Landscape Ontario’s Waterloo Chapter is home to 280 members, almost a quarter of whom have been a part of the association for 20 years or more. The chapter also hosts the association’s longest-running chapter event, the Waterloo Fall Freeze Up holiday party. Waterloo boasts a long history of achievements, but its board of directors continues to look for innovative ways to connect with local members. These include initiatives like live steaming chapter meetings and a new approach to onboarding members.

The chapter’s board is serious about engaging new members with an onboarding committee, the only one of its kind among Landscape Ontario’s 10 regional chapters. Chaired by Colin MacMillan of Riverwood Landscaping, the committee is tasked with reaching out to new members in the chapter to encourage full participation in events and initiatives. MacMillan was motivated to chair the committee after reflecting on his own experience after joining Landscape Ontario.
“I joined LO in 2018, having owned a company in the industry since 2016,” he said. “I began by attending meetings and going to Congress. While I attended a few sessions before the spring break, I got into the summertime rush and did not return to an LO meeting until October 2022 when Rob Tester asked me to come. When I returned, I was immediately included. My opinion was asked and I felt very welcomed. As I was added to the board, I started to get to know people and became more involved. Being more comfortable enabled me to participate more and get a lot out of it. I believe that I needed other people to speak to me first to build my comfort to get out of my shell.”

Landscape Ontario’s members often cite networking as one of the key benefits of their membership, but that doesn’t mean it comes easily. Going into an unfamiliar environment and meeting new people can be stressful. Having someone invite you to a meeting or event, tell you you’re welcome and introduce you around could make the difference between membership for a year and membership for life. Joining Landscape Ontario is a little like joining a gym. If you want to see a return on your investment, you have to get out and exercise. And who couldn’t use some extra motivation to work out?

This past year, Waterloo Chapter has gone beyond the typical approach to chapter meetings with a series of workshops led by Grant Harrison of Nextra Consulting. His “Unlock Your Full Business Potential” workshops covered a wide range of critical topics for business owners, including human resources, marketing, strategic planning and risk management. These same topics are covered by the Certified Landscape Horticulturist Manager (CLHM) exams, making the Unlock Your Full Business Potential series an excellent primer for those who wish to pursue CLHM certification. The workshops were recorded and are available to watch online. You can watch the series right now at gfl.me/hbAR.

Chapter president Blake Sicard of Creative Landscape Depot feels ease of access is important. “No doubt we live in an increasingly busy world,” Sicard said. “By live streaming and posting chapter meetings on YouTube, the information provided has never been more accessible and convenient. Member engagement will continue to be the focus of the Waterloo Chapter moving forward.”

To a large extent, Landscape Ontario is an association of entrepreneurs. The spirit of constant improvement and future-focused thinking is alive and well in Waterloo. If you’re a member in the Kitchener-Waterloo area and would like to learn more about how to get involved in this vibrant chapter, contact Karri Bylsma, LO Membership Event Specialist at kbylsma@landscapeontario.com.

 

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