President’s Message The 2015 iLandscape President
Kevin Vancina Vancina Landscaping, Inc. (815) 726-2300 kvancina@sbcglobal.net
Vice-President
Rusty Maulding Nature’s View (815) 592-7582 rusty@naturesview.info
Secretary-Treasurer
Mike Schmechtig Schmechtig Landscape Company (847) 566-1233 mschmechtig@schmechtiglandscapes.com
Immediate Past President Charlie Keppel The Care of Trees (847) 382-4120 ckeppel@thecareoftrees.com
Directors Mark Breier National Seed Co. (630) 963-8787 mark.breier@natseed.com Lisa Fiore Fiore Nursery and Landscape Supply (847) 913-1414 lisa@cjfiore.com Jose Garcia Natural Creations Landscaping, Inc. (815) 724-0991 info@naturalcreationslandscaping.com Lisa Fiore Kositzki Don Fiore Company, Inc. (847) 234-0020 lfiore@donfiore.com Dean MacMorris Night Light, Inc. (630) 627-1111 dean@nightlightinc.net Tom Lupfer Lupfer Landscaping (708) 352-2765 tom@lupferlandscaping.com Maureen Scheitz Acres Group (847) 526-4554 maureen.scheitz@acresgroup.com Donna Vignocchi Zych ILT Vignocchi, Inc. (847) 487-5200 dvignocchi@iltvignocchi.com
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Show has come to a close and as President I tried to involve myself in as much of it as possible. The experience began on the Tuesday morning before the show opened. When I arrived, the move in was well under way. Large equipment was in the process of being ushered in, booth spaces were being set up, and there was a steady flow of traffic on the show floor as everyone jockeyed for position. There was definitely an air of excitement in the building. The iLandscape Show Experience Committee and ILCA staff looked and worked like a legion of superheroes in their black iLandscape vests and jackets, and dealt with problems quickly and efficiently. As setup day came to a close, endless rolls of carpeting were being installed on the aisles as vacuum cleaners nipped at the heels of the installers. Finally, iLandscape 2015 was ready to open. When Wednesday morning arrived, the concourse of the exhibit hall was packed with attendees eager to sit in on the first of many educational seminars. A special thank you goes out to our Education Committee for their creation of such a well-rounded series. Programs captured the interest of all types of landscape professionals, and iLandscape has become a one stop shop for CEU’s for architects, arborists and CLT’s alike. When the tradeshow opened later that morning, attendees flooded the show floor, much to the delight of the exhibitors. As the day continued, the impending snow forecast took a bit of attention away from the show. It just wouldn’t be iLandscape without snow in the forecast on at least one day. Nothing can impact show attendance quite like one of Mother Nature’s little white tricks. Despite the snowy setback, the education rooms were packed and tradeshow attendance was considerable. As for me, the day had its own set of non-show related challenges. When my family finally arrived that afternoon to join me for Awards Night (after numerous phone calls dealing with a sudden goldfish crisis) it was discovered that my wife’s dress for the evening did not make it into the car. This proved to be quite a test of my diplomatic skills, as I tried to negotiate with my wife and daughter as they argued as to whose fault it was that the dress did not make it into the car. Even greater was convincing my wife that what she was already wearing was perfectly fine, since there was not enough time to go home or even go shopping. Eventually the cloud of doom passed, and together we attended a wonderful Awards Night. It was definitely a special evening and I was happy to have them by my side. I had the privilege of presenting the Distinguished Service Award to Laurie Dammgard and Paul Guzzetta from Kaneville Tree Farm, and the Man of the Year Award to Peter Orum of the Midwest family of companies. These are special people with a rich history in our association and industry, and it was my sincere honor to be the one to present their well-deserved awards. On Friday the tradeshow opened with the crowd eager to listen to our keynote speaker of the day, Rocky Wirtz. Apparently he was eager too, since he showed up two hours early and spent time talking with attendees, taking pictures and sharing his Blackhawks Championship ring with everyone. Rocky entertained the crowd with his stories of team building and the building of relationships. He gladly answered questions from the crowd, and spent a good share of his time meeting with them after his presentation. As the show came to a close, exhibitors were anxious to break free of three long days in their booths; everyone was ready to hit the road. The whole scene made me think of the “Roadie Song” by Jackson Browne. As if setup was not impressive enough, it paled in comparison to the speed and efficiency of breakdown. Within a couple of hours the show area was virtually cleared out; only the memory remained. A great time was had by all, and the ILCA Board, staff, Experience and Education Committees are already making plans to make next year’s show even better!
Kevin Vancina, CLT ILCA President The Landscape Contractor April 2015
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