Lessons Learned at TOCA 2022
The following articles contain valuable professional development tips and education, as presented at the 2022 TOCA annual meeting. Read on to learn more!
Panel: Getting the most out of your industry associations
By Emily Combs
How can professionals in the landscaping, sports field and golf course industries get the most out of their industry associations? Representatives of NALP, SFMA and GCSAA gave us a glimpse of the many opportunities their associations offer members and sponsors. Panelists Lisa Stryker, National Association of Landscape Professionals, Whitney Webber, Sports Field Managers Association and Shelia Finney,Golf Course Superintendents Association of America gave their insights on the matter.
Panel discussion: Print journalism is not dead!
By Erin Wunderlich
Instead of picking up the Sunday newspaper from the front driveway, people are logging onto Twitter.
In our ever-growing society, technology is expanding to create new forms of communication that connect people from all corners of the world. Social media, blogs and forum websites are platforms where people consume their daily news.
Journalism industry experts reassured listeners that print journalism is far from gone during the “Print Journalism is Not Dead!” panel discussion at the 2022 TOCA Annual Meeting in Kansas City, Mo.
Panelists Seth Jones, North Coast Media, Brian Kaberline, Kansas City Business Journal, and Emily Bradbury, Kansas Press Association, shared their thoughts about print and digital media.
Bob Kendrick shares Negro League Baseball Museum journey
By Jill Odom
Kicking off the 33rd TOCA Annual Meeting, Bob Kendrick, president of the Negro League Baseball Museum (NLBM), shared how he went from a volunteer at the museum to its president in 2011. Over his time there, he has become a champion for the museum and the story of the Negro League.
10 ways to improve your writing and editing
By Jessica Mills
Warning! “I will offend every one of you.”
Doug Ward, University of Kansas, started with this warning as he explained that he spent a lot of time on the TOCA website to find examples to use in his presentation. He stated that he did not mean to put anyone down or make fun of anyone with the examples he used. The work we produce is truly top quality. The examples in his presentation came from where he thinks we could improve. Through his teaching, he explained that it’s good to see things done poorly to raise awareness of what you should look for when writing.
Although Ward could provide hundreds of tips, he suggested 10 ways we can improve our writing and editing skills.
End-user panel: How do they use our communications?
By Dawn Rigby
TOCA meeting attendees enjoyed a unique opportunity to learn from end-users about how they consume our content. The panel discussion touched on various communication forms, including social media, podcasts, association publications, magazines, vendor relationships and industry events. Panelists shared their content preferences, how they prefer to learn about new products, and what time of year they consume the most content.
The panelists included Casey Montgomery, director of turf operations for Sporting Kansas City, Britt Dowd, founder of Green Again Lawn, and Jonathan Bennett, golf course superintendent at Sunflower Hills Golf Course.
Lessons Learned at TOCA 2021
The following articles contain valuable professional development tips and education, as presented at the 2021 TOCA annual meeting. Read on to learn more!
Insights into a sports field manager
By Emily Combs
Sun Roesslein is a certified sports field manager and the stadium manager at the North Area Athletic Complex, which is the home stadium for six high schools in Jeffco Public Schools. Roesslein drew from her wealth of experience to share insights with TOCA members. How do sports field managers think and where do they look for information? Roesslein answered these and other questions to give us a peek into the world of a field manager.
The deconstructed salad – writing for different platforms
By Jill Odom
The keynote presentation during the 2021 TOCA Annual Meeting was presented by Omar Gallaga with the Poynter Institute. In his presentation, “The Deconstructed Salad – Writing for Different Platforms,” he touched on finding your writing voice, figuring out your audience and how to create a podcast.
Panel Discussion: Communicating in a highly regulated industry
By Britney Riggs
The legalization of cannabis for medical and recreational use in Colorado sparked a booming industry. The industry, however, has been suffering from communication issues from the start. Cannabis industry experts discussed the history of communication and regulation for the industry, and offered communication advice during the “Communicating in a Highly Regulated Industry” panel discussion at the TOCA Annual Meeting in Denver.
Lessons Learned at TOCA 2019
The following articles contain valuable professional development tips and education, as presented at the 2019 TOCA annual meeting. Read on to learn more!
Leveraging Market Research
By Amy Jones
According to Kynetec market research specialists Liz Vickerman and Kim Meyer, there are two primary sources of data: secondary research developed by an outside company and research compiled by yourself using a variety of tools.
Turning Analytics into Action
By Dawn Rigby, Xylem Marketing
Use analytics to set a bar and try to beat it. The metrics that you choose as important are your KPIs (key performance indicators).
