• Green Industry

• Showcase Event - Landscape Company Tour

• 800 landscape professionals

• 26 companies exhibiting equipment in convention exposition space

• Motorcoach Transportation

• Special audio visual for tours

• Weather planning and backup

• Extra infrastructure - climate controlled tent, and restrooms

Challenge: The annual GROW! Conference is the ultimate learning experience for landscape professionals, by landscape professionals. A popular ½ day session is the behind-the-scenes tour of a local, successful landscape company. This is truly a big event inside another big event. The challenge was how to efficiently move 800 people from the conference event venue to the landscape company, break them into groups, and take them through the on-site sessions all while the company continues to operate. 

Added challenges were planning for potentially frigid weather in Iowa in February and keeping the main event on time as groups were transported back and forth between the landscape site and the convention center.

Solution: For the tour to accommodate the large number of people, two groups were created. Half were transported to the tour in the morning, as the other half attended sessions at the convention center. The groups joined each other back at the convention center for lunch and then switched places for the afternoon.

At the landscape company, as tour guests exited the motorcoaches they followed group leaders with numbered signage that matched a number on the attendees badge. Ten groups of approximately 40 people were manageable across ten 20-minute sessions at the landscape operations tour. In open areas where sound was a problem, additional audio visual equipment was used including headsets tuned to a specific channel for that specific session. 

Planning for potential snow or extreme weather in Iowa over the event dates in February took a little creativity. Sessions were spread across two of the landscape property buildings that were bridged with a large tent that allowed groups to pass through and attend all 10 sessions without ever going outside. The heated tent also served as a break area with snacks and beverages. The building restrooms were supplemented with two climate controlled portable restrooms with attendants.

Result: All the moving parts worked like a beautiful dance and the event stayed on time. Tour attendees picked up great business best practices to apply to their own landscape operations. The host company also received valuable feedback from opening their doors to their peers across the U.S.. A special “Stop, Start, Keep” review was conducted and given to them from their tour groups to support their own growth and operational efficiency. This event enjoys increasing attendee numbers year after year as a testament to its success.