Pondliner.com hosted its 6th Annual Water Garden Expo in Shawnee, OK, February 22-23, 2011 at the Shawnee Exposition Center. Dr. Burt Smith, world champion auctioneer and President of EMI Research Solutions headlined the Expo with his keynote address on ECHO marketing after a brief lesson in auctioneering. The event also included twenty-one educational seminars and a mini-tradeshow featuring booths from 21 manufacturers.
Business seminar topics included Marketing & Promotion by Jim Wullschleger, Sustainable Business Practices by Andy Schoenberger, Maintenance Programs and Job Estimating by Demi Fortuna. Other popular seminars were Rainwater Harvesting by James Lavery and Misting Systems by Steve Perkins.
Attendance was slightly down from 2010 which was attributed to the Expo being rescheduled due to blizzard-like conditions during the original date. “We hated to postpone the Water Garden Expo, but we really didn’t have a choice,” said John Watlington, Pondliner.com wholesale sales manager. “But attendance was close to the Expo last year. Attendee reviews of the seminars and tradeshow were outstanding,” he added.
The Expo ended with the drawing of the door prizes. Max Taylor of Magnolia Ponds, Spring, TX walked away with a new laptop computer while Daniel Dye, Shades of Green Landscaping, Shawnee, OK won a 40” LCD HD Television.
The 2012 Water Garden Expo is already being planned at the Shawnee Exposition Center. “We expect the event to grow next year to include even more manufacturers and a larger number of attendees,” Watlington said.
