About the Mid-America Horticultural Trade Show

Attending Mid-Am opens a window of opportunity to see for yourself what's new, what works, and what sells!

• Strategic Opportunities—Capitalize on attendee and exhibitor networking opportunities and exhibitor sponsorships, including the free Mid-Am Mixer and Reception.
• Trade Show Survival— Learn about the power of trade shows and how Mid-Am—the green industry answer place—delivers exciting, up-to-date business-building and professional development opportunities that you can actually see and experience first hand.
• Buying Power—Save time and money by seeing a variety of products in one place to compare prices and services.
• Business Relationships—Increase contacts from hundreds of exhibitors and thousands of attendees.
• Current Trends—See the latest and greatest fresh new products and services in person to stay inspired.
• Educational Programs—Choose from the vast educational sessions, meetings, and seminars to stay informed that may ultimately result in improved customer service and business decisions, including the Pre-Conference Workshop. 
• Networking—Explore solutions to challenges and build business relationships by mingling with the broad spectrum of horticultural professionals—growers, designers, sellers, managers, and more. 
• Future Resources—Meet new horticulture graduates at the Career Center to see what the future holds for the industry.
• Convenience—Everything is in one place that is easy to access, just in time for the new season.

Attend Mid-Am! View a special attendee video here and find out why YOU should attend Mid-Am!

Exhibit at Mid-Am! View a special exhibitor video here and find out why your company needs to exhibit at Mid-Am!

Mid-Am Attendees and Exhibitors

Mid-Am attracts a broad spectrum of horticultural professionals, including growers, nursery operators, landscape contractors, garden center and chain store buyers, grounds maintenance managers, landscape architects, florists, interiorscape professionals, public lands managers, arborists, golf course superintendents, and students. Considered by exhibitors to be one of the best order-writing trade shows of the year, Mid-Am attracts an array of influential buyers.

 

Mid-Am History

The Premier Horticultural Trade Show for More Than 35 Years!

The Mid-America Horticultural Trade Show (Mid-Am) attracts thousands of growers, landscape service providers, retailers, and suppliers to Chicago each January. The timing of the show enables buyers and planners to prepare for the growing and sales season ahead. Mid-Am is for everyone involved in growing, designing, installing, maintaining, or selling plants and related material.

Since its beginnings at the Arlington Park Convention and Exposition Center in January 1973, Mid-Am has outgrown a number of homes, moving from Arlington Park to the O'Hare Exposition Center in 1977, to the Hyatt Regency Chicago in 1981, and to Navy Pier in 1996, enabling the show to expand by 40 percent. Mid-Am moved to larger quarters in 2004 to Chicago's Lakeside Center at McCormick Place and moved again to McCormick Place West in 2009.

Mid-Am is sponsored by the Illinois Landscape Contractors Association (ILCA), the Illinois Green Industry Association (IGIA), and the Wisconsin Green Industry Federation (WGIF).

Attendance Record

The following is a breakdown of the show's registration numbers for recent years:

• Year	Verified Registration
  2010	7,931
  2009	8,795
  2008	11,538
  2007	12,926
  2006	12,728
  2005	12,058
  2004	13,086
  2003	11,949
  2002	11,632
  2001	12,204
  2000	11,844
  1999	11,684
  1998	11,443
  1997	10,491*
  1996	11,684
  1995	9,543

• *The drop in attendance from 1996 to 1997 can be attributed to the heavy snowfall received throughout the region during the days immediately preceding the show.

Charter Exhibitors

Among the 154 exhibitors at the first Mid-Am trade show were 21 who have continued to exhibit at Mid-Am every year since--that's 37 consecutive years! These charter exhibitors are being recognized by Mid-Am for their consistent loyalty through more than a quarter-century of horticultural excellence:

Bailey Nurseries, Inc.  Bork Nurseries, Inc.  Arthur Clesen, Inc.  Dayton Bag & Burlap Co.  Formart Containers, Inc.  Forrest Keeling Nursery  Great Western Bag Company  Greenleaf Nursery Company  Grootendorst Nurseries, Inc.  D. Hill Nursery Co.  Hines Horticulture, Ltd.	Home Nursery, Inc.  Horticultural Marketing & Printers, Ltd.  Illinois Landscape Contractors Association  Illinois Green Industry Association  Kankakee Nursery Co.  A.M. Leonard, Inc.  McHutchinson, LLC  Silver Creek Nurseries, Inc.  Town & Country Landscape Supply  Zelenka Nursery, Inc.

Mid-Am Officers	Mid-Am Exhibitor Advisory Committee
President: Barbara Rosborough, Rosborough Partners, Inc.	John Lobacz, Russo Power Equipment
Vice President: Bill Vogel, Spring Valley Turf Products	Tom Steinmetz, Reinders
Secretary: Carsten Hoffmeyer, Hoffie Nursery	Mark Allgaier, John Deere Co.
Treasurer: Dave Story, Bartlett Tree Experts	John Hendle, Dayton Bag & Burlap
	Kevin Terven, Illinois Brick Company
Mid-Am Directors	Catalino Mendoza, Midwest Groundcovers LLC
Steve Fiore, L.A., Rocco Fiore & Sons, Inc.	Dave Harms, D. Hills Nursery Company, Inc.
Terry Kurth, Weed Man Lawn Care	Rich Eyre, Rich’s Foxwillow Pines Nursery
Jim Melka, Jim Melka Landscaping and Garden Center
Veronica Krenzel, The Toro Company, Inc.
Mid-Am Show Management
The Mid-America Horticultural Trade Show is produced by The Sanford Organization, Inc.
Rand Baldwin, CAE, Managing Director
Suzanne Spohr, Show Manager
Joyce Mandel and Deanna Hansen, On-Site Registration Managers
Nancy Molenda, Communications Manager
Kim Krok, Web Content Coordinator

 

Show Sponsors

 

Mid-Am 2010 Facts & Figures - Find out basic information about who attended the Mid-Am 2010 show.