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By Den Gardner, Executive Director
TOCA’s 21st annual meeting is set for May 5-6 at the Tucson El Conquistador Golf & Tennis Resort. “Desert Discoveries” is this year’s theme and you can uncover all this TOCA meeting has to offer by being part of this year’s educational and networking gathering.
- Bo Sacks (or Bob Sacks), a media “futurist,” will enthrall audiences on the future of media “at the digital edge,” on Thursday morning. Sacks’ firm – Precision Media Group – does private consulting and publishes a daily e-newsletter: “Heard on the Web: Media Intelligence.” He says distribution of news in the next few years will be staggering. He believes what used to take 10 technologic years now takes less than five. He’s “bullish” on the publishing industry and tells audiences everywhere – from the American Society of Business Publication Editors to The Digital Publishing and Advertising Conference AND TOCA IN MAY – that it’s all about information power! You won’t want to miss this special presentation.
- Two great sessions on water and its importance to the Green Industry will take place on Thursday afternoon. First, David Kopec, University of Arizona, will speak on how to communicate the national water situation to the Green Industry and general public. He will be followed by Robert Glennon, author of “Unquenchable: America’s Water Crisis and What To Do About It.” This book, published last spring, has been called “both frightening and wickedly funny.” Glennon reports on the tragedy and irony of water in America. Both these presentations touch at the heart of many of the problems facing the Green Industry today.
- A panel of social media experts from Arizona will discuss how they use their reporting skills within social media to reach audiences and influence popular opinion. This group – panelists to be announced soon – will present on Wednesday afternoon.
- TOCA attendees will break into roundtable discussions after the social media panel (and each table will be multigenerational) to review tactics and effective tools used in their daily jobs to be effective spokespeople for the Green Industry, and to their audiences.
- “This is by far one of our best agendas in our 21-year history,” says Den Gardner, executive director of TOCA. “We’ve made an aggressive effort to bring our members what they’ve asked for in our recent survey. I commend Eric Schroder, our program committee chair, for the great work he’s done with his committee. We are really looking forward to this meeting.”
The meeting starts Wednesday morning with its traditional tour. This year the group will be going on the Sonora Desert Museum Tour, with lunch at La Fuente restaurant. This tour is well regarded and known as “one of Tucson’s best-loved desert treasures.” The mission of the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum is to “inspire people to live in harmony with the natural world by fostering love, appreciation and understanding of the Sonora Desert.” It’s a world-renowned zoo, natural history museum and botanical garden – all is one place. “Attendees will really appreciate this look at desert culture,” says Jared Bodnar, TOCA president who’s based in nearby Mesa, a suburb of Phoenix.
Meanwhile, golfers will enjoy the on-site El Conquistador golf courses. The panoramic views of the course, nestled on the foothills of the breathtaking Santa Catalina Mountains, are spectacular and the golf will, as usual, be up to par for TOCA members. Details will be available soon regarding pricing.
Wednesday night, TOCA members will be entertained at the opening night reception at The Last Territory, a nearby private reception/dining area owned by the hotel. A great night to get reacquainted with your TOCA colleagues or make new friends. As usual, the TOCA meeting will end Thursday evening with our annual awards banquet. At that banquet, TOCA members will be honored for their writing, photography, design and marketing communications skills.
A recent survey of TOCA members showed a clear choice by members to reduce the number of tours and include more professional development. So this year’s meeting will not include an outside tour beyond Wednesday morning’s Sonora Desert Museum Tour. The business meeting will be held Thursday afternoon at 4 p.m. to conclude the educational sessions. Winners of the TOCA Environmental Communicator of the Year will also be announced, as well as the TOCA scholarship winner.
More information will be available soon on the web site, including a registration form. In the meantime, feel free to call the office and talk to Den or Barb for more details – 952.758.6340. Or feel free to email us as TOCA’s new email address: toca@gardnerandgardnercommunications.com We look forward to seeing you in Tucson as we truly experience “Desert Discoveries.”
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