September 15, 2013
By Helen Hassard
Membership and Chapter Coordinator

Helen HassardThis summer the membership team took a few road trips across the province. The purpose of the tours was to connect with members on their job sites, or in their showrooms.

You’ve probably already read Denis’ article, so I won’t get into details about the visits. But, I would like to share a few things. When on a site, we always ask members if they have questions for us. I want to share some of the questions, because odds are if one person is asking the question, there are probably many more out there who are wondering about the same thing.

What can LO do to help members get ready for snow and ice season?
You can get in touch with our endorsed supplier, Marsh Canada, to discuss snow and ice insurance; LO members get to take advantage of insurance that has been reviewed and negotiated by many members with extensive industry experience. Also, don’t miss the Snow and Ice Conference and Expo (aka Snowposium). The event is Sept. 19 at Landscape Ontario home office in Milton. Go to www.horttrades.com/snowposium2013 for more information.

There are also courses for snow and ice training. Go to www.horttrades.com/reduce-accidents.

How can my membership set me apart from my competitors?
Some members are not comfortable about extolling the great benefits for consumers in hiring a LO member. For those with great modesty in bragging about their qualifications in being a member, take advantage of our How to Hire a Contractor rating system. Go to landscapeontario.com/contractor/rating for the online form (there is a downloadable PDF at the bottom) or you can order the pamphlets to hand out with the forms available here www.horttrades.com/lo-promotional-materials-2. The pamphlet asks consumers to consider factors like insurance, WSIB, education, references and more to help them decide which contractor to hire.

How can I apply for the Awards of Excellence?
The Awards online submission will be open until October 1 at 4 p.m. Go to www.loawards.com for more information, or to apply. During our visits, we also had a few great questions from LO members’ employees. I have listed a few questions that they wanted answered.

What membership benefits can employees take advantage of?
Employees at member companies are automatically members of LO. This entitles them to access cost savings on seminars, certification, conferences and the discounts with our endorsed suppliers. One of the more popular benefits for employees is the Marks Work Warehouse discount cards. The discount cards are available electronically for easy distribution to employees, just get in touch with CNLA at 1-888-446-3499 to have one sent today. Go to www.horttrades.com and look in the Membership Benefits menu for more information about the financial discounts.

How can I get my Pesticide Industry Certification?
Go to www.horttrades.com/pesticide-technician or contact Tom Somerville at pic@landscapeontario.ca to learn more about taking this certification.
Call at 1-800-265-5656, ext. 354, or email helen@landscapeontario.com, or tweet me about it at @LOMembership. I would like to hear your thoughts and feedback.