The regional needs of members are served through a network of 10 chapters. Through monthly meetings and promotional activities, the chapters represent an ideal way for member companies to keep abreast of concerns regarding the profession. The two most sought after membership benefits — education and networking opportunities — are provided through the association’s regional chapter structure.
Jump to: Durham, Georgian Lakelands, Golden Horseshoe, London, Muskoka North, Ottawa, Toronto, Upper Canada, Waterloo, Windsor
Board Members
Jon Agg – President
Rob Havery – Provincial Board Rep.
Cassie Cotter – Director
Carol Fulford – Director
Catrina Chiodo – Director
Greetings from east of T.O.–the Amazing Durham Chapter!
It is with great pleasure that I submit my 2024 report to the Landscape Ontario community;
This was a year of “less is more” in many ways. We didn’t do as many events as we might have normally in the past, but I do feel like we went for quality over quantity in many ways.
Starting in March with a great meeting at Durham College, showing off the Whitby campus. It is a great space, and the student catered the event. We heard from Art Vanden Enden and Courtney McCann, and got some great advice and updates.
April brought us to Vandermeer’s Nursery for our annual MTO meeting which was fairly well attended. Thank you to R. Havery Landscaping for bringing a dump truck with a trailer/mini-excavator to be used for the demonstration. The event ended with a tour of the facilities, and in some ways, this was actually the best part of the day: learning about an industry that a lot of landscapers probably think they know and realizing we do not actually know much about their business. From the water recycling, temperature control, automation, and overall complexity, it was very insightful.
We also participated in a Touch-a-Truck event organized by Oshawa Power in August. Arnt’s the Landscape Supplier held our yearly contractor appreciation event in September. We completed the year with our second annual golf tournament which was a great success and we look forward to continuing to build on this event each year.
On a sad note, we also lost two of the founding members of Landscape Ontario who were also Durham Chapter Members: Ernest Van Helsdingen and Marc Thiebaud. Ernest and Marc were both amazing people who did a lot for our industry and we were so sad to hear of their passing.
Thank you for your time and thank you for the privilege of representing you in Durham.
Events
Wake Up Wednesday – September 6, 2023
Casual event, no registration
Golf Tournament – October 5, 2023
98 golfers
Financial Preparedness Meeting – November 9, 2023
29 registered
Chapter Meeting, Industry Speakers, Art Vanden Enden and Courtney McCann – March 21, 2024
20 registered
MTO Meeting – April 23, 2024
40 registered
Respectfully submitted,
Jon Agg
Durham Chapter President, 2023-2024
Board Members
Margot Byers
Teresa Matamoros
Ken Dutka
Rob Vogel
Michelle Cloutier
Jon Cundy
Jordanna McCutcheon
*Jon Cundy and Jordanna McCutcheon stepped down as of end of 2023-2024.
Events
Golf Tournament, September 19, 2023
72 golfers
Awards of Distinction, December 7, 2023
75 attendees
Snow Day – February 15, 2024
37 participants
Chapter Meeting, AGM/MTO – March 4, 2024
27 registered
Designers Coffee Morning – April 4, 2024
12 registered
Board Members
Jim Edmonds
Fran MacKenzie
Fiore Zenone
Chris Church
Chris Utter
Scott Laporte
Jacob Wallace
Dan Ebeyer
Jeff Smith
Pat Craven
Events
Chicken Roast – September 15, 2023
624 registered
Gear Up For Spring Trade Show and Conference – March 26, 2024
157 registered attendees, 104 exhibitor reps from 40 exhibiting companies
Touch-A-Truck – July 20, 2024
10 exhibiting companies and Burlington City Fire Department
Golf Tournament – August 16, 2024
120 golfers
Board Members
Carla Bailey
Cindy Buelow
Pam Cook
Bill Degraaf
Benjamin Gleiser
Erica Johnston
Darren Lackenbauer
Mike Lavigne
Lauren Mackenzie
Greg Schaafsma
Dan Vernooy
Events
Golf Tournament – September 29, 2023
120 golfers
Chapter Social – October 19, 2023
20 Registered
Chapter Social – February 1, 2024
Eventbrite registration (unsure of numbers)
MTO/ AGM – March 20, 2024
94 registered
Chapter Meeting Mental Health Workshop – September 10, 2024
Unkown registered
Golf Tournament – September 29, 2024
126 golfers
Chapter Meeting – MNP – October 9, 2024
35 registered
Chapter Meeting – Intrigue Media – November 6, 2024
33 registered
Board Members
Emily Keown
Brooklyn Welsh
Emma Rogers
Jennifer Davies
Richard Wright
Sean Christie
Sherri Hornsey
Year one… We did it!
