Saturday, July 12

9:15am-10:30am
Surf's Up - Who's on the Web
Knowledge leaders: Bridget Behe
Most of us can't imagine life without cars, cell phones, and computers. Are customers any different? Internet marketing is a way of life for many businesses. Customers are looking online for information about gardening. Recent research at Michigan State University shows who is seeking information and who is buying plants and related products online. Bridget will share cutting-edge research results and suggest ways to implement findings to make your online marketing efforts more successful.

10:45am-12pm
Strategic Web Design
Knowledge leaders: Phil Adikes
With 7.3 million pages added to the Internet everyday, having an effective web presence is getting harder, but no less necessary. You will learn to strategically market on the web to build relationships, traffic, and referrals. Learn about push/pull marketing and the calls to action that work.

1pm-2:15pm
Building an E-Newsletter Program that Works
Knowledge leaders: Phil Adikes
Learn how to make your e-newsletter feel like a gift to the reader, get it opened, and how to convert that interest into sales. Get ideas to increase your subscriber list, build your open rate, and make grateful readers.

2:30pm-3:45pm
Search Engine Optimization
Knowledge leaders: Phil Adikes
Having a great web site only counts if someone sees it. Learn how to attract people when they are researching garden problems and project ideas. Phil will teach you the hot search terms and the keys to getting your page listed ahead of the mail order people and box stores.

4pm-6pm
OFA Awards & Consumer Buzz Live! With Consumer Publication Editors Presented by Green Profit
Sponsored by GrowerTalks and Green Profit
Join your peers at this kick-off event as we spotlight OFA award winners and other industry recognitions. The awards program will be followed by the opening session - Consumer Buzz Live! All Short Course attendees are welcome to attend this session. Consumer Buzz Live! Presented by Green Profit Consumer Buzz Live has gained a reputation of surprising, and perhaps appalling our industry with the candid responses from Average Joes and Janes about their gardening experiences, habits, and needs. We're shaking it up this year by posing questions to a panel of "experts" on consumer gardening trends -- editors of leading consumer gardening magazines. These major publishing companies spend vast amounts of time and money delving into what their readers are planting, what products they want, how they view gardening, and so much more. Take advantage of this rare opportunity to find out first hand what really makes the consumer gardener tick! Come armed with questions and prepare to be enlightened.

6pm-7:30pm
OSU Annuals and Mixed Container Trials
Board a shuttle bus at the Convention Center Connector for a short ride to The Ohio State University Learning Garden Annuals & Mixed Container Trials. View, compare, and evaluate the different annual cultivars and the container trials at your own pace. Results from past trials can be viewed at http://floriculture.osu.edu. Shuttles will depart the convention center and OSU approximately every 30 minutes. Final departure from OSU will be at 7:30 p.m. Return trips will drop off at the OFA Short Course hotels. Open to anyone with a badge.

8am-9am
Container Crazy (and Plants for Small-Space Gardens)
Knowledge leaders: Dan Heims
Dan's trips around the world have exposed him to an amazing array of wild containers planted with the most unusual plants. In this session Dan will share those examples and give you tips on design containers, small garden spaces, and maintaining soil fertility and

1pm-2:15pm
Understanding the Critical Aspects of Running a Profitable, Growing Business
Knowledge leaders: Jay Goltz
Jay will reveal common issues that are in the "blind spot" for many business people. This includes the hiring process, standards, pricing, marketing, and responsibility vs. accountability. Jay's speeches are grounded in blood and guts realities of running a business. No theory here.

2:30pm-3:45pm
Greening Up Your Garden Center
Knowledge leaders: Suzanne Wainwright-Evans
Sponsored by Today's Garden Center Trends have shown that consumers are seeking out more environmentally-friendly products. Find out how to make your garden center a greener place to shop and what earth-friendly products you can stock on your shelves.

4pm-5pm
Merchandising Tips & Trends
Knowledge leaders: Joe Baer
Visual merchandising is a powerful force to help you generate sales while creating a compelling and memorable shopping experience for your guests. A review of top retail merchandising trends and an overview of the basic principles of merchandising will provide you with the tools you need to create exciting and rewarding merchandising statements on your own.

5:15pm-7:15pm
Retailer Idea Exchange
Knowledge leaders: Gary Hudson, William McCurry
Join us for this highly interactive idea exchange! Bill and Gary are back with one of the most popular programs of the OFA Short Course. Learn from a wide variety of retailers the ideas that are profitable for their businesses – ideas that increase traffic and sales and also help build community ties. Listen to how retailers have tweaked other’s ideas to make them fit – with great results! Take away a handful of ideas that can energize your business. Be prepared to share, brainstorm, take notes, and network with the best in the business during this dynamic session. Participants say that the Retail Idea Exchange helped energize their staff and make their business prosper.

8am-9am
Small Spaces, Big Sales
Knowledge leaders: Krista Dwiggins
As Baby Boomers and families downsize their homes and yards, the small-space customer may become your hot new opportunity. Don’t miss out on this growing niche. Learn how to address this market through product selection, services, and staffing.

9:15am-10:30am
Garden Center Success Stories
Knowledge leaders: Jeff Warschauer
Sponsored by Today's Garden Center
This session will take you behind the scenes to learn the secrets of how some of the country's top-rated garden centers got to where they are today. Jeff will shed light on what worked, what didn't work, and what happened along the way!

2:30pm-3:45pm
Marketing Containers to Your Customers
Knowledge leaders: Barbara Wise
Sponsored by Landscape Management
Containers are hot and so is the opportunity. Your customers want to scale back on watering and maintenance, but they are still longing for splashes of color and design. Learn the tools to build your container business and its profits.

4pm-5:15pm
Partnering for Landscaping
Knowledge leaders: Joe Stoffregen, AJ Petitti, Kate Nelson
Sponsored by Landscape Management
In the evolving "do some of it for me" market, garden centers and greenhouses can benefit from joining with landscapers to provide additional services. Join this panel for tips on what works, what doesn't, and what could work when you have unique partnerships with local landscapers and designers.

5pm-10pm
Shuttles to Easton Town Center
Want to get away from the Convention Center for the evening? Easton Town Center has unique dining, entertainment, and shopping areas. For more information, visit www.eastontowncenter.com. Complimentatry shuttle service will run from the Convention Center connector to Easton Town Center on a continual basis. The last shuttle will leave Easton at 10 p.m. You do not need to register for this

5:30pm-6:30pm
Training the Landscaper to Use Seasonal Color
Knowledge leaders: Barbara Wise
Sponsored by Landscape Management
Borrowing from Socrates' two simple rules of life ("Know thyself"; "Take nothing in excess"), learn how to pass on to the landscaper these two simple rules of seasonal color - "Know thy plants" and "Plant nothing in excess". Landscaping with seasonal color can really be

6:30pm-8:30pm
OSU Annuals and Mixed Container Trials
Board a shuttle bus at the Convention Center Connector beginning at 6:30 p.m. for a short ride to The Ohio State University Chadwick Arboretum & Learning Gardens to view the Annual Cultivar Trials and Mixed Container Trials. Heavy refreshments, jazzy entertainment, and guided tours of the trials and gardens will be provided. This venue is the perfect place to network with clients, relax with friends, or simply meander through the gardens. Be sure to bring your camera and business cards! Shuttles will depart the Convention Center Connector and OSU every 30 minutes. Final departure from OSU will be at 8:30 p.m. Return trips will drop off at the OFA short course hotels. This garden tour/networking opportunity is open to anyone with a badge.