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Rusty Oak Nursery's award-winning booth at CENTS 2010

From The Buckeye

During the 2010 Central Environmental Nursery Trade Show (CENTS), held from January 25-27, the ONLA hosted an exhibits contest on the show floor to reward outstanding displays. The two categories for exhibits awards were Large Exhibits (greater then 400 square feet) and Small Exhibits (up to 400 square feet).

The 2010 CENTS Small Exhibits winner is Rusty Oak Nursery from Valley City, Ohio. Rusty Oak Nursery is an ONLA member who operates on over 200 acres and provides trees, perennials, shrubs and ornamental grasses. With a professional and well-run fleet of trucks, they provide delivery services to any location.

The 2010 CENTS Large Exhibits winner is Willoway Nurseries, Inc. from Avon, Ohio. Willoway Nurseries, Inc., an active ONLA member, is one of the largest wholesale growers of nursery stock in Ohio. Willoway encompasses approximately 500 acres of field production, 1,000 acres of container stock, and 5 acres of greenhouse.

Judges walked the show floor on Tuesday, January 26 and evaluated booths on the following criteria:

Booth presentation

• Integration of company identity in booth design
• Design and graphic elements
• Clearly communicates message to attendee (gives a reason to stop for further consideration)
• Adherence to show rules and exhibitor guidelines 

Product presentation

• Thoughtfulness, creativity and effectiveness of product display(s)
• Informative and/or benefit focused messaging

Exhibit Personnel

• Professional appearance and etiquette
• Proactively engaging with visitors
• Number of staff adequate for booth size

The 2010 Best of Show judges were Joe Shaw from the Greater Columbus Convention Center, Diane Share from Experience Columbus, and R.N. Phillips from the Hyatt Regency Columbus.

After evaluation, the judges awarded point values under each criteria detail and announced the Best of Show winners over the Greater Columbus Convention Center loudspeaker during CENTS.