This year was great and it went by so fast! We hit the ground running, the board had a great group of people who knew what they wanted and we delivered to our members. We had great support from all the Muskoka Landscapers. I think we also did a great job of spreading the word and made everyone aware of what a great organization we have. We pulled off some great events with strong attendance. We hope we can continue our success in the 2025 season.
At our last meeting, the Holiday Social, we had our AGM. The past board were all re-elected again and we gained four new board members. We are very excited to have some fresh people join our board.
Our goals for 2025:
Events
First Chapter Meeting, Member Welcome – February 6, 2024
60 members attended, plus some non-members
Chapter Meeting, MTO – February 23, 2024
72 people in attendance, including lots of non members and opportunities to grow membership
Muskoka Job Fair April
12 companies
First Golf Tournament September 2024
64 golfers
Holiday Social December 2024
80 people attended this free event
Respectfully submitted,
Emily Keown
Muskoka North Chapter President 2023-2024
Board Members
Thomas Hoyle – President
Michael Willis
Mary Stewart
Jen SIba
Brittany Jager
Huges Berube
Carlo Mion
Shawn Collins
Trevor Freamo
Michael Fulcher
Griffin Kozji
Ed Hansen
Hello from distant Ottawa Chapter,
I want to start out by expressing my gratitude to our dedicated members for their time and effort in ensuring our events provide the utmost value to our Ottawa Chapter members. Together, we will continue to take meaningful strides towards organizing new events and foster a sense of family and community.
Key events from 2024:
Green Trade Expo and Awards of Distinction
The 2024 Green Trade Expo marked one of the most highly attended trade shows in Ottawa. This was our first event since the pause during COVID, and we’re thrilled to share that the floor plan was completely sold out, showcasing incredible local businesses alongside exhibitors from out of town. As we look to the future, we are committed to expanding our efforts by bringing in top-quality speakers, attracting more exhibitors, and introducing new live demonstration areas. We’re excited to continue this momentum and can’t wait to see everyone this February for Green Trade Expo 2025!
The Awards of Distinction were a great success, drawing an impressive turnout and showcasing outstanding submissions from both suppliers and contractors. Looking ahead to 2025, we are excited to introduce a new format that will transform this event into a social networking opportunity, fostering stronger connections between contractors and suppliers.
Living Landscapes
This year marked another fantastic success for Living Landscapes at the Ottawa Home & Garden Show. Five hardworking companies delivered beautifully designed and expertly crafted exhibits, showcasing the exceptional talent within our industry. With a record number of exhibitors attending this year’s show, it was a remarkable opportunity to demonstrate to the public the incredible capabilities of our industry.
Touch-A-Truck
The second year of Touch-A-Truck for the Ottawa Chapter was a resounding success, featuring 12 exhibitors and drawing an impressive 500 attendees. This event provided a wonderful opportunity for families and the community to come together, interact with various equipment, and connect with industry professionals. We’re looking forward to an even bigger turnout for year three.
Golf Tournament
This year’s golf tournament was truly one for the books! We welcomed a record number of participants, including both golfers and non-golfers, who joined us at the Canadian Golf & Country Club for our popular Nine and Dine event. Together, we raised an incredible $21,000 in support of the Caring and Sharing Exchange.
We are already looking ahead with high hopes for another exceptional golf tournament in the 2025 season!
Day of Tribute
The 25th anniversary of the Day of Tribute was a deeply meaningful event, drawing participation from numerous companies and over 40 dedicated volunteers. This occasion holds great significance for our members as we come together to honour and remember those who served and secured the freedoms we cherish today.
