The New Administration Moves In

By Lacy Ravencraft
TOCA Board Chair

First off, I’d like to thank our membership for approving the most recent slate of TOCA Board candidates and officers at our recent conference in Florida. I am honored to serve as your new TOCA board president. (Scott, don’t move too far from the action, as I am sure I will need pointers every now and again.)

For those of you who were able to join us in Florida for our annual meeting, you experienced some phenomenal professional development…and a little TOCA fun! (Although I am still a little disappointed in my personal lack of gator sightings…). For the rest of you, we certainly hope to see you soon.

I’ve been reflecting a lot on my cumulative TOCA experience since joining in 2004, and the people I have met along the way. Reflections like the evolution of TOCA over the years, the growing diversity of its membership and our collective response to industry challenges and opportunities.

I was recently interviewing for an opening on my company’s public relations team, and was pleased to see that many candidates had done their homework (read: appropriate level of Google stalking) – and they asked me about TOCA. They were curious about the organization and its value. And it made me realize something.

It’s always fun to explain TOCA to someone in the business, but outside the industry.

While we share a language common to other professional communicators, the landscape is very different (bad pun intended). Our culture, challenges, products and services—and the customers we serve—are unique. I know everyone in any niche segment probably believes that. But this business offers us something special.

The stories of how our customers arrived in the green industry are varied and often fascinating. The stories of how our peers ended up in their roles, be it agency, corporate, association, freelance or other, is equally interesting.

I love the stories. I love the people. I love accumulating knowledge of the nuts and bolts of our business, our customers, our companies and each other. I love the common language that only exists in our space. A language that we helped create, evolve and leverage to shape the future of our industry.

I always joke that this language makes me super interesting and glamorous at parties, where surely irrigation distribution uniformity, low-voltage lighting and grub control are received as completely riveting topics. But that’s the thing. People in this industry, and particularly in the communications aspect of this industry, are not only talented and professional—but also have a certain sense of humor, a relaxed approach and kinship that often leaves me smiling, and confident that I am in the right place.

There is a lot happening in our business. Growth, contractions, shifting trends, new products, a new school of talent, changing tools, new segments, new technologies.

Growth is good. But so is preserving a little history. And this, too, ties back to TOCA. We’ve seen a growth in young professionals in our membership. Many of our peers have transitioned to new roles. New companies and industry newbies have joined our ranks. Some have chosen other fields. And some have joyously returned. All of this diversity in who we are and where we have been is going to make for a much more interesting “where we are heading,” and I am happy to be on this journey with all of you.

Thank you for being engaged in our beloved TOCA association, and for the honor of serving you. LR