On the QT | The Official Newsletter of GWA February-March 2016 | Page 4

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR’S MESSAGE

MARIA UNGARO

Strategic move to the future
It’s been about two months since we’ve come on board
as the new staff of GWA, so I want to give you an update
on where we are and what to expect in the coming weeks.
There have been some exciting changes already. We
have launched a new brand, refreshed the GWA website,
attended MANTS in Baltimore, and put many other projects
into motion that we will unveil soon. Guiding us in all these
exciting changes is the 2015 GWA Strategic Plan, which
Kirk announced in January. We have five strategic initiatives
focused on growing and revitalizing GWA:

even more tools, including member communities, a new,
mobile-friendly website, and increased social media
communications across all key channels.

Membership

We want to get you involved. Want to help us achieve all
the goals we’ve laid out? Join a committee. Don’t miss
your chance to build your network, demonstrate
your leadership and give back to the green
communications industry.

The heart and soul of GWA is you, the members. We plan
to expand GWA’s reach even further, introducing the
organization to a new generation and categories
not previously embraced. More importantly,
we want to serve you better. What tools and
services can we provide to better serve
you? In early January, we released a
member satisfaction
survey, which will lay the
groundwork for many
of the initiatives we
plan to roll out,
but we always
welcome additional
comments and
suggestions.

Branding and
communication

We are working to reposition
the association. In the six
weeks leading up to our
transition, I spoke with many
of the members and
influencers within the
organization. We
didn’t want to lose the equity of
GWA, but recognized that the
landscape of communication has changed
and we needed to embrace our full membership. We’ve
begun to refer to ourselves as GWA: The Association for
Garden Communicators. You have likely seen many of
the cosmetic changes that we have begun to make. We
did a refresh on the website. We gave a more modern
look to the logo. In the weeks ahead, we plan to roll out

4

Financial Health

As you know, fiscal health is critical. We want to achieve
financial sustainability within two fiscal cycles, enhance
non-dues revenue and evaluate expenses. A fiscally strong
GWA will better serve our members.

Volunteerism

Education

We want to be the recognized
education source, thought
leader and resource for
the industry. With the
introduction of more
regional meetings
and an improved
Conference and
Expo program, we
will bring you more
of the information
you need to succeed.
In addition to the excellent
green industry topics already
covered, we will be adding a
special focus on technology,
business, marketing, communication and publishing.

I want to take this opportunity
to thank you. While in Baltimore
for MANTS, my team and I had to
opportu-nity to meet many of you
and learn just a small piece of how you contribute to the
industry. We have been blown away by your passion, your
knowledge and your incredibly deep commitment to GWA.
I speak on behalf of all the GWA team when I say, we
cannot wait to meet and serve you all. I look forward to the
next months ahead…and beyond.