Caring & Sharing Exchange
What an incredible year for Caring & Sharing! What began as a goal of assembling 250 food baskets quickly grew to 350, thanks to the dedication of our members and the unwavering support of our industry. With everyone’s help, we successfully delivered all 350 food baskets to deserving families and individuals without a hitch.
This year, we focused on pushing our limits and streamlining the process to reach even more families in our communities. Planning is already underway for next year’s Caring & Sharing deliveries, and we’re excited to see how we can make an even greater impact.
Cancer Survivor’s Park
This year marked another successful effort in maintaining the Cancer Survivor’s Park, made possible through the collaboration of numerous companies and industry supporters. The park stands as a beacon of serenity and inspiration for cancer patients, survivors, and their loved ones. Cancer touches all of us in some way during our lives, and we remain committed to supporting and preserving this meaningful space for as long as it endures.
Vimy Ridge Remembrance Garden Project
The Vimy Ridge Remembrance Garden project, in collaboration with the Manotick Legion, began in early December with a planned completion in the spring of 2025. We are fortunate to have received a commemorative "Vimy Oak" sapling from the Vimy Oaks Legacy, an organization dedicated to creating living memorials. Their mission involves repatriating "Vimy Oak" saplings to Vimy Ridge and distributing them across Canada as symbols of remembrance.
We look forward to continuing our tradition of hosting successful events, creating new opportunities for engagement, and supporting our community through the active involvement of our members.
Chapter Meetings
Photography Speaker – March 21, 2024
30 registered
Board Members
Jon Durzi, President
Wendy Ladd, Vice President
David Milne, Past President
David Hlady, Treasurer
David McEldon, Secretary
Jonas Spring, Provincial Board Rep.
Shane Adamson
Kevin Cowan
Daniel Domingues
Marc Green
Aaron Harpell,
Marcelo Manfrini
Shada Morris
Rohan Harrison
The 2023/24 season has been a fulfilling journey for our Chapter, filled with engaging events, valuable partnerships, and meaningful contributions from our Chapter members and our community. Here’s a recap of the key highlights that have been accomplished:
April: The kick off and welcoming of our new board of directors.
Our AGM gave us the opportunity to welcome many new directors. These members of the Chapter have made this year our largest chapter board, thus lining up great support to the season for our members.
June: Sunnybrook Tree Planting
Our season really began June 1 with a tree and shrub planting day at Sunnybrook Hospital. Members from the Toronto Chapter headed up by David Milne and Rohan Harrison spent an afternoon planting material all over the hospital grounds and in and around the healing gardens. Thank you to all the supporters who graciously donated the plant material in support of our event.
August: Annual Golf Tournament at Angus Glen Golf Course
Headed up by Wendy Ladd and others from our Chapter, our annual event had a very successful golf tournament at Angus Glen. Heartfelt thanks to our sponsors for their unwavering support, contributing to an enjoyable day of great weather and camaraderie. We are looking forward to another sold out event for 2025.
September: Community support
Headed up by Wendy Ladd and our members of the Toronto Chapter, we had the opportunity to support the Marner Assist Foundation in MacTier, Ont., with a sizable donation of IPEMA-certified playground mulch for a park’s surfacing.
The Marner Assist Foundation’s focus is “to provide assistance in the areas of children’s social care, health and education, as well as supporting environmental causes to ensure children have a sustainable future.” MacTier Public School’s Parent Council had raised $35,000 in the past eight years to reach the estimated cost of the new playground, $99,000. However, they still needed assistance to bring this project to life. Recognizing the importance of outdoor play in developing young minds, the Shania Twain Foundation and the Marner Assist Foundation both stepped up to “Make An Assist’ for the MacTier community.
October: Dinner meeting sponsored by Beaver Valley Stone
Beaver Valley graciously sponsored our October dinner meeting which featured an insightful talk about Fusion Gardens. This meeting was titled, "It’s Rainscaping, What’s up with the Flooding in Toronto?” It was a captivating presentation, with an open round table discussion on this topic that was hosted at the Toronto Plant Market by Jonas Spring. Our guest Speaker was Michael Albanese, a Fusion Garden Professional with a paired background in Stormwater Management.
