Interior Plantscapers lay groundwork for new coalition

The second gathering of the new Interior Industry Coalition (IIC) was held on January 16, 2009, in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, at the Tropical Plant Industry Exhibition (TPIE). PLANET representatives at the meeting included PLANET President Jason Cupp, CLP; PLANET Interior Plantscape Specialty Group Chair Chris Raimondi, CLP; and the specialty group’s staff manager James H. Johnson. Other attendees were:

Rich Batcho, CLT, OFA – An Association of Floriculture Professionals

Art Campbell, National Interiorscape Network (NIN)

Joe Cialone, CLP, National Foliage Foundation (NFF)

Michelle Gaston, OFA – An Association of Floriculture Professionals

Mary Golden, Plantscape Industry Alliance (PIA)

Mike Lewis, CLP, Green Plants for Green Buildings (GPGB)

Linda Milark, National Foliage Foundation (NFF)

Dick Ott, CCLP, National Interiorscape Network (NIN)

Linda Reindl, Florida Nursery, Growers, and Landscape Association (FNGLA)

Deb Ringler, CLP, Plantscape Industry Alliance (PIA)

Stephen Schell, CHT, Landscape Ontario (LO)

During the meeting, the structure of the coalition was defined as those organizations in attendance at either the November 2008 or the January 2009 meeting, as well as organizations that had expressed interest in attending either of the meetings. Other organizations may request to join the coalition, and their request will be voted on at subsequent meetings.

Raimondi was elected IIC chair and will serve a two-year term. PLANET staff will handle the position of recording secretary, which includes managing the organizational and logistical details. It was also decided that each member organization of the IIC would have one vote.

 
Future actions

There was discussion on projects that the IIC might undertake to support the interiorscape industry. Two projects were given priority: grant writing and development of an informational Web site. Exploring the possibilities of available grants would help direct the next steps with other projects, so a grants committee was formed with Schell, Lewis, Reindl, and Norah Hunter of BYU. 

Other actions that could be achieved with little or no costs to the organizations were discussed, including the use of the IIC member organization logos and links on other IIC member organization Web sites for cross promotion, and that IIC members request their organizations become investors in GPGB. 

The IIC also welcomed guests for three informational presentations, which included an overview of Project Carbon, the carbon assimilation research funded by NFF and supported by GPGB and FNGLA being undertaken by Dr. Svoboda (Bodie) V. Pennisi of the University of Georgia. 

The IIC will meet twice a year — once in conjunction with TPIE and a second meeting that will rotate to different venues. The next IIC meeting will be held to coincide with the PLANET Summer Leadership Meeting, June 24–27, 2009, in Stevenson, Washington. 

Any organizations interested in becoming involved in the IIC, should contact Chris Raimondi at (201) 445-1299.

 Side bar:

Interior Industry Coalition member organizations 

Brigham Young University (BYU)

Green Plants for Green Buildings (GPGB)

Landscape Ontario (LO)

Maryland Nursery & Landscape Association (MNLA)

National Foliage Foundation (NFF)

National Interiorscape Network (NIN)

OFA – An Association of Floriculture Professionals

Plantscape Industry Alliance (PIA)

Professional Landcare Network (PLANET)

Tropical Plant Industry Exposition (TPIE)