N G KEYN OT E
The opening keynote speaker will be Kevin
Gaughan, a Buffalo attorney, who has been a
force behind “Community Conversations” in var-
ious Buffalo neighborhoods. He also has been
involved in present and future improvements in
Olmsted Park. His presentation will give us the
lay of the land and help us get our bearings of
this beautiful area.
Our Round Table Topics will be held in a larger
room than the one we had last year with plenty
of space to move around comfortably and be
able to hear better. The topics are varied—as
always—and include information about busi-
ness, gardening, live streaming, trends, writing,
career checkup, hobby to career, adding music
in the garden, NICH (the National Initiative for
Consumer Horticulture) and much, much, more.
There will be something for everyone.
STORY T EL L IN G
• Three award-winning Toastmasters from
Buffalo—Phil Colaruso, Karen Aubrecht and
Dave Wohlfeil—will present “Get the Humor
In.” Audiences love to laugh and we could all
use more humor in our lives—right?
Although both of these sessions are intended
to improve lectures, the main points can be
applied to almost any type of communica-
tion, whether written or spoken. C.L. Fornari
will present “Telling the Story about What
We Love.”
P H OTO G R A P HY
Sometimes we have only one opportunity
to visit a garden no matter what the day is like.
Mark Turner will share his tips for taking great
20
The Educational
Committee received
96 proposals for the
2017 GWA Conference
and Expo in Buffalo.
The goal was to offer
as vast an array of
topics as possible so
each attendee would
have opportunities to
receive information that will inspire creativity,
acquire new information, open minds to new
technology and enjoy each session. Here is a
synopsis.
B Y B E C K Y H E AT H
Left: Debra Prinzing (left) and Nan Sterman will talk about building tribes. Right: Kevin Gaughan will give the
opening keynote address to orient conference attendees to the history of the Buffalo area.
pictures when the conditions are
bad. Doug Oster will offer ways to
make taking videos a lot of fun. A
picture is worth a thousand words,
whether a still shot or one that
moves. Both presentations should
be incredibly informative and
helpful to each of us.
BUSINESS
Earning a living through garden communica-
tion can sometime seem impossible. Jacqueline
Soule and her panel; Noelle Johnson, Mary
Ann Newcomer, Larry Hodgson and Barbara
Wise will discuss “Making Local Lucrative—Cor-
nering the Market in Your Corner of the World.”
Rita Perea will cover “Quantum Economics—
Bridging the Gap Between Purpose and Profit,”
designed for entrepreneurs like you, who want
to grow their businesses and profits. Each of
these topics will offer ideas you can use in your
own area and beyond.
G A R D E N D ES IGN
Two amazing garden designers, Bobbie
Swartz and Dan Benarcik, will team up to talk
about “Great Garden Designs Utilizing All Types
of Plants” with an emphasis on pest-proof types.
Keri Byrum will team up with Jennifer Nelis,
Sylvia Gordon and Teresa Watkins to help us
understand why “Tropicals Are the New Suc-
culents” and why they should be in everyone’s
summer gardens. And many of those luscious
tropicals are pest-proof!
Kelly Norris and Maria Zampini will intro-
duce some of the very best and newest plants.
This is always great information for your own
Back by popular demand, Mary-
Kate Mackey has agreed to offer
a pre-conference class Thursday
afternoon, August 3, and Friday
morning, August 4, called “Write
Better Right Now—Tips and
Techniques to Power Up Your Next
Project.” This hands-on, six-hour
workshop is dedicated to the practicali-
ties that will get your garden writing out
the door—fast. Included are shortcuts for
sharpening ideas, structures to hang them
on and the picky details every garden writ-
er needs to check. Info about signing up for
the workshop are on the registration form.
gardens and tips to share with your readers,
viewers and listeners. There is an old plant that
is becoming new again and creating quite a
stir in our nation—depending on the state. Jeff
Lowenfels, Tom Alexander and Dan Heims will
team up to give us the “Dope on Cannabis—
The New Tomato.”
S US TA INA B LE PR AC T ICE S
Paul Tukey, a spokesperson about sustain-
ability long before it was the popular topic, will
share “Glenstone: The Challenge of Building
One of America’s Largest Sustainable Land-
scapes from the Ground Up,” and how the word
‘sustainability’ is much larger today than it was at
the beginning of his career. Brian Minter will talk
about “Reconnecting Plants to People, Wildlife
and Our Planet,” and how new developments in