Ten Takeaways on Interviewing Skills
by Debbie Clayton
Mick Mixon, the play-by-play announcer for the National Football League’s Carolina Panthers, delivered a rousing session on interviewing techniques at the 2019 TOCA Annual Meeting. Saying he was “cheated” out of the genes needed for playing sports, he decided covering sports was the next-best thing. Mixon strongly suggests preparing for interviews by thoroughly grounding yourself in the subject matter. In addition, he recommends:
Click here for recommendations
Digging Deeper into Digital Tools
By Scott Covelli, EPIC Creative
As a follow-up to Ren LaForme’s crowd-pleaser presentation last year at the 2018 TOCA Annual meeting, the Poynter Institute digital specialist returned in 2019 with more tools and updates. The digital tools he highlighted are designed to help us avoid misinformation, tell better stories and make our overall lives easier. There’s even one that helps you drink more water.
Click here to see the list of tools
Branded Content and Native Advertising
by Jill Odom
Consumers aren’t fooled by branded content. They know when they’re looking at something sponsored. The key is to tell a story that is created for the audience and is real. Customers want transparency and they want to form a connection with the company.
Read about lessons learned at past TOCA meetings by scrolling down.
Lessons Learned at TOCA 2018
The following articles contain valuable professional development tips and education, as presented at the 2018 TOCA annual meeting. Read on to learn more!
Roundtable Roundup
By Britney Riggs, Digital Marketing Specialist, Xylem Marketing
The TOCA roundtables were a great way for us all to share and learn best practices and tips from each other. Below is information from two roundtables:
- Measurement + Evaluation; and
- Productivity + Hacks to help make your job easier.
Lessons Learned at TOCA 2018
(Note: Ren LaForme, from the Poynter Institute, gave a two-part presentation at the 2018 TOCA Annual Meeting. Scott Covelli recaps through his observations the first part –Digital Tools for Modern Storytelling — while Jill Odom summarizes the second part — Tools for Connecting with Audiences.)
Filling Your Digital Toolbox: Poynter Keynote Presentation
By Scott Covelli, EPIC Creative
No tool is going to turn you into a good storyteller, but a unique digital tool can help take your story to the next level. However, Ren LaForme asked TOCA attendees, “Is there a better, more interesting way to tell this story?”
Pointers from Poynter – Engaging with Your Audience
By Jill Odom, Total Landscape Care
Ren LaForme, from the Poynter Institute, shared pointers on the digital tools for connecting with reader audiences, as well as presented information on improving modern storytelling and transitioned to his new topic by saying once you have shared the story, you need to engage with your audience.
Lessons Learned at TOCA 2018
Lessons in Content Marketing
By Dawn Rigby, Managing Director, Xylem Marketing
Lessons Learned at TOCA 2018
(Note: As a first time attendee to an annual TOCA meeting, we asked Courtney Mullen to give us her impressions of the Cincinnati meeting and the impact it had upon her. This is what she had to say.)
First Time Attendee
By Courtney Mullen, Xylem Marketing
2017 TOCA Professional Development at the TOCA Annual Meeting
Planning for the Worst — Communicating in a Crisis
Lisa Lochridge shares tips and information about preparing for a media crisis. Now Director of Public Affairs for the Florida Fruit & Vegetable Association, she advises planning ahead for any event that could disrupt operations and/or damage the reputation or credibility of a company or publication.
Words on Writing from Roy Peter Clark
One of the highlights from the 2017 TOCA Annual Meeting was the writing workshop hosted by Dr. Roy Peter Clark, senior scholar emeritus, musician, author, editor, and Poynter Institute writing instructor since 1979.
Mitigating Stress to Pollinators
In recent years there has been a lot of discussion about the decline of the bee population worldwide. Dr. Frank Wong, the Bayer CropScience senior regulatory affairs consultant and the 2017 TOCA Environmental Communicator of the Year, shared his insights on “Pollinators, Pesticides and Public Perceptions.”
End-Users In Green Industry See Social Media as Powerful Communications Tool
The 2017 TOCA Annual Meeting held a panel discussion on how professionals in the green industry use social media and the verdict is clear: Innovative social media end-users find use of this communications tool a benefit for their business.
A Visit to the Social Media Country Club
Social media platforms and tools are evolving every day. To help members stay ahead of the curve, Scott Covelli and Andy Parmann with EPIC Creative took TOCA to the Social Media Country Club during this year’s annual meeting. Attendees picked up their clubs (pencils) and walked through nine holes of trends, duffs and industry hole-in-ones.
Editor/PR Relationships in Green Industry
This year at the TOCA annual meeting, a PR/Editor panel discussion addressed industry trends and provided insight. Here are some highlights.
Techniques for Excellent Writing
Stephen Wilbers, a writing consultant, columnist and award-winning author, shared his writing techniques and exercises to improve our writing skills. Find out his five elements of effective writing, and easy three-step message and more.
Telling Your Story Through Infographics
Using the skills we learned at the 2016 TOCA annual meeting, member Dawn Rigby created an infographic illustrating the presentation by Jim Novak and Matt Strelecki.
What the BugDoc Said
This year’s TOCA Environmental Communicator of the Year, David J. Shetlar, Ph.D., the “BugDoc,” gave a great presentation focusing on urban biodiversity.