Several hundred women gathered for AmericanHort’s Women in Horticulture luncheon at Cultivate’23. Photo: AmericanHort
One morning before the trade show opened at Cultivate’23, I was eating breakfast at the Hilton café. While I sat there, I noticed a sticker on the floor that said, “What will you cultivate?” This saying stuck with me after the show. This is exactly the point of the event – to cultivate relationships, business opportunities, and more.
I attended my first Cultivate in 2022. I didn’t know a single soul, and I was pleasantly surprised to occasionally run into someone I knew (coworkers) on the trade show floor. I handed out business cards to many strangers, not knowing if it would help to build a relationship or not. Cultivate offers many opportunities, including tours, workshops, education sessions, and the trade show. I tried to attend as much as I could and meet many new people.
This year, the fruits of my labor were evident. People stopped me on the show floor to say hello. I started to introduce myself to other people I did not know, or they stopped me, claiming they had seen me in videos with Dr. Allan Armitage at California Spring Trials.
This time around, Cultivate felt like reconnecting with friends. I regularly work with breeders, growers, and suppliers via email, phone calls, and Teams interviews, but an in-person experience “hits different,” as the young people say.
I remember meeting Geneiva McNeale at Cultivate in 2022. When I got home, I looked at her business card and noticed that she worked in training and development at Metrolina Greenhouses. She later became one of my interviewees for a series on labor challenges. Geneiva also served as a panelist at the GROW Executive Summit in December. We reconnected after Cultivate this year to discuss writing articles for Greenhouse Grower.
I met a group of young women working at Walters Gardens and Pope’s Plant Farm during the BASF reception at Cultivate’23.
The receptions on Sunday evening were especially valuable for making connections. I visited with colleagues at Bailey, Premier Tech, and BASF. At the BASF reception, I met a group of other 20-something-year-old women working in horticulture, some from Walters Gardens in Zeeland, MI, and others from Pope’s Plant Farm in Knoxville, TN.
Maybe horticulture was primarily comprised of men in the past, but the tide is turning. More women are coming to Cultivate, serving in leadership positions, and working in the greenhouses. This was evident at AmericanHort’s Women in Horticulture luncheon, as well. The luncheon is an ideal networking opportunity to find other likeminded, career-oriented women in your industry.
Are you a woman working in horticulture? Greenhouse Grower would like to hear from you! Please contact me at jhullett@meistermedia.com or 440-602-9165 to share your story.
The conversations at Cultivate flow so easily. Tuesday morning, I stopped to talk to another woman who attended the Women in Hort luncheon. We jumped back and forth between talking about beneficial insects and our favorite reality TV shows, including “The Bachelor.”
Cultivate is what you make it. If you’re lucky enough to be in Columbus along with 10,000 other people in the green industry, you better make it worth your while. This industry loves to welcome new people.
If you’re in the hotel elevator with someone else at 8:45 a.m., they are probably going to Cultivate. If you’re sitting next to someone at the Hyatt bar at 9:30 p.m., they were probably at Cultivate. If you’re riding the shuttle back to the airport on Tuesday — you guessed it, they were at Cultivate.
You never know who you might run into and how you can help each other. Professional development and business growth is why people come to Cultivate. When you’re surrounded by strangers, you might as well shoot your shot. So next year, ask yourself, what will you cultivate?