Nursery/Landscape EXPO 2024 Recap

EXPO Education

Education kicked us off on Wednesday Aug 14, 2024 and you all packed the sessions! We had to get more seats for you all!! We offered a total of 80 sessions throughout the week, 70.5 TNLA CEU Hours, 41 demos, for the first time we provided a 4-hr two wire training on the show floor.

If you wanted to attend some of the sessions but could not make it, don’t worry, EXPO recorded a variety which will be available for purchase soon including not limited to the following:

• New Diseases Affecting Ornamental Plants and Trees with Dr. Kevin Ong
• IPM in Turf Grass with Dr. Manuel Chavarria
• Saving Trees After Drought with Emmitt Muennink
• Common Insects of Trees: Identification and Management with Molly Keck

A special thanks to this year’s key contributing Investment Partner

EXPO Gardens

A heartfelt thank you to Tarrant County College for creating the designs. This was the students' final project of the semester, and we have to say—they knocked it out of the park! We also want to express our gratitude to Texas State, Texas A&M, and Palo Alto College for their invaluable help in bringing these designs to life. Special thanks to our contributing exhibitors!

Thursday, Aug 15, 2024

We kicked off Thursday with an exciting opening ceremony that featured a special performance by Mariachi Alma de Jalisco. The festivities continued as TNLA's current Chair of the Board, Bobby Eichholz, officially opened the tradeshow floor with a ribbon-cutting ceremony. We want to extend a special thanks to Kip and Brock from Athens Tree Farm for sponsoring this tradeshow, and to Chase Kinney and the entire team at KBW Supply for providing the greenhouse at our entrance.

Exhibitors

You all sold us out, we had over 100 new exhibitors this year and had to start a waiting list! We are beyond honored that you put your trust in us to help you grow your business.

Breakdown:

Total Booths on the Tradeshow Floor – 934 (5% increase from 2023)

Total # of Exhibiting Companies – 453 (7% increase from 2023)

Total # of Sponsoring Companies – 52

The tradeshow floor was spectacular!

Congratulations to this year’s best booth winners:

Everde Growers

Whiz-Q-Stone

Whittlesey Landscape Supplies

Dewar Nurseries

Green Lake Nursery

The Ground Up

Women in Hort Get Together

We had an amazing time at the Women in Horticulture gathering! A special thank you to Representative Mary Gonzalez for joining us and discussing the vital role of women in horticulture and the importance of making our voices heard in the legislative arena. If you missed it, you can watch the live-stream anytime on our Nursery/Landscape EXPO Facebook page or by clicking HERE

Special Thank You To Our Sponsors:

Welcome Party

We wrapped up the evening with our exciting Welcome to San Antonio Party! Attendees enjoyed live music by XFactory, fun giveaways, and the chance to relax with delicious bites and drinks. A special thank you to our sponsors, Living Earth and Everde Growers, for making it all possible.

Thank You To Our Sponsors

Our Food Sponsor

Centerpiece Sponsor

Table Sponsors

Certification Reception

Certified Professionals got to enjoy a dedicated reception where they got to mingle with other industry professionals.

Friday, Aug 17, 2024

Annual Business Meeting

We started the last day of EXPO with our Annual Business Meeting. What is this? It is an opportunity for the Association to conduct essential business, report its accomplishments to the members, and kick off the new fiscal year. We are honored to share with you some of the initiatives TNLA engaged in with the support of our members.

Amy Graham, President/CEO of TNLA, presented the County Agent Award to David Ramirez and introduced the 2024-2025 TNLA Board of Directors. The meeting concluded with our annual Year In Review. You can watch the live stream of the Annual Business Meeting HERE and view the Year In Review below

TNLA Booth

Membership

We had a record-breaking number of new memberships sign up during the show! We are thrilled about the future of TNLA Membership and are committed to providing valuable opportunities for continuing education, advocacy, and business success.

Both members and non-members enjoyed fun giveaways at our booth. Congratulations to Matt Thomas from Spring Creek Growers for winning the RTIC Cooler raffle!

Many attendees took home our EXPO T-shirts, and we loved hearing your positive feedback on the graphic design.

Thank you to our Membership Jeopardy Sponsors

TNLA PAC

At this year's Nursery/Landscape EXPO, the TNLA PAC Trustees went above and beyond in demonstrating the critical role of our Political Action Committee. Their dedication and outreach highlighted the significant impact of our PAC in supporting legislative efforts that benefit our industry. Every year TNLA PAC raises crucial funds to support our industry’s interests. we want to thank our Diamond Recognized and Gold Star Companies for their incredible support of the TNLA Political Action Committee (PAC).

Diamond Recognized: Those who donated $500 or more from an individual. 

· Bob Cartwright

· Bonnick Landscaping

· Bruce Miller Nurseries

· Calloway's Nursery

· Cedar Creek Farms

· Creekside Nursery

· Dry Creek Tree Farm

· Everde

· Harry's Greenhouse

· Houston Garden Centers

· KBW Supply

· Krause Landscape

· Landmark Nurseries

· Living Earth

· Mark Rose

· Mortellaro's

· Roundtree Landscaping

· Saxon Becnel & Sons

· Southwest Wholesale Nursery

· Superscapes Inc.

· Vital Earth

Gold Star Companies: Companies that had four or more individuals donate at least $50 

· KBW Supply

· Landmark

· Living Earth

· Monarch Landscape

· Mortellaro’s Nursery

· Rancho Encino

· Southwest Nursery

· TNLA

· Vital Earth

Thanks to the unwavering support of our TNLA members, we are thrilled to announce that our PAC has achieved a record-breaking fundraising milestone. This remarkable accomplishment underscores our members' commitment to advancing our industry’s interests.

Congratulations to the raffle winner, Steven Akers with Back to Nature, for winning a Beretta Shotgun!

The funds raised will be used to support political candidates who advocate for the green industry, ensuring our voice is heard in legislative discussions and promoting favorable policies. Our PAC's success reflects our members' dedication to political advocacy. Thank you for your support—together, we're shaping a positive future for our industry. Stay tuned for more updates on how you can get involved with the TNLA PAC. To learn more on how you can help, reach out to Curtis Smith Director of Legislative and Regulatory Affairs Texas Nursery & Landscape Association (TNLA) Curtis@tnlaonline.org 

See You all next Year!

Booth sales are now open, please contact Amy Prenger at amy@tnlaonline.org for more information.

Next year's theme is "Renaissance Fair," embodying a blend of Knights of the Round Table and Medieval vibes. The tagline, "Together Towards Tomorrow," reflects the collective journey towards a new future. This theme arose as the industry reflected on the need to approach familiar tasks in new ways and come together to forge a shared path in this new reality.
Can't wait to see what you all do with the theme, until next year keep an eye out for updates on the https://hubs.li/Q02LPDvR0 website!