Most of us have a growing problem at this time of year. Our travel schedules start to bulge as the trade show season comes into full bloom. But take heart…there is a respite for your fall travels.

Each year TOCA hosts a New Member Breakfast at the Green Industry Expo/Conference. It’s a place to relive some memories, share your road stories and not worry about meeting a deadline…at least until 9 a.m.

Dow AgroSciences will sponsor our gathering at the Hyatt Regency’s Fayette Room in Columbus, Friday, Nov. 3 from 7– 8:30 a.m. We encourage you to bring a friend along to the session: someone new at your agency, publication or place of employment. They have heard stories about your TOCA experiences and here is a chance to give them proof that we do exist. The food is usually filling and the coffee is hot. Hey, what do you expect?…it’s at a hotel and it’s free! Reconnecting is the objective.

What was designed years ago as a slogan for American Express also describes the theme adopted by the TOCA membership committee for this year’s membership drive.

The committee, headed up by TOCA vice president Margaret McLean, hopes to boost membership numbers before the 2007 annual meeting in Savannah, GA., by getting the word out to potential members exactly what those benefits are. While information on TOCA membership is available at www.toca.org, the committee believes a more proactive approach to getting that information into circulation will help recruitment efforts.

“We will send the membership flyer that is on the Web site to all TOCA members when we send our newsletter inviting folks to the new member breakfast at the GIE show on Nov. 3 in Columbus, Ohio,” says Den Gardner, TOCA executive director. This way, members will have flyers in-hand when inviting potential new members to the breakfast, he said. The flyer will also be passed out at the Outdoor Lawn, Garden & Power Equipment Expo in Louisville, Ky., on Oct. 5-7.

The committee also voted to bring back the recruitment contest that was so successful two years ago. At the May meeting in Savannah this year, TOCA will award a $100 and $50 prize to the two members who bring in the most new members. Anyone else who recruits even one new member will be included in a drawing for prizes to be donated by board members.

For more information about the membership drive, contact Den Gardner at 952-758-6340, who will put you in contact with one of the committee members.