Britt Wood became the CEO of the National Association of Landscape Professionals (NALP) in 2019. In the years since then, few of the association’s decisions have been as impactful as the creation of the annual Elevate conference and trade show, which debuted in 2022.
From that first event in Nashville following the split with GIE+Expo (now Equip Exposition) to this year’s Elevate in Phoenix, Nov. 2-5, the event has cemented its spot on the landscape industry calendar, annually attracting several thousand attendees and, earlier this year, being recognized as one of the fastest-growing trade shows in the country, according to Trade Show Executive magazine.
Before the doors swing open on this year’s edition of Elevate, Landscape Management sat down with Wood to discuss the state of the event, what attendees and exhibitors can expect from their visit to the Desert Southwest and where he sees Elevate going in the future.
For a full version of this Q&A or to see a video version of LM’s interview with Wood, visit here.
Landscape Management: This marks the fourth year of Elevate since the split from GIE+Expo. Has the move accomplished what you wanted, and in general, how have members responded to the change?
Britt Wood: I’ll be honest … Elevate has really exceeded some of our expectations. It’s done a couple of really specific things that we hoped it would do, mainly to encourage landscapers from all over the country to attend our event. When we were in Louisville for all those years, it made it difficult for our West Coast folks to want to come every year, and really, at the end of the day, we were hoping to make it more accessible. We’re reaching an audience we haven’t reached as much when we were all in one location.
LM: How would you describe NALP’s approach to education at Elevate and what you’re trying to deliver to attendees?
BW: One of the most important things we wanted to do when we created Elevate was to make it an event for landscape professionals, designed by landscape professionals. So, when it comes to the education, the NALP staff can’t take any of the credit. It’s the committee of landscape pros that really helps design them. We want Elevate to be something where contractors can come, meet other contractors and really come away with a bunch of ideas to run their business.
LM: The trade show floor at Elevate is quite a bit different from what attendees see at something like Equip Expo. What should attendees be on the lookout for on the trade show floor?
BW: When we were going through the process of separating from GIE+Expo, one of the frequent things that we were hearing from a lot of our members was that it was very difficult to talk to suppliers (at GIE) because there were so many people and everything was so massive. We want to make it so our attendees can walk the entire hall comfortably, not feel like they’re running from place to place, and that they can have those good conversations. What we’ve tried to do is kind of cultivate a space that’s intimate and that allows for suppliers and contractors to have really good conversations.
LM: What does the future hold for Elevate? Beyond future host cities, where would you like to see it in three to five years?
BW: I think we want to continue to attract more contractors and ensure that it’s a valuable event for exhibitors and attendees alike. Ultimately, we want Elevate to be something that is literally a can’t-miss event, something where you want to be at every year because you know you’re going to come away with something new that will help your business. We’ve developed a great reputation in just four years, and we want to continue building on that.
