Getting Down to Business

The Board of Directors held its first official board meeting following the Annual General Meeting at the MBNLA office on March 23, 2017. This meeting provided the opportunity for the directors to get to know each other and take care of necessary housekeeping tasks for the association.

ELECTION OF OFFICERS

The following individuals were appointed to the Executive in these roles by the Board of Directors:

• President – Guy Dowhy, Dowhy Design and Landscapes
• Secretary – Chris Spicer, SiteOne Landscape Supply
• Treasurer – Jeff Vermette, Lawn ‘N’ Order Landscape Services

CNLA BOARD OF DIRECTORS AND COMMITTEES

The Board completed the following appointments to the Canadian Nursery Landscape Association (CNLA) board of directors and committees:

• Provincial Representative – David Hinton, Weed Man
• Human Resources Committee – Guy Dowhy, Dowhy Design and Landscapes
• Professional Development Committee – Stephanie Walker, Shelmerdine Garden Centre

The term for the provincial representative is four years while each committee representative is two years. Appointments to the remaining CNLA committees; Communications, Government Relations and Membership Services, remain vacant and will continue to be covered by the provincial representative. Members interested in representing MBNLA on one of these CNLA committees may contact the MBNLA office for more information.

COMMODITY GROUPS

The industry is organized in the following commodity groups; Garden Centres, Growers and Landscape, at CNLA with representatives from each province. These groups provide an excellent opportunity to work with other industry professionals from across Canada on issues that affect all of us. For several years, Manitoba has been underrepresented on these three commodity groups. That can quickly translate into a disconnection between our province and the rest of the country and businesses within Manitoba.

MBNLA is working to reestablish these important relationships for our association. Ryan Kindret, Kindret Landscaping, was appointed to a two-year term to the Landscape Canada Committee during this first board meeting. Ryan unofficially assumed this role in July 2016 and has been attending monthly teleconference meetings since then.
The two remaining commodity groups; Garden Centres and Growers, remain vacant. To ensure support for these two important segments of our industry, MBNLA is looking for individuals to represent our province at CNLA. As our involvement increases with each of these commodity groups, activity for each of these groups will also increase within the province.
Individuals interested in representing MBNLA for either of these commodity groups may contact the MBNLA office for more information.

BOARD CALENDAR OF ACTIVITIES

The Board of Directors reviewed its responsibilities and set its meeting schedule and the next Annual General Meeting. The AGM has been set for Thursday, October 25, 2017 and to bring it in alignment with the fiscal year end of September 30. As per association bylaws, three directors will be elected during this meeting. The AGM will be paired with another association event at the Canad Inns Destination Centre Polo Park (details to follow).