Maine Flower Show: MELNA- owned. MELNA-produced.


BY Mark Faunce, Chair, Maine Flower Show Work on the Maine Flower Show has been at


break-neck speed since the MELNA membership voted in January to hold the show. Te Flower Show Steering Committee has met several times to strategize and develop a punch list of tasks that need to be accomplished. Tat list is LONG! So your participation will be needed! Expect a call, if we don’t hear from you first! Tere will be opportunities to exhibit, volunteer, be a speaker, do a demonstration, sponsor different aspects of the show, among many others. Tis is MELNA’s show, and its success depends on your willingness to help! Te contract with Tompson’s Point has been


reviewed, finalized, and signed, and we couldn’t be happier with the venue! By the time this newsletter is published, we will have chosen our media partners, and held a press conference at Tompson’s Point announcing the show to the public. Once the public announcement has been made, we would like all MELNA members to start promoting the show. We will send out information that we’d like you to share with your customers, include in your email blasts, and post on your website and Facebook pages. Our show has the potential to attract upwards of 40,000 attendees! We know this because it’s been done before, and with your help, we can get there again, so let’s get the word out! In late February, the Steering Committee and the Executive Committee held a joint meeting at Maine Audubon in Falmouth. Te goal of this meeting was to develop a calendar of completion dates for different aspects of the show. Two subcommittees were formed as well, one to work exclusively on the Exhibitor aspects, and one to work on the Vendor aspects of the show. We have also hired a


producer for the show. We sent out requests for proposals to five companies, and three of them returned quotes. In the end, Management Plus was chosen to be our producer. You probably recognize that name! Yes, our own Don Sproul will be producing the Maine Flower Show! None of us was aware of Don’s credentials in this area, but he has produced a major outdoor recreation show that was much larger than what we’re planning. Don has done an amazing job for MELNA over the past six years; his attention to detail, and professionalism have always exceeded expectations, and Don’s motives have always been


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the advancement and profitability of MELNA. So it was an easy choice for the committee to make, and the vote was unanimous! Please congratulate him when you speak with him! With spring bearing down hard upon us, the


Steering Committee will be cutting back on meetings over the next couple of months, but will continue to collaborate via email, and will start back up in earnest once the busiest part of our season is behind us. Tere’s a lot of work that needs to be done, and I want to take the opportunity to commend everyone who has taken a role in this so far. Tere is a lot of excitement and passion, and even though they don’t agree on every point, their dedication to putting on the best show possible is unwavering. If you want to get involve, please send me an email.


Caption: Tompson’s Point at Exit 5 of I-295


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