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Session Schedule

11 AM – 12:30 PM  |   The Top 10 Human Resources Mistakes Landscapers Typically Make and How to Prevent From Reoccurring - Steve Cesare, Harvest Landscape Consulting, Escondido, CA

Whether it involves I-9 Forms, OSHA requirements, wage and hour issues, or various forms of discrimination, Landscapers are frequently uninformed about the correct steps to take to avoid governmental audits, burdensome lawsuits, and faulty business decisions.  This presentation provides a summary of the real-world problems that Landscapers routinely fall short of when attempting to achieve legal compliance along with specific action items necessary to improve the quality of a company’s human resources program.

11 AM – 12:30 PM | Creating Culture In Your Team - Bisser Georgiev, Live Trends, Apopka, FL

As an entrepreneur, Bisser Georgiev believes culture is the most important foundation of any organization, regardless of size or industry. Come hear what factors Georgiev attributes his success to, and how his team culture is working to keep the company on a solid growth trajectory.

11 AM – 12:30 PM | Discovering Niches - How to Use Seasonal Color to Boost Profit Margins- Jenny Hardgrave, Simply Flowers, Atlanta, GA

Have you ever wondered how seasonal color fits into your business plan, this is the session for you? With a dream to start her own business and $10 in her pocket, Jenny Hardgrave set out to launch a successful company based solely on seasonal color in Metro Atlanta. Today, Simply Flowers has over 800 commercial and residential accounts and has about $3 million in sales. Come hear Jenny’s story and see how she is using color to bring her landscape designs to life!

11 AM – 12:30 PM | Grass Class - Hannah Wooten, UF/IFAS Orange County Extension Services, Orlando, FL

The Grass Class is a grass packed one hour overview that talks about the science of the grass plant, why people are obsessed with grass, and how to care for your turfgrass. We will discuss grass stats, best management practices, how to prevent pests, and how to identify the common pests of turfgrass. We will also discuss establishing tolerance levels to meet your goals.

1:30 - 3 PM | The Three Rs of Integrated Employee Staffing:  Retention, Replacement, and Recruitment - Steve Cesare, Harvest Landscape Consulting, Escondido, CA

Sustaining organizational success and value depends on the balance of recruitment, employee retention and replacement. This presentation illustrates the key drivers necessary for a systematic staffing program to identify and retain high-potential employees, implement targeted practices to remove under-performing employees from the company, and insightful techniques to acquire talented employees into the company. 

1:30 - 3 PM | Disease Management - Chris Hayes, Bioworks, Lakeland, FL; Carrie Harmon, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL

The doctors are in the house and ready to provide an in-depth, evidence-based education and training session. Attendees will leave with key strategies for managing diseases with the use of right combination of biological and chemical controls in Florida’s landscape. This program will provide a great mix between visual and some hands-on demonstration. Undetected plant diseases in the landscape can have serious economic impact on your business. This session will help you stay up-to-date on the changing status of important plant diseases. Learn fast and simple ways to improve methods of disease detection and proper diagnosis.

1:30 - 3 PM | Landscape Freedom Formula - Monique Allen, The Garden Continuum, Medfield, MA

Landscape professionals are NOT afraid of hard work. Heck, most contractors, and designers are fearless when it comes to rolling up their sleeves to work the land. The thing all of us hate is spinning our wheels and feeling the burdens of business. So how do you get free from that?

1:30 - 3 PM | Wins, Risks and Remedies: Simplifying Human Resource Processes & Protecting Your Business From Risk - Todd Downing and Michael Maggiotto, Best Human Capital & Advisory Group, Indianapolis, IN

Come get a firm handle on your risk exposure and identify the appropriate strategies to increase labor efficiency, eliminate legal risk factors, improve employee engagement, and identify potential cost savings practices.

3:30 - 5 PM | Strategies on Marketing, Pricing, and Management: "Why Aren't We Making More Money?" - Richard Ludwig, Ph.D., Landscape Design & Graphics Workshops, Gainesville, GA

Strategies on marketing, pricing, and management are fundamental concepts that, if applied, will generate more dollars in the Green Industry. With more than 50 years in our industry, Ludwig offers time-tested recommendations which increase cash flow and help businesses thrive!

3:30 - 5 PM | Pesticide Safety, PPE, & Spray Calibrations - Brooke Moffis, Lake County Extension, Tavares, FL 

Properly interpreting the pesticide label is crucial to selecting the most appropriate pesticide products for use and therefore receiving maximum benefit from their use. In this interactive session participants will be instructed on how to read a label with emphasis being placed on Safety, Environmental, Product and Use Information.

3:30  – 5 PM | Understanding the Bidding Process - Full Cost Recovery Method - Kurt Thompson, Thompson and Associates, Clover, SC 

This session takes the contractor, estimator, or business owner through the steps of establishing a breakeven cost to then guide them through the creation of a selling price based on profit needs, market conditions, contingency factors, and proper accounting formulas.

3:30 - 5 PM | Developing an Integrated Weed Management Program for the Landscape: Reducing Costs and Improving Results - Chris Marble, UF/Mid Florida Research and Education Center, Apopka, FL

This session will share some of UF’s latest data comparing different PRE and POST herbicide combinations to frequent applications of just glyphosate or glufosinate as well as incorporating non-chemical strategies to get better results.