A Newsletter for Professionals Growing Greenhouse Crops in the Rocky Mountain Region

Contents

• Pro Green Expo 2001: Spanish Presentations

Educational programs held at ProGreen Expo 2001 were a great success, based on the outstanding turnout.  Once again, there was a great interest in the presentations delivered in Spanish.  At the peak, there were over 180 attendees at the Spanish presentations.  This is over triple the attendance of 2000!  Presentation topics included “Horticulture Math”, “How Plants Grow”, “Living and Working in the American Culture”, “Why we do what we do in the Greenhouse”, “Supervisory Skills for Foreman”, “Chemical Safety” and “Pruning Basics”.  This year, two days were needed for all of the Spanish presentations.  For 2002, the presentations in Spanish are likely to fill three entire days!

Positive feedback was received from employees and employers alike.  The employees really appreciate the opportunity to enhance their knowledge, and reinforce key concepts learned on the job.  For employers, this is a great chance to show your employees that you truly care about their future with your company.  The programs not only help with employee development and advancement, but more importantly with morale building.  Many employees are rewarded with raises after completing a certain number of educational credits at ProGreen Expo.  This idea sends the right message to employees: that you care about their education and are willing to compensate them for making the effort to gain knowledge that will enhance their job performance.  What type of message are you giving your employees?

Attendance at educational classes in Spanish is expected to increase again for ProGreen Expo 2002.  Several employers commented that they will send their employees to Pro Green next year, now that they are aware of the variety of educational opportunities available.  Hopefully we will meet and exceed employers’ expectations, by expanding the curriculum of educational classes in Spanish for 2002.  If anybody has suggestions for course topics, please advise the ProGreen Education Committee.

Chris Freeman
Regional Specialist for Commercial Greenhouses
Colorado State University Cooperative Extension