The Southern Nursery Association (SNA) has announced plans are underway to hold the 2020 SNA Conference once again at the Baltimore Convention Center on Monday and Tuesday, January 6 - 7, 2020, preceding the Mid-Atlantic Nursery Trade Show (MANTS) on Wednesday, January 8 – Friday, January 10, 2020.
Participants of the 2019 SNA Conference were positive about the location, the meeting space, and the added convenience of the conference held two days before the opening of MANTS. The new day-and-a-half format was well received, and participants were impressed with the plant conference speaker lineup, the quality of research papers presented at the research conference and enjoyed the open format of the conference allowing ample time for networking and discussion.
On Monday afternoon Dr. Charlie Hall and Dr. Marco Palma, Texas A&M, teamed up to present an economic outlook for the year ahead during the SNA SuperSesson. These two green industry economy experts offered insights on what to expect for the green industry in 2019. The complete video presentation is available on the SNA website at https://sna.org/page-1863049.
Craig Regelbrugge with AmericanHort offered his insight on the ever-changing political landscape on Capitol Hill on Tuesday during lunch. Immediately following his presentation, the 2019 SNA Awards and the Bryson L. James Student Competition Awards were presented. 2019 SNA Award recipients and information can be found on the SNA website at https://sna.org/page-1863057. Bryson L. James Student Research Competition winner’s information can be found at https://sna.org/page-1863061. In 2020, conference participants can look forward to more "cross-pollination” between the plant conference and research conference presentations. This means even more collaboration and synergies between all participants.
The SNA Conference provides a platform for sponsors to engage with customers on a personal, one-to-one level. Sponsorship packages for the 2020 SNA Conference will include all-access passes to the conference to allow face-to-face engagement throughout the two days of keynotes, plant conference and research conference sessions, and roundtables. The sponsor package will also include tabletop display space, as well as other promotion before, during and after the event.
“Collocating The SNA Conference at the Baltimore Convention Center two days before the opening of MANTS offers many advantages to the audience of both events,” said Karen Summers, SNA Executive Vice President. “Participants have the convenience of attending the industry’s most widely-recognized conference for new plants and quality research plus attend one of the industry’s largest trade show,” she added.
More details of the 2020 SNA Conference will be released in the coming weeks. For more information, contact the Southern Nursery Association, Inc., PO Box 801454, Acworth, GA 30101, 678.809.9992, mail@sna.org, or visit the SNA website at www.sna.org.