November: Winter Social
Our November meeting was our Winter Social that was held at the Crooked Cue in Etobicoke. The atmosphere was filled with holiday cheer, much conversation, great foods and drinks. This yearly event gives us all the opportunity to unwind after a busy season to really enjoy our members and our profession.
Toronto Chapter Annual Bursary Program
Headed up by David Hlady, the Toronto Chapter of Landscape Ontario has a long-standing tradition of financially supporting local community projects as a way of giving back to the neighbourhoods our members live and work in. In the past this has taken the form of a single larger contribution to a worthy project. This year the Chapter will distribute their contribution through grants of up to $1,500 each, in support of multiple small-scale projects that will benefit various communities and neighbourhoods within our region.
December: Holiday Season and Toy Drive
In addition to helping to revitalize the playground in MacTier, Wendy Ladd led the way collaborating with the Marner Assist Foundation to gather toys for the holidays. The Give-A-Gift 2024 toy drive was a huge success that collected donations of cash, gift cards, books and new, unwrapped toys for children in need. Several members businesses and the Landscape Ontario home office in Milton supported as drop off locations.
A heartfelt thank you from Jon Durzi to our Toronto Chapter Board of Directors.
The season of activities and Chapter Meetings for our Toronto Chapter has been hectic and rewarding. Without the work of our Toronto Chapter Team, none of this would be possible. Leaders in the industry who occasionally pause their own ventures to help our members, and our profession make up our team. This commitment is unparalleled and greatly valued. Thank you.
In order to bring our members together for excellent educational meetings and enjoyable social activities, I am looking forward to another successful year ahead with the help of our team of leaders.
Respectfully submitted,
Jon Durzi
Toronto Chapter President
Chapter Board
Chris Lamer – President
Ben Lyman
Lisa Smith
Terry Childs
Pam McCormick
Mark Lappan
Karina Lapierre
Christopher Petit
Chapter Meetings
Mental Health Speaker – Feb 28, 2024
10 registered
MTO/AGM – March 27, 2024
20 registered
Chapter Events
$1,000 Scholarship recipient – Aaron McCormick
Curling Tournament
17 participants
Touch-a-Truck
12 exhibitors, 400 attendees, raised $9,500 for CDC Quinte
Golf Tournament
95 golfers
Chapter Board
Blake Sicard – President
Brandon Pawlowski – Vice President
Rob Tester – Past President
Jason Dietrich – Provincial Rep
Collin MacMillan – Treasurer
John Lunney
Darren Murawski
Anne-Lise Watson-Baxter
Brenda Walsh
Jason Falco
Rob Boldger
Hello from the Waterloo Chapter!
This was a great year for the Waterloo Chapter, with new faces on the board and new initiatives and events.
For the last year we tried something new with the general meetings; by having Grant from Nextra Consulting present his education series throughout the course of the year. We also livestreamed and recorded the meetings, hoping to have more people from out of town join in. Although we did have some online views, the numbers were not what we were hoping for and we didn’t gain the traction we were looking for. The meetings were very informative, but again we were not able to boost the in person attendance numbers.
The Waterloo board has decided not to continue with the Nextra series and we will be going in a different direction moving forward. In 2025 we are planning to have all daytime meetings. We have a theory that the biggest limiting factor for meeting attendance is people not wanting to attend outside of work hours because they would prefer to be with their families. We are also looking to have fewer meetings, but make them more impactful.
New for the Waterloo Chapter in 2024 was the Touch-a-Truck event. This event was extremely successful for year one. The committee learned a lot and we have ideas on how to make this event even more successful in 2025.
2024 also saw the creation of the “Membership Engagement Committee.” Originally this was to be the “Onboarding Committee” for new general and board members. However, we have recognized the need to reach out to all members to make sure they are seeing value with their membership and ask important questions; such as:
This committee has a goal of reaching out to and speaking with every Waterloo chapter member this winter. Results from conversations will be discussed at future board meetings.
