JNot a day goes by where you 

 don't hear about increases — 

 whether it's taxes or the prices of 

 products you use every day. 



I know the last person you want 

 to hear talk about increases is the 

 president of a non-profit organiza- 

 tion — but here I am. 



At our Winter Meeting in Janu- 

 ary, the Board and the membership 

 voted to raise the dues. The rea- 

 son we did this — and I hope you'll 

 think it's a good one — is that we 

 want to do more for our members. 



For the last couple years we've 

 had successful summer meetings. 

 These were designed so that New 

 Hampshire people could meet sales 

 people in a relaxed atmosphere. 

 You can actually see the person 

 you've been placing orders with 

 on the phone all spring. And it's 

 a great way to meet other New 

 Hampshire people as well as get- 

 ting to see the host's operation. At 

 every summer meeting we hold an 

 auction to raise scholarship money. 

 Last year we raised $1500 — we 

 keep none of it — it all goes directly 



FROM THE BOARD 



My Two Cents 



Bob Demers 



to the students. 



Another thing we're doing is 

 holding twilight meetings. We 

 have four or five a year. These 

 give you a chance to tour other op- 

 erations and see how other people 

 do things. These are usually held 

 late in the day so they won't inter- 

 rupt your own day too much. The 

 meetings are free, but it costs us 

 to advertise them. 



I realize our Winter Meeting 

 needs help, but that is something 

 we're working on. With the money 

 from the increased membership 

 dues, we can find the speakers 

 you'll want to hear that were once 

 out of our price range. 



We had a pesticide recertifica- 

 tion meeting last year that was free 

 to members. We're planning an- 

 other for this October. It's nice to 

 pay for your membership, but it's 

 another thing to pay again for its 



benefits and seminars. 



There are other things in the 

 works right now (the people who 

 returned the questionnaire had 

 some good suggestions), and these 

 will be announced when they get 

 further along. 



Incidentally, in case you're won- 

 dering, the President and Board of 

 Directors do not receive a fee for 

 serving. The hard-working men 

 and women who work with me do 

 it out of the goodness of their 

 hearts. We do it to help you — 

 the member — make your life in the 

 green industry a little easier, more 

 enjoyable, and more profitable. 



I hope you have a good spring 

 and if you see me at a meeting, 

 don't hesitate to give me your 

 ideas, but — most of all — your 

 two cents. I'm always willing 

 to listen, f* 



Bob Demers, Jr. along with other 

 members of his family, owns and 

 operates Demers Garden Center, 

 656 South Mammoth Road, 

 Manchester, NH. He can be 

 reached at (603) 625-8298. 



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April 



& May 1993 

 3 



