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EVENT DETAILS

When

February 24–26, 2020. Check-in begins at 10 a.m. on Wednesday, February 24. The conference starts at 1:30 p.m. that day and ends at 11 a.m. on Friday. While the agenda is still subject to change, the start and end time are final.

Where

The Hilton New Orleans Riverside
2 Poydras St.
New Orleans, LA 70130

Hotel reservations can be made online, or by calling the hotel at 504.561.0500. Hotel reservations must be made by February 2 to receive our discounted room rate.

Travel

The Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport (MSY) is located 14 miles from the hotel. View ground transportation options from the airport here.

Dress Code

The dress code is business casual. The tour of Mullin on Thursday will include time outside, rain or shine. We recommend packing a rain jacket just in case.

health & Safety

This year’s event may look a little different as we adapt to follow national, state, and local guidelines to limit the spread of COVID-19. The Hilton New Orleans Riverside has extensive cleaning protocols in place to continue hosting guests and events safely. New Orleans currently requires masks be worn in public. Here are just a few of the precautions we’re taking:

• We have moved into the hotel’s largest event space, which comfortably holds well over 1,000 people in normal circumstances, to allow for social distancing during sessions. These are ballrooms they typically use for large Mardi Gras parties! All attendees will be seated 6 feet apart for sessions, and we will be limiting the number of people in the room to follow local guidelines.

• Masks will be required during all conference events including sessions and the tour of Mullin.

• All meals during the event will be grab-and-go. Attendees can take their meals back to their rooms, outside, or to other locations to eat based on their comfort level.

• The Hilton New Orleans Riverside has extensive cleaning protocols in place both for guest rooms and for meeting spaces.

• We have a fantastic, and safe, event planned, but we need our attendees help too. If you develop symptoms or are exposed to COVID-19 in the weeks or days leading up to the event, we ask that you stay home and let us know by e-mailing grow@growgroupinc.com that you won’t be attending this year. We will work with you to apply your ticket to next year’s event.

Dietary Restrictions

If you have dietary restrictions, please e-mail lindsey@growgroupinc.com ahead of the event so we can plan accordingly.

Registration

Reserve Your Spot Now!

Standard Ticket: $1,295 per person

Includes all educational sessions, the tour of Mullin, breakfast and lunch on Tuesday, and breakfast on Wednesday. Hotel, travel, and other meals are not included in the registration fee.

ACEs and their team members receive a special rate of $850. Please e-mail lindsey@growgroupinc.com for details.

Teams of three or more receive 15% off. E-mail lindsey@growgroupinc.com for details.

RECEIVE VIP TREATMENT

VIP Ticket: $1,790 per person

VIPs enjoy VIP privileges, including dinner with Marty, Chase Mullin, and industry leaders; front-of-the-room seating; exclusive networking opportunities; and a special gift.

PAYING IN INSTALLMENTS

If you need to pay for your registration in installments, please call The Grow Group office at 1.937.847.9944 and we’ll try to accommodate you. You’ll need to provide a credit card number that we can process automatically on agreed-upon dates, and you must pay the entire balance before the event.

CANCELLATION POLICY

Given the extraordinary circumstances this year, we will fully refund all cancellations or offer a credit for GROW! 2022 if we are notified before January 15, 2021. After January 15, 2021 we will refund your money minus a processing fee of $125 per registration; alternatively you may opt to have the price of your registration credited to your account and redeem it for another offering provided by The Grow Group. Any cancellations received after February 1, 2021 will be evaluated on a case by case basis. You may transfer your registration to a substitute participant on or before February 19, 2021; no refunds, credits, or additional transfers are available for a transferred registration. Credits must be used within 18 months of their issue date.

Wednesday
February 24, 2020

10:00 a.m.–1:15 p.m. 
Registration and Badge Pickup 

1:30 p.m.–2:15 p.m. 
Welcome
Marty Grunder, President and CEO, The Grow Group and Grunder Landscaping Co.
Vince Torchia, Vice President, The Grow Group

2:15 p.m.–2:30 p.m. 
Break 

2:30 p.m.–3:15 p.m. 
Breakout I 

• Leadership Team Personality Testing: A case study on Grunder Landscaping Co. and how it’s leadership uses their strengths to work together more effectively. Led by Tracy Wallingford of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

• How to Grow, Sequence, and Scale your Design Build Business: In this session we will focus solely how to grow and scale your design build business with a focus on how the work gets done efficiently. Led by Chris Psencik and Tommy Cole.

• How to Grow, Sequence, and Scale your Maintenance Business: In this session we will focus solely how to grow and scale your maintenance business with a focus on how the work gets done efficiently. Led by Jason New.

• Better Together: Create a culture of breakthrough growth by embracing the differences men and women bring to the table. Led by Claire Goldman.

• Benchmarks and KPIs for Leadership and Management: Aspire Software’s Kevin Kehoe leads a session on what metrics landscaping companies should be paying attention to in order to maximize success. This session was prerecorded.

• The Legal Side of Your Business: Tips, Tactics, and Things to Watch for as You Grow with Vince Torchia

3:15 p.m.–3:30 p.m. 
Break 

3:30 p.m.–4:15 p.m. 
Breakout II

• How to GROW! your business beyond $1,000,000 in annual sales. Led by Chris Psencik featuring Claire Goldman.

