The sessions run from Jan. 12 to Jan. 14 at the Toronto Congress Centre.

Congress 2010 seminars offer an excellent opportunity for lawn and garden designers, professionals, business owners and suppliers to learn from some of the industry’s best on how to become more prosperous. Topics include:

• Sales Success.
• Financial Health.
• Developing Customers for Life.
• Professional Operations.
• Leaderships Excellence.
• Technical Expertise.

“One of our main goals at Congress 2010 is to educate attendees with current information that is integral to their professional development within the industry”, says Sally Harvey, CLP, CHT, manager of education and labour development with Landscape Ontario. ”Due to the current economic situation, I think it is important that our conference seminars focus on the Six Pillars of Business Success so that attendees can leave with the skills and tools needed to help them succeed in their fields.”

For more information visit: locongress.com.

• Jim Paluch, JP Horizons, Painsville, Ohio – Sales Success: “Selling the Experience”; Leadership Excellence: “Risks and Rewards of Change.”
• Belinda Gallagher, Royal Botanical Gardens, Burlington, Ont. – Technical Expertise: “Can Municipal Parks be Sustainable”; “When are Native Plants NOT the Answer.”
• Jacki Hart, CLP, Consulting by Hart, Bracebridge, Ont. – Prosperity Partners: “A Career that’s Great for Life!”
• Owen Dell, County Landscape and Design, Santa Barbara, Calif. – Sales Success: “Sustainable Landscape Audits: Your Key to Success in Hard Times”; Technical Expertise: “Watershed-Friendly Landscaping.”
• Jeff McMann, NPD,ISA,CHT, Town of Markham, Ont. – Technical Expertise: “Aboriculture Tree Myths and Their Contribution to the Landscape.”
• Ron Rossini, Master Gardeners of Ontario, London, Ont. –
• Technical Expertise: “Plant Diseases and Disorders – Keeping Your Plants Out of the ER.”
• Milan Popadich and Vince Charbonneau, BMO Nesbitt Burns and Cole and Partners, Toronto – Financial Health: “Preparing Your Business for Succession.”
• Jay Murray, LandscapeSafety.com, London, Ont. – Professional Operations: “Develop a Safety Culture – The Web is the Way.”
• Jennifer Sprout, Green Roofs for Healthy Cities, Toronto – Leadership Excellence: “Introduction to Green Roofs.”

• Jeffrey Scott, Glen Gate Pool and Property, Trumbull, Conn. – Leadership Excellence: “The Leaders Edge – Join a Peer Group and Grow Your Business”; Customers for Life: “Five Star Customer Service – The Key to High-Profit Growth”; “Idea Exchange – Application of Five Star Customer Service Concept.”
• Jack Pizzo, Pizzo & Associates, Ltd, Leland, Ill. – Technical Expertise; “Incorporating Successful Naturalized Landscapes and Natural Areas into Your Projects and Communities – Part 1 & Part 2.”
• Claire Sawyers, The Scott Arboretum of Swarthmore College, Swarthmore, Pa. – Technical Expertise: “Five Principles for Cultivating a Sense of Place”; “Gardens that Reflect Their Place.”
• Charles Vander Kooi, Vander Kooi & Associates, Littleton, Colo. – Financial Health: “Estimating and Bidding “As Good As It Gets” Recovering Overhead”; “Six Things Contractors Always Ask.”
• Moderated Panel Discussion with Hank Gelderman & Nathan Helder (Jan Gelderman Landscaping), and Joan & Kennedy Johnston (Peter Knippel Nursery) – Leadership Excellence: “Succession Planning.”
• Dr. Hannah Mathers, Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio – Technical Expertise: “Landscape Weed Control: More Bite to Bark.”
• Cathy Wall and Stephen R. Zwilling of Quality Seeds Ltd, Woodbridge, Ont. and Profile Products LLC, Buffalo Grove, Ill. – Technical Expertise: “Erosion Control – New Choices and Alternatives.”
• Joe Uyenaka B.Sc. (Agr), Cargill, Barrie, Ont. – Technical Expertise: “The Importance of Balanced Nutrition.”

• Roy Prevost, Oakray Marketing Services Ltd, Burnaby, B.C. – Sales Success: “Social Media as a Marketing Tool”; Leadership Excellence: “Networking: A Key Marketing Strategy.”
• Mark Bradley, The Beach Gardener, Brooklin, Ont. – Professional Operations: “Creating an Operating Budget”; Financial Health: “Operating a Successful Landscape Company.”
• Nik Milner, Nik Milner Photography, Acton, Ont. – Technical Expertise: “The Marketing Power of Good Photography.”
• Sean James, Fern Ridge Landscaping, Milton, Ont. – Technical Expertise: “Practical Eco-Solutions for Sustainable Landscaping.”
• Stephen Murdoch, OEB Enterprise, St.Catharines, Ont. – Customers for Life – “Media Relations 101.”
• Steven Peck, Green Roofs for Healthy Cities, Toronto – Leadership Excellence: “Green Infrastructure, What’s in it for us?”