MTNA show opens Friday
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This year’s show will feature over 170 booths with vendors for green goods, equipment, nursery supplies, insurance agencies, bankers, trucking companies and even Web designers. The booths will be set up inside and outside the Civic Center.
“The trade show is a place where people can see all different types of trees and see what is available,” said MTNA president Pat Wilcher. “People come in from out of state and they bring all of their liners and supplies and it gives you a chance to see what all is available out there.”
Local dealers, along with dealers from all over the country, attend the trade show every year to showcase their products. Participants come from over 30 states including Oregon, Pennsylvania, Texas, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia and Ohio. Exhibitors have also come from as far away as Canada, England and France.
“You get to see all of your old friends you only get to see once a year,” Wilcher said. “This is kind of like a family deal and once you get to know everybody they are your friends forever.”
The show offers businesses a chance to make money in the future. “If you are not out being seen and advertising then you will never make it in this business,” Wilcher added.
Along with the booths, classes are also being offered that cover a wide array of subjects such as tree health, shade tolerant plants, diseases, and insect and mite troublemakers.
McMinnville’s urban forester Nick Kuhn will be teaching a workshop entitled “Air Spade.” This is a tool that is beginning to be embraced in the landscape community which is used to determine if a declining tree has any root problems.
Festivities also surround the trade show. The second annual Sporting Clay Tournament will take place Thursday at 7:30 a.m. at Viola Valley Shooting Range. Money raised from this competition will go toward scholarships for students studying horticulture.
If clay shooting is not feasible then golf may suit you better. The 13th annual MTNA Open will be held at WillowBrook Golf Course in Summitville. Breakfast and registration will be at 8 a.m. with the tee-off starting at 9 a.m. Participation in both events is based on vacancy.
Trade show badges are $7 and are valid for the entire show. The show at the Civic Center will be open on Friday from 9 a.m. until 4 p.m. and Saturday from 9 a.m. until 3 p.m. For questions about the schedule, contact MTNA at 668-7322. This show is open to the public.
On Saturday at 1 p.m. the trade show will hold an auction in which all proceeds benefit the American Red Cross. Alderman Donald Hillis is donating his services as an auctioneer to head the effort. The auction will consist of items such as plants donated to the show from people who have booths on display.