Columbus, Ohio – Ken Fisher, AmericanHort President and Chief Executive Officer, announced at the Sunday Keynote presentation that exciting changes are coming to Cultivate’17.
Since 2012, AmericanHort has worked with event experience engineers to discuss strategies to improve and grow the Cultivate experience for exhibitors. “The primary goals were to utilize the planned expansion of the Greater Columbus Convention Center to enhance the exhibitor and attendee experience, and to address the requests of exhibitors to provide additional opportunities to connect with current and potential customers,” said Fisher. “Cultivate’17 is the year it’s happening. Last year, the Greater Columbus Convention Center announced its renovation, which meant the plans we had ready could finally be initiated. Cultivate’16 has been the building year, and we’ve appreciated everyone’s patience and understanding that growth requires change and flexibility.”
Attendees and exhibitors alike will appreciate the following updates to their Cultivate’17 experience:
- A fresh look. The mission of AmericanHort is to be an industry leader, paradigm-shifter, and status quo disrupter. Cultivate’17 accomplishes all of this with a trade show floorplan refreshed to maximize the attendee experience and the exhibitor ROI. That means more corner spaces, islands, and design strategies to facilitate exhibitor-attendee interaction.
- More room. The Solutions Marketplace trade show floor is expanding by 30,000 square feet. That means a new trade show floor plan and exposure opportunities to accommodate every exhibitor’s needs and budget. Plus, additional space for The Knowledge Center and maybe even a book store.
- New opportunities for connecting. From a “fast-pitch” stage to showcase a company’s exciting products, to on-the-floor meeting space, learning space, and more, there are more opportunities than ever before to showcase the brand new and the tried and true.
“This refresh for Cultivate’17 is no different than what most of us have been doing with our own businesses – restrategizing, reorganizing, and thinking ahead to future customer expectations,” said long-time exhibitor and AmericanHort Chairman Terri Cantwell. “Change can be scary, but I’ve been coming to Cultivate for 28 years, and I’m excited about the changes coming. It’s good to see an organization making great changes for good reasons at the perfect time.”
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AmericanHort was formed in 2014 by the consolidation of the American Nursery & Landscape Association and OFA – The Association of Horticulture Professionals. With a combined history of 220+ years, AmericanHort supports nearly 16,000 member and affiliated businesses that include breeders, greenhouse and nursery growers, garden retailers, distributors, interior and exterior landscape professionals, florists, students, educators, researchers, manufacturers, and all of those who are part of the industry market chain. The horticulture industry's production, wholesale, retail, and landscape service components have annual sales of $163 billion, and sustain over 1.15 million full- and part-time jobs. Our mission is to unite, promote, and advance the horticulture industry through advocacy, collaboration, connectivity, education, market development, and research. The association has offices in Columbus, Ohio for administration and member services, and in Washington, DC to facilitate government relations and research activities.
Source: AmericanHort
