CANGC unveils plans for next 100 years

 The California Association of Nurseries and Garden Centers (CANGC) just completed an in-depth, nine-month strategic plan to position the statewide organization for the future. CANGC celebrated its 100th year in operation last year, realizing that in order to meet the needs of the nursery industry in California for the next 100 years, the organization needed to strategically position itself for the nursery industry of today and in the future.

The strategic planning process was led by committee chair Deanna van Klaveren of Generation Growers in Modesto, Calif., who worked with CANGC Staff and leadership to put together a broad cross section of the California nursery industry to serve as the strategic planning committee.

The process occurred in three parts. Part one resulted in the development and adoption of a 120 day plan in March of 2012. This plan immediately established consistent communication, brand management and personal outreach within the organization. In addition, a new, radically different, transparent, and simple dues structure was established.

Part two was the development and distribution of an industry-wide survey asking for industry feedback about the nature of their business, CANGC as an organization and priority issues of concern. The survey link emailed to 1,000 email addresses resulted in over 200 responses from California nursery industry members, which provided critical information for the development of the strategic plan.

The final stage of the strategic planning process built upon what was learned and allowed for the development and adoption of a new CANGC organizational platform for current needs and continued growth.

As part of the strategic plan, a new mission, vision and a set of core values were adopted along with nine specific strategic recommendations.