Capital Ideas
By Marvin Miller, AIB President
We’re throwing a party! Yes, America in Bloom is 10 years old and we feel like celebrating!
To mark the occasion, our 10th Anniversary Symposium & Awards Program, October 6 – 8, is returning to the Washington, D.C. area, the site of our first symposium, and boy do we have a program planned for you. Under the careful direction of our AIB Board member and judge, Katy Moss Warner, President Emeritus of the American Horticultural Society (AHS), and Tom Underwood, the AHS Executive Director, who are serving as Co-Chairs of this year’s Symposium, we have something truly special planned. We’re doing things a bit differently for the occasion, with some special guests, some special venues, some special features, and, we hope, you!!!
We’re opening the festivities Thursday evening with a special banquet event at the AHS Headquarters at George Washington’s River Farm in Alexandria. While we will present the Criteria Awards at this event, the venue will also allow for a great display of floral beauty, as many varieties ideal for urban landscapes will be featured, along with some creative ways to use these plant materials. The AHS Horticulturist, James Gagliardi, will be on hand to help guide you through the gardens. A special guest this evening will be Laura Dowling, the White House Chief Florist.
On Friday morning, author and PBS television personality Joe Lamp’l will provide the keynote address on Growing Greener Communities. Then we will break into concurrent sessions covering topics from building a healthy tree canopy to the power of flowers. AIB will introduce our new Showcase of Innovation, which will provide attendees with a quick synopsis of each exhibitor’s products and services as a teaser for later investigations. A panel of mayors will then describe how AIB has affected each of their communities opposite another panel describing the role of foundations in beautification efforts, in another round of concurrent sessions. Friday afternoon will feature area tours ranging from the U.S. Botanic Garden to the Enid Haupt Garden at the Smithsonian and from the many area monuments to the U.S. Capitol. All tours will end at the U.S. Botanic Garden at the base of Capitol Hill for refreshments. A guided walking tour of Old Town Alexandria will follow. Friday evening, attendees will have an evening on their own, in our nation’s capital.
Our Saturday morning keynote address will be delivered by Dennis Snow, a former employee trainer at Disneyworld. Dennis will share tips from his two books, “Lessons from the Mouse” and “Unleashing Excellence: The Complete Guide to Ultimate Customer Service.” The presentation is sure to offer inspiration for any business, organization or community in attendance. The rest of the morning will be filled with concurrent sessions offering topics ranging from using social media to encourage community involvement, to growing healthy communities, and from energizing kids and communities through school gardens, to making the case for sustainable landscape solutions. We will also introduce our new AIB evaluation form, which will incorporate many recommendations that have been garnered from our first 10 years of city evaluations.
Saturday afternoon will focus on sharing ideas, commencing with our ever-popular Best Ideas Luncheon followed by sessions hosted by the judges who evaluated the various population categories in the 2011 competition. Both events are open to all Symposium attendees.
Saturday evening will feature the grand finale banquet and awards ceremony, honoring all of the cities which participated in this year’s competition. We will also honor the John R. Holmes III Community Champion nominees and announce this year’s winner. Undersecretary of Agriculture Ed Avalos will be our Honored Guest at this banquet.
All in all, this year’s Symposium should be something quite special and will certainly be a can’t-miss opportunity for anyone who cares about horticulture, people or community. It is definitely the highlight of our AIB educational year and a great way to learn more about planting pride in our communities. I look forward to seeing everyone there.
We’re throwing a party! Yes, America in Bloom is 10 years old and we feel like celebrating!To mark the occasion, our 10th Anniversary Symposium & Awards Program, October 6 – 8, is returning to the Washington, D.C. area, the site of our first symposium, and boy do we have a program planned for you. Under the careful direction of our AIB Board member and judge, Katy Moss Warner, President Emeritus of the American Horticultural Society (AHS), and Tom Underwood, the AHS Executive Director, who are serving as Co-Chairs of this year’s Symposium, we have something truly special planned. We’re doing things a bit differently for the occasion, with some special guests, some special venues, some special features, and, we hope, you!!!
We’re opening the festivities Thursday evening with a special banquet event at the AHS Headquarters at George Washington’s River Farm in Alexandria. While we will present the Criteria Awards at this event, the venue will also allow for a great display of floral beauty, as many varieties ideal for urban landscapes will be featured, along with some creative ways to use these plant materials. The AHS Horticulturist, James Gagliardi, will be on hand to help guide you through the gardens. A special guest this evening will be Laura Dowling, the White House Chief Florist.
On Friday morning, author and PBS television personality Joe Lamp’l will provide the keynote address on Growing Greener Communities. Then we will break into concurrent sessions covering topics from building a healthy tree canopy to the power of flowers. AIB will introduce our new Showcase of Innovation, which will provide attendees with a quick synopsis of each exhibitor’s products and services as a teaser for later investigations. A panel of mayors will then describe how AIB has affected each of their communities opposite another panel describing the role of foundations in beautification efforts, in another round of concurrent sessions. Friday afternoon will feature area tours ranging from the U.S. Botanic Garden to the Enid Haupt Garden at the Smithsonian and from the many area monuments to the U.S. Capitol. All tours will end at the U.S. Botanic Garden at the base of Capitol Hill for refreshments. A guided walking tour of Old Town Alexandria will follow. Friday evening, attendees will have an evening on their own, in our nation’s capital.
Our Saturday morning keynote address will be delivered by Dennis Snow, a former employee trainer at Disneyworld. Dennis will share tips from his two books, “Lessons from the Mouse” and “Unleashing Excellence: The Complete Guide to Ultimate Customer Service.” The presentation is sure to offer inspiration for any business, organization or community in attendance. The rest of the morning will be filled with concurrent sessions offering topics ranging from using social media to encourage community involvement, to growing healthy communities, and from energizing kids and communities through school gardens, to making the case for sustainable landscape solutions. We will also introduce our new AIB evaluation form, which will incorporate many recommendations that have been garnered from our first 10 years of city evaluations.
Saturday afternoon will focus on sharing ideas, commencing with our ever-popular Best Ideas Luncheon followed by sessions hosted by the judges who evaluated the various population categories in the 2011 competition. Both events are open to all Symposium attendees.
Saturday evening will feature the grand finale banquet and awards ceremony, honoring all of the cities which participated in this year’s competition. We will also honor the John R. Holmes III Community Champion nominees and announce this year’s winner. Undersecretary of Agriculture Ed Avalos will be our Honored Guest at this banquet.
All in all, this year’s Symposium should be something quite special and will certainly be a can’t-miss opportunity for anyone who cares about horticulture, people or community. It is definitely the highlight of our AIB educational year and a great way to learn more about planting pride in our communities. I look forward to seeing everyone there.
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