• How to GROW! your business beyond $5,000,000 in annual sales. Led by Marty Grunder.

• How to GROW! your business beyond $10,000,000 in annual sales. Led by Jason New featuring Terry Hancock.

• How to GROW! your business beyond $20,000,000 in annual sales. Led by James Cali featuring Gene Freeman and Chris Strempek.

• Valuations 101: Working from a real landscaping company as a case study, we will show you what your company is worth and how you can drive valuation higher. Led by Jennifer Murray of Southern Methodist University and Vince Torchia.

• H-2B Workforce: Learn everything you need to know about the H-2B program and the future of the program. Led by Patrick Wilson.

4:15 p.m.–4:30 p.m. 
Break 

4:30 p.m.–4:45 p.m. 
What You’ll See Tomorrow at Mullin 

4:45 p.m.-5:00 p.m.
What to Do in New Orleans according with NOLA local James Cali.

5:00 p.m.–5:10 p.m. 
In the Spotlight: STIHL 

6:30 p.m.
Dine-Around
For those who want to get to know other attendees better, we have reservations at local restaurant for groups of 10 or less. Each diner pays their own way, attendees can sign up for a dine-around in the event app.

Thursday
February 25, 2020

6:45 a.m.–7:45 a.m. 
Breakfast Available 

7:45 a.m. 
Buses Leave for the Company Tour

8:30 a.m.–12:00 p.m. 
Tour of Mullin 

12:30 p.m.–1:45 p.m. 
Lunch 

1:45 p.m.–2:45 p.m. 
Critique of Mullin: What Would You Start, Stop, and Keep?

2:45 p.m.–3:00 p.m. 
Break 

3:00 p.m.–3:45 p.m. 
Breakout III 

• Who Owns What? Creating Accountability: How to empower your leaders to own their work and drive accountability in the process. Led by Chris Psencik and Tommy Cole.

• Training 101: You will leave this session with a tried and true training plan for 2021 that you can stick with week after week. After all, we all know that training is an investment not an expense. Led by Marty Grunder.

• Finance 101: In this session you will learn to better understand the numbers that matter most in your business. This finance session is for those looking to improve their basic financial acumen. Led by Liz Helton and James Cali.

• Financial Health Check-Up: Is your company well? Are there symptoms of potential illness? In this session you will learn what you can do to improve your business health. Led by Jennifer Murray of Southern Methodist University and Vince Torchia.

• Creating Company Culture:  A company’s culture is much more than a saying or framed picture on the wall.  In this session, AriensCo representatives will take you through examples of how companies work to develop and maintain a culture that allows the company to thrive. Led by David Ramirez and Casey Child.

3:45 p.m.- 4:10 p.m.
Break

4:10 p.m.-4:20 p.m.
In the Spotlight: Weathermatic

4:20 p.m.-4:45 p.m.
Surprise Contest

4:45 p.m.–4:55 p.m. 
Year in Review
GROW! 2020 took us behind the scenes at, LOVING, one of the fastest growing landscaping companies in the country. We’ll check in with president Mike Haynes and GROW! 2019 host Michael Hupf to learn what changes they’ve made in the last year and what their plans for the future are.

4:55 p.m.–5:05 p.m. 
Where We’re Headed: GROW! 2022

5:05 p.m.–5:15 p.m. 
In the Spotlight: Aspire 

6:15 p.m.–8:30 p.m. 
VIP Dinner at Antoine’s. Sport coat, slacks and dress shirts for men. No jeans. Pants with blouse or a causal dress for women.

6:30 p.m. 
Dine-Around
For those who want to get to know other attendees better, we have reservations at local restaurant for groups of 10 or less. Each diner pays their own way, attendees can sign up for a dine-around in the event app.

friday
February 26, 2020

7:00 a.m.–8:00 a.m. 
Breakfast 

8:00 a.m.–8:45 a.m. 
Breakout IV

• A Mullin Deeper Dive: We will continue learning with an even deeper dive into Mullin Landscape and your tour takeaways from the tour and how the operate. Led by Tommy Cole and the Mullin Team.

• Entering New Business Lines: In this session you will learn how to enter new lines of business within your company. Led by James Cali and Jason New.

• Career Paths From Team Leader to Manager: How to grow your business by growing your people. Led by Chris Psencik and Vince Torchia.

• Make an IMPACT, Not Just an Impression: LOVING Founder and President, Mike Haynes, built his organization on a foundation of generosity. Their mission to create a positive impact allows their TEAM to work for something so much bigger than themselves. Join Mike and his longtime outreach mentor, Jamie Waldron, to learn firsthand how you can build your TEAM and community simultaneously.

• Using Relationships to Market and Sell Work: Marty Grunder and Emily Lindley of The Grow Group share the marketing and sales strategies that Grunder Landscaping Co. has effectively used to make friends and make sales.

9:00 a.m.–9:45 a.m. 
Roger Phelps of Stihl

9:45 a.m.–11:00 a.m. 
Closing Remarks