John Kennedy is Co-Owner
of BoomerWrangle

Learn more about 
John Kennedy

9:00 am - 10:30 am
Emerging Leaders 3.0:  Building and Leading an Invincible Team
John Kennedy, BoomerWrangle

Back in 2023, John Kennedy introduced “Developing the Leader Within You” for our emerging leadership members who are committed to building their leadership bench for the future. It involved an insightful self-survey that each audience member took in advance of the workshop to compare to the overall Garden Center Group audience. We then focused on the top three areas of opportunity to improve in 2024.

In 2024, we took it to the next level and created “The Mindfulness of Motivation” workshop that dug deeply into the key factors that motivate the human condition at work and in life. The audience left knowing that empathy can be a superpower in leadership and that building long-term trust and respect will always be an investment worth making.

In 2025, John will take the audience from the “understanding” of leadership and matriculate them into the “execution” of leadership—Emerging Leadership 3.0.

Leadership is tough when you don’t have a team. You can influence decisions and processes; however, without a team, it is tough to gain traction without others to drive change.

John will introduce the four stages of Building and Leading an Invincible Team, set the processes in place to track success, and layer in leadership to keep the momentum going for 2026 and beyond. With the uncertain economic future ahead, the challenge of workforce talent acquisition and retention, and the consistent need to know your numbers, having the right team and talent at the right time will be key to navigating the future of your IGC.

There will be a GroupTalk LIVE follow-up in November so your entire team can benefit from the content and get rooted and ready for 2026.

And for the participants of this Emerging Leaders 3.0 Session, you will have access to the “Building a World-Class Team” video series with a ten-step process to executing excellence in 2026.

So, register today, and bring your emerging leadership team with you to build your bench for the future!

Counterpoint
Epicor
VMX

11:00 am - 12:00 pm
POS Users' Group Meetings

 11:30 am - 1:00 pm
Sponsor Showcase

Get in on the action as we kick off The Fall Event 2025 with our Sponsor Showcase – where you'll have the opportunity to meet our Sponsors and see and hear about their products This will be a fun and interactive time to mix and mingle with other participants while visiting with our Sponsors before our Welcome Session begins at 1:00 pm. 

Refreshments and lite fare will be served.

Danny Summers is
Managing Director
of The Garden Center Group

Learn more about 
Danny Summers

1:00 pm - 2:00 pm
Welcome Session
Danny Summers, The Garden Center Group

Tim Quebedeaux is Owner 
of Retail KPI Consulting and 
manages all financial programs
 for The Garden Center Group

2:00 pm - 3:00 pm
Get Wiser: The Numbers Game for 10% Profitability 
Tim Quebedeaux, RetailKPI Consulting

The Annual P&L Study has been an industry exclusive since 2004 and is the most comprehensive profit and loss study of its kind. While the WDR Report focuses on sales and margins by category and transactions on a weekly basis, the Annual P&L Study includes sales and expenses and compares the percent of sales for the garden center to both Best Practices and High Achievers Groups – and the total group as a whole. This study also includes Inventory Turns, Margin targets by category, and the resulting Gross Margin Return On Inventory Investment (GMROII).

What can we learn from the past that will allow us to Get Wiser to prosper in the Future? Is there a secret? To answer that question and others, Tim will take a deep dive into the Key Performance Indicators (KPI’s) from The Group’s 2024 Profit & Loss Study. It’s