Webinar Series: 2022 Presenters
Lineup of Presenters
MBNLA’s webinar series has a fantastic line-up of industry leaders booked and ready to share their knowledge with you.
Get to know this year’s speakers and presenters by reading their bios below.
Presenters, Index
Duayne Friesen – Sales Rep, Ball Horticultural Company
Duayne grudgingly got started in the horticultural trade, mowing and weeding the yard, but eventually began helping with the family’s greenhouse business. This experience led him to the University of Guelph, where he graduated with a Diploma in Horticulture in 1989. In 2004 Duayne became the Grower and Manager of Lacoste Garden Centre, a position he held until the summer of 2009. Since then he has represented the Ball Seed Company, serving garden centres and greenhouses in Manitoba and Northwestern Ontario. Duayne also spent 20 years as host of The Lawn and Garden Journal, saying goodbye to the airwaves in 2017. Duayne and his wife Bev reside in Winnipeg.
Matt Kellas – Sales Manager, Aubin Nurseries Ltd
Matt was born and raised in Winnipeg. He has been in the green industry for 10 years and graduated from the Greenspace Management Program at Red River College in 2013.
Matt began his professional career working as a Forest Health Protection Inspector at the City of Winnipeg. He then moved to Thompson, MB to become the youngest Golf Course Superintendent in the Province. 3 years later, he started his first sales job as an Account Manager at Consolidated Supply – where he sold landscape/irrigation materials. Most recently, he has found his true passion as the Sales Manager at Aubin Nurseries.
Matt recently served as the treasurer on the MBNLA board for two years. Some of his interests include watching/playing sports and spending time with family and friends.
Matt will be presenting on behalf of Aubin Nurseries. He will present various plant varieties: from new & exciting, to underrated & reliable. As well, he will discuss the product availability outlook for 2021 and beyond!
Philip Ronald – Research and Marketing, Jeffries Nurseries
Philip Ronald was raised in the Canadian prairies and educated in plant breeding and horticulture at the University of Manitoba and University of Saskatchewan. He currently divides his time between teaching ornamental horticulture at the University of Manitoba, managing a 20-acre fruit farm, and providing support to the research and marketing programs at Jeffries Nurseries. He resides near Portage la Prairie with his wife Karen and their children.
Owen Vanstone – Owner, Vanstone Nurseries
Owen Vanstone is a joint owner of Vanstone Nurseries, a greenhouse and nursery operation located in Manitoba. The company produces a wide range of hardy perennials, shrubs and roses, as well as a growing line of herbs, vegetables, and annuals. Owen is involved in plant testing and selection, as well as many details in the day-to-day operations.
Owen has enjoyed developing the perennial trial site at the nursery location. Plant material from several breeders is evaluated for cold hardiness and suitability to the Prairie landscape. The nursery trial site is also host to the All-America Selections trial, with a focus on the Herbaceous Perennial category. Owen enjoys evaluating new plants and working to bring the best of them to Prairie gardeners.
Michael James – General Manager, DeepRoot Canada Corp
Michael James is the General Manager of Deep Root Canada Corp. Mike has been in the municipal street tree / stormwater industry for over 25 years and has worked extensively with landscape architects, municipalities, engineers, and landscape contractors to provide solutions for the health of the Urban Forest and Low Impact Development techniques. Michael has a Degree in Public Administration and Business Management.
Rob Redden– Vice President, in-lite Design Corporation
Rob Redden is currently Vice President at in-lite Design Corporation, traveling both Canada and the United States working closely with strategic partners to educate, advise and assist in growing their businesses efficiently through proven team building and sales & marketing strategies.
Rob offers his 15+ years experience within the Outdoor Living Industry and pulls from over 20 years of professional selling experience to help you to better manage your leads, close more sales, and grow your business through ethical sales.
In 2014 Rob was awarded the Salesperson of the year at the Ottawa Awards of Distinction, and in 2015 was awarded the Past Presidents Award by Landscape Ontario. Rob is currently an active member with Landscape Ontario and a Board Member on the LO Lighting Sector Group.
Rob enjoys spending his free time with his wife Erin and three active children Jordan, Riley and Carter. Rob and the family spend plenty of time at the rink, hiking, fishing and traveling.
Josh Hay – Founder and Owner, Hello Digital Marketing
For 20+ years, Josh Hay has been passionate about connecting complex business problems with online-focused solutions and designing and building websites for hundreds of businesses and associations, small to large. It started as a passion and a hobby at a young age. It would eventually lead him to found Hello Digital Marketing, a Winnipeg-based Website Design & Digital Marketing agency.
Since 2013, Hello has helped some of Canada’s leading brands design, build and grow industry-leading websites & digital marketing strategies to help with awareness, organic visibility in search and, as a result, improve the quality of their online leads and opportunities.
Lee Hotas – Key Account Manager for Manitoba and NW Ontario, Expocrete
Lee has been the Expocrete Concrete Key Account Manager for Manitoba and NW Ontario for the past 12 years. Expocrete is a Member of ICPI and Lee is an Allan Block Certified SRW Trainer, Manitoba Masonry Institute Treasurer, Member of MBLNA, Friends of MALA, and a Graduate of the University of Winnipeg.
Wayne Patram – Vice President of Innovation, Barkman Concrete
Wayne is the Vice President of Innovation at Barkman and has been developing products for the company for 10+ years. He grew up in Mitchell and currently resides in Steinbach with his wife and two boys. In his spare time, Wayne serves as President for the Chamber of Commerce in Steinbach and is looking forward to warmer weather and spending the summer outside with his family.