Landscape Ontario (LO) offers a wide range of exclusive benefits to members, so we recently conducted an in-depth membership engagement survey asking which benefits are most valuable to you. From the many answers, a clear top three emerged: community, information and professional development. LO excels at bringing members together, keeping them informed and helping them grow their business or career. That’s a value proposition we can take pride in.

Read on, and you may discover a benefit you were previously unaware of and use that knowledge to enhance your membership experience and perhaps also educate at least one landscaper who hasn’t joined LO yet. Connecting them with a like-minded group that can help them to grow and prosper will support them and our entire industry to grow stronger together. Let’s dive deeper into the top three benefits according to LO members.

Community

If you ask most LO members the number one reason they renew their membership, they’ll tell you it’s the people. LO is your connection to the amazing individuals who make up our industry. Held each January, the Congress trade show and conference is our marquee event of the year for Ontario’s landscape and horticultural trades. Congress is an incredible venue for connecting with anything and everything landscaping, but did you know there are more specialized events held year-round?

Wherever you are in Ontario, engage with your local peers at Chapter events. With 10 chapters across the province, there’s likely a chapter near you with volunteers working right now to enrich your community and build relationships between local business owners and landscape tradespeople. Find out what your chapter is up to at horttrades.com/chapter.
Keep up with new developments in your field and network with like-minded professionals via LO’s 10 sector groups. These volunteer-driven committees discuss issues affecting their business operations and the specific services they provide to clients. Many hold annual events such as the Landscape Designers Conference, Grower’s Short Course and Landscape Lighting Conference. Learn more about sector group activities at horttrades.com/sector.

Running a business can sometimes be overwhelming. LO’s Peer to Peer Network is a resource exclusively for business owners and senior managers in the LO community. Members offer each other advice or share resources all year round via an online Facebook group and gather in person three times each year for intense workshops that help to improve their leadership skills or solve business challenges. Visit horttrades.com/peer-to-peer-network-main-page for more information.

Information

All members receive a subscription to Landscape Ontario magazine and Landscape Trades magazine. With a combined 12 issues per year, Landscape Ontario magazine keeps you informed on association activities, chapter community projects, outstanding volunteers and successful member companies. On a national level, Landscape Trades keeps you on top of current trends, new technology and innovative practices within the industry. Being informed shows clients, suppliers and your competition that you stay current with the latest knowledge and information to complement your experience and expertise.

Professional development

If you view learning as a lifelong process, LO is the association for you. Whether you are an experienced leader or just starting out in the landscape trades, LO has many learning resources for you. Our GROW program offers training for new workers, career advancement for working professionals and skill development for leaders — all for free, thanks to support from Employment Ontario funded in part by the Government of Canada and the Government of Ontario. Visit growtraining.ca for details and to sign up.

Some members prefer more focused training. LO’s Professional Development Program offers over 50 one-hour online sessions and over 60 full- or half-day hands-on seminars (mostly January through April) that cover everything from marketing and sales, to landscape design, employment law, lighting, irrigation and skid steer certification. New topics are added each year based on your feedback and the issues affecting your business or sector. See the full schedule and register at horttrades.com/seminars.

And more…

This top three list doesn’t even include the thousands of dollars each member can save on daily business expenses by accessing a wide range of discounts via our Member Savings Programs. Save on things like fuel, equipment, vehicles, computers, clothing, office supplies, training, insurance and more. See horttrades.com/member-savings-programs. By using just a couple of programs throughout the year, you’ll easily save enough to pay for your annual LO membership, which provides you access to a wide range of exclusive benefits — including the top three most popular ones discussed here, plus all of the meaningful government advocacy work the association conducts on behalf of the entire industry.

LO is a busy association and there is no end to the benefits we could discuss, but these top three are the ones that members value most. Spread the word and let your peers know how being a part of LO can help them connect, develop and learn too!

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