Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/62071
good start to the year is something we all look forward to. In a time where many are looking to improve education delivery and trade show formula, including our own Board, we re very pleased to report that the 2012 WCTA Conference and Trade Show held in Victoria was a success from many aspects. Thanks very much to all those who participated and we hope you found value in everything the show had to offer! very well done. So Kudos to all of you. Just a quick note to say that I really enjoyed the Monday hort seminars and trade show. I have been wanting to have someone do composting for a long time and the fellow from Transform was great. So was Doug Justice on biodiversity.....far exceeded my expectations. I was sorry I didn't see you except from afar so this is my "hello" as well as thank you for all your efforts. Have a great year, Anchored by an incredibly strong education program, attendance was almost identical to our 2010 show and delegate feedback has been tremendously positive. Congratulations on putting on a most successful conference and it was a pleasure to meet you in Victoria last week. First of all, I want to commend you on a great conference last week. Despite the setbacks due to the weather, I thought it was an excellent conference. You and your wife, and staff did an excellent job making it happen. I know looking from the inside out you may know all the inner workings but from the outside looking in- I thought it was I haven't talked to a lot of people but I did talk to one who was impressed and enthused about the conference, particularly the panel discussion. Sounds like congrats are in order. Value was a high priority for 2012 and while we know the WCTA show registration is considerably less expensive than similar events, pricing for full package delegates and exhibitor booths has remained the same since 2009. At the same time, resources have been directed into the important areas of improvement for both delegates and exhibitors and we wanted to find related ways to help people save money, ie. one less night in a hotel. Even with a more consolidated show ATTENDANCE MATCHED 2010 schedule than in the past, fun remained a high priority as well and the BC Superintendents Monday Night Social with Dave Creamer Memorial Hockey Game was certainly a highlight. We re already getting requests to have this again next year! The Awards Ceremony format which followed the Annual General Meeting worked great and rolling the evening into the President s Reception was well received. The Fest- of-Ale on the trade show floor is always popular and our new Speaker s Appreciation Dinner was a nice way to wrap things up Tuesday evening. ON THE BUSINESS SIDE In order to help measure show performance, a comparative summary of all our events going back to 2004 was recently developed. These analytics will assist exhibitors in determining their return on investment, help with internal organization and decision making regarding future events and provide all turf managers a barometer to gauge the state of the turf industry in general. A background in statistics isn t required to see attendance trends changing since 2007 and while this year s conference was the 2nd highest in the last four years, we would certainly like to see a couple hundred more delegates participating. As we break down the numbers in different ways, trends emerge that often confirm what we may have already suspected or perhaps they counter what was previously thought as reality. They most certainly eliminate any subjectivity and help us to determine who came to the show and where they were from but also, who didn t come. Why is this important to you? Most WCTA members may not realize that the conference is our association s top revenue generator; as fewer delegates attend these events, exhibitors are less likely to participate and overall profitability decreases. When that happens, our member programs are immediately affected because the association operates on zero profit. In other words, budgets are created with the philosophy that money brought in is typically spent the same year. If a shortfall occurs, expenses must be reduced right away unlike many businesses that may be able to draw on other assets to maintain their direction or focus on other revenue generation avenues. Long story short, this is a nice way of saying we will need to see a higher percentage of WCTA members attending future events to keep the conference viable and ensure our Continued On Facing Page