Have Fun This Summer & Work Hard . . . but Make Plans to Be in Long Beach, California this October!!!

By George Schmok

I hope all of you are having a great summer so far!

While everyone out there is doing their best to meet the professional and personal demands of summer, this is no time to stop your work to find out what's new and on the horizon in the industry.

That's why trade shows are always scheduled for the winter or fall.

That said . . . Pre-registration is now open for the 2011 Landscape Expo (TLE). Held in the resort city of Long Beach, California, October 12th & 13th, the 2011 TLE has emerged as the leading landscape trade show and educational conference in the Western United States.

2011 will be the 51st consecutive year of the show, making it one of the longest running trade shows in the nation.

Although LC/DBM purchased the show from the Southern California Turfgrass Council (SCTC) six years ago, the event is still the major source of funding for the SCTC. So far the TLE has contributed more than $120,000 to the SCTC, and this year will be even better.

In the first five years under LC/DBM's wing, the show grew from around 300 city workers, 15 seminars and 25 exhibitors to more than 3,500 Landscape Contractors, Superintendents and Design professionals, 43 seminars and more than 250 exhibitors in 2010.

Now, in 2011 there are more than 60 seminars, including special tracks by the UC Cooperative Extension, Irrigator Tech and the National Association of Professional Women in Landscape (NAPWL). In 2011 there will be more than 520 booths and attendance is expected to top 4,000 working professionals, plus academia and exhibitors, bringing the total expected attendance to 5,000 or more!

In 2010, attendance nearly overwhelmed the registration staff, so in 2011 a New EXPRESS BADGE will be mailed to all pre-registered attendees. Instead of waiting in line to get your pre-registered badge, you will simply go right to the exhibit hall, scan your badge and walk right in.

Make Your Reservations Now!

There are also special show rates on area hotels, including the Renaissance Long Beach Hotel and the Avia Long Beach Hotel. So, if you want to see all the newest products, services and equipment, learn the things you need to know to advance your business and/or professional career, visit with old friends, see what your peers (and the competition) are up to, and enjoy a day or two by the beach in Southern California, then be sure to make your reservations early, because harbor view rooms will sell out faster than they did in 2010 . . .

Visit landscapearchitect.com to find out more, pre-register, and/or book your hotel room for the ''Leading Landscape Trade Show and Educational Conference in the West.'' The 2011 Landscape Expo, Long Beach!!!

God Bless . . . . . . And see you all in October!!!

George Schmok, Publisher