It is often been said that the only constant is change. We can easily see that everything is changing. With no exception, none of our members has ever gone through a season like we had this spring and early summer—more moisture than at any time in the last 150 years! Whether it is the weather, the supply chain, COVID or the economy, to be successful today requires a more sophisticated and adaptable set of skills and attitudes than ever before. We must also factor in our culture shifts that move in rapid and uncertain ways, and new laws and regulations that come up to surprise and smack us in the face without warning. At times it feels like chaos, yet our industry endures. Though most folks I’ve talked with around the country over the past two seasons have reset their performance expectations to pre-COVID levels, we now find ourselves in a new normal, yet nothing feels very normal.
This is when CNGA is as important, or maybe more important, than ever. There are so many challenges and potential obstacles to navigate to survive, let alone thrive, in the industry. It would be very difficult to do it all alone. Our association provides members a very important advantage—leverage. Legislation is a key area that demonstrates this advantage. A group from CNGA traveled to Washington D.C. in September to lobby on behalf of all of us at the national level. Additionally, our partnership with GreenCO continues to monitor and act on our behalf here in Colorado.
Training is a tremendous opportunity for leveraging your membership value through certification. The key to maximizing these opportunities requires an investment on your part. You must invest your time to be present and participate to increase the leverage that CNGA can offer to you. This fall I encourage you to register and attend the Fall Horticulture Leadership Retreat. This meeting is a key opportunity to have your voice heard around programming and trends. Furthermore, this meeting is where you can network with your peers as leaders and drive the agenda of the association forward, ensuring its relevancy to you as members.
Change is inevitable. There is no doubt or question that the pace of change is accelerating. Yet, so much about our industry does not lend itself to rapid change and adaptation. Now more than ever, l encourage members to lean into our association and find ways to leverage each other to drive innovation and adaptation. I look forward to seeing how we can all rise above it together.
