FROM 



THE 



BOARD 



NHPGA and the Farm and Forest Expo 



ROBERT DEMERS 



After 7 years of setting up and 

 taking down the Farm and 

 Forest booth with Chris Robarge, 

 I decided to take a couple of years 

 off from participating in this win- 

 ter event. Over the years, there 

 have been a lot ot great booths and 

 volunteers to man it. However the 

 Farm and Forest booth always seems 

 to be a burden tor our members. I 

 tried to think ot a way to improve 

 this situation so that it could be a 

 win-win situation tor all. 



I concluded that the Farm and 

 Forest is basically a retail show. 

 The people drawn to the show are 

 potential retail customers, not 

 wholesale customers. So it made 

 sense to have a retailer run the 

 booth. NHPGA will now pay the 

 exhibitor tees, and arrange with 

 a NH retail grower to stock and 

 run the booth. The retailer will be 

 allowed to advertise their place, sell 

 their stock, and work the booth 

 as long as the NHPGA is properly 

 represented. 



At the 2004 event, Demers 

 Garden Center staffed the booth. 

 During the trade show, I gave out 

 flyers advertising the garden cen- 

 ter, sold plants and talked to po- 

 tential customers. On behalt ot 

 the NHPGA, I sold Plant Grower's 

 Potting Soil, the book titled The 

 Best Plants for NH Gardens and 

 Landscapes and tielded questions tor 

 the NHPGA. Most importantly we 

 handed out over 400 NHPGA Re- 

 tail Guides. These retail guides will 

 encourage potential customers to 

 visit your garden center. Every re- 

 tail member of NHPGA should have 

 a copy by now. It you haven't re- 

 ceived your copy, please contact the 

 Executive Directors otfice or one 

 ot our directors. Overall attendance 

 at the show was strong. The snow 

 and ice that tell during Day 2 ot 



the show kept attendance low, but 

 on the tinal day the turnout was 

 excellent. 



If you are a retailer and want to 

 take advantage of a great opportu- 

 nity to advertise your business let 

 the NHPGA know. I toured the 

 floor with my wite and kids and 

 there are a lot ot things to do tor 

 people of all ages. The vendors and 

 people that run the show are very 

 nice to work with. They make the 

 whole experience enjoyable. The 

 show organizers sponsor a special 

 exhibitor's breakfast where outstand- 

 ing displays are recognized and 

 presented with an award. Otten 

 there is a financial incentive to 

 return to next year's show. NH Ag 

 Commisioner, Steve Taylor in the 

 Feb. 18 issue ot the Weekly Mar- 

 ket Bulletin announced that "out- 

 standing booths at tuture editions of 

 the NH Farms and Forest Exposi- 



tion will be honored with an award 

 named for Joe Battles of Bradtord, 

 NH. Battles died last year. The 

 award honors his enthusiastic sup- 

 port for the NH Farm Show." 



I encourage our retail members to 

 start thinking and accept our invi- 

 tation to staft the Farm and Forest 

 booth. Maybe this exhibitors award 

 could be yours in 2005! Photos of 

 your operation are always attention 

 grabbing, and they help you have 

 something to make conversation 

 about with visitors. Oh and just in 

 case you are wondering. ..yes I did 

 display a few ot my giant pumpkin 

 pictures, especially my 1133.4 pound 

 pumpkin trom the 2003 growing 

 season. 



Robert Demers, along with his family 

 members, owns and operates Demers 

 Garden Center in Manchester. He can 

 be contacted at 625-8298. 



Staff associdUci wiih Demers Garden Center in Manchester ran the booth at 

 the 2004 NH Farm and Forest Expo. Robert Demers reports that many 

 contacts were made with potential retail customers. On behalf of NHPGA, 

 Robert distributed the new retail guide and membership information. 



SPRING 2004 