I would like to mention that in my first year as president, I really enjoyed meeting with the other chapter presidents and representatives throughout the year. We are all experiencing the same challenges and I look forward to more discussion and collaboration moving forward as we all work together to continue to bring value to our membership.
Chapter Meetings
Unlock Your Full Business Potential – September 6
Unlock Your Full Business Potential – October 4
Unlock Your Full Business Potential – November 1
Unlock Your Full Business Potential – December 6
AGM and MTO – April 3, 2024
Chapter Events
Touch-A-Truck
11 exhibiting companies, 400 attendees
Baseball Tournament
Biggest tournament to date
Hockey Night Out
100 attendees
Fall Freeze Up
162 tickets sold
Respectfully submitted,
Blake Sicard
Waterloo Chapter President
Board Members
Liana Desmarais
Jason Milling
Vince Murphy
Shannon Murracas
John Nowak
Joe Santarosa Jr
William Spurdza
Jay Terryberry
Derek Trepanie
As we close out an incredibly successful year for Landscape Ontario Windsor Chapter, I would like to take a moment to reflect on the highlights and the significant strides we’ve made in 2024. Your continued support, engagement, and participation have been pivotal in making this year so successful, and I am proud of all we’ve achieved together.
Key events and achievements in 2024:
First Aid Training – February 28, 2024
We had 25 registered for our First Aid Training session, ensuring that our members are equipped with essential safety skills, reinforcing the value we place on safety in the workplace.
AGM & MTO – March 28, 2024
This event is always our strongest turnout, we had 31 members registered, and we were able to survey the membership on what they are looking for from the board
Windsor Residence for Young Men (WRYM) Partnership – September 7, 2024
We were proud to partner with the Windsor Residence for Young Men in their fifth annual charity golf tournament. The support of the Windsor Chapter as a hole sponsor, as well as the participation of multiple teams, played a crucial role in raising approximately $19,500 for WRYM’s mission to support young men as they transition from homelessness to building new lives.
Level Up Participation in LaSalle – October 24, 2024
In October, Landscape Ontario Windsor Chapter participated in the Level Up event in LaSalle, which provided professional development opportunities for landscaping professionals. This event was a great opportunity to sharpen our skills and expand our network.
Fall MTO Snow Edition – November 7, 2024
With 14 participants registered, the Fall MTO Snow Edition event brought together industry leaders and professionals to discuss important aspects of snow removal and winter maintenance, ensuring that we stay ahead of the curve during the upcoming season.
Chapter Christmas Party – December 14, 2024
A wonderful time of celebration and camaraderie, the Chapter Christmas party was a fantastic way to close out the year. It was a great opportunity for members to connect, reflect, and celebrate the year’s successes.
Windsor Spitfire Board Engagement Event – December 18, 2024
Our final event of the year is the Windsor Spitfire Board Engagement Event. We encourage all board members to bring a fellow member, non-member, client, or vendor to this exciting opportunity to network and build connections within our community.
Looking ahead to 2025:
Annual First Aid Training – February 2025
Support for February 22, 2025 event at Wheatley Baptist Church
Our chapter is pleased to support this exciting event featuring Lorraine Johnson, who will be speaking on Climate Change and the Garden. With an expected audience of up to 180 paid attendees, this is a wonderful opportunity to promote education and engagement on critical environmental issues. We have committed to a $500 sponsorship for this event, which reflects our ongoing dedication to sustainability and community outreach.
AGM/Spring MTO – March 2025
New partnerships
We are in discussions with the Windsor Chamber of Commerce for a potential food drive to support local families.
Job training and employment support
We’re working with UHC to develop job training programs, access grants, and host a job fair at St. Clair College to help address labour shortages and bring new talent into the industry.
Continued education and networking opportunities
We will continue to provide our members with access to professional development, including first aid, MTO updates, and collaborative events like Level Up.
Final thoughts
Once again, I want to thank each and every one of you for your continued support of the Landscape Ontario Windsor Chapter. It is your involvement that drives our success and strengthens our community. Together, we have made great strides in supporting
Respectfully submitted,
Liana Desmarais
Windsor Chapter President
