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There were a few funny looks thrown around when Stephen Hillenmeyer told people he was headed to a snow and ice show in the middle of June. “They said, ‘You’re going where? To do what? Now?’” he remembers. “And it didn’t even stop after I got there – I got some surprised looks when I told other contractors at the show that our company is based in Lexington, Kentucky.
“But really, when is the right time to learn?” he continues. “The reality is that you can’t really have a meeting in the wintertime to discuss snow because that’s when these guys are busy. You have do it in the middle of the summer where, from a snow standpoint, that’s when you’re slowest.”
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Hillenmeyer, president, Hillenmeyer Landscape Services, and 854 other snow industry professionals had high praises of the Snow & Ice Management Association’s (SIMA) sixth annual Snow & Ice Symposium held in Buffalo, N.Y., June 12 through 14.
With a trade show, “Snack & Chat” roundtable lunches, and 19 educational sessions to choose from, the symposium surrounded attendees with networking opportunities and practical information to take back to their companies.
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“I thought it was a well organized and well run meeting,” Hillenmeyer says. “There were a lot of contractors there, people were sharing ideas and networking and that’s the main purpose for attending those kinds of events. There was good information and some things to challenge yourself.”
SIMA staff were equally pleased with how the show turned out.
“Overall, I’m just ecstatic with the show – it was more than even I could have imagined,” emphasizes Tammy Higham, executive director, SIMA, Erie Pa. Higham notes that with a membership of just under 1100, a turn-out of 855 attendees is a huge success for the association and a dramatic increase from last year’s attendance of 500.
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Session topics at the conference included “Dispatching Made Easy,” presented by Peggy Allin, vice president of human resources and systems, Allin Cos., Erie, Pa., and “Successful Snow Removal” presented by Alan Steiman, president, Alan Steiman’s Landscape, Northborough, Mass. Discussions on the benefits of liquid ice management products and maintaining worker alertness covered other aspects of running a snow and ice management company.
Hillenmeyer says he enjoyed the panel discussions “Methods of a Snowfighter,” moderated by Rick Winnestaffer, president, Winnscapes, Gahanna, Ohio. Comprising the panel were industry experts Charles Glossop, president, Maple Crest Landscaping, Maple Plain, Minn.; Rodney Anderson, owner, Snow Services, Severna Park, Md.; George Hohman, president, Turfscape, Northfield, Ohio; and Steve Bednarz, vice president, Tovar’s Snow Plowing, Elgin, Ill.
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“You’re asking specific questions and the panel gives you four different views of how they handle the same problems,” Hillenmeyer comments. “It’s also interesting when one person says, ‘We do it this way,’ and another person says, ‘No, we do it this way.’ They can be totally different, but what you can learn from that is that there’s not only one way to handle a situation.” The panel went over their snow and ice removal practices for eight different types of sites including hospitals, homeowners’ associations and commercial office parks.
Plans for next year’s symposium are already in the works.
“We’re making great progress and we hope to get even bigger and better,” Higham expresses. She and the SIMA team are in the process of finalizing next year’s Symposium to be held in Minneapolis, Minn. Dates and registration information will be posted on www.lawnandlandscape.com and www.snowbusinessonline.com when available.
The author is Assistant Editor of Lawn & Landscape magazine and can be reached at lspiers@lawnandlandscape.com.
Monday, June 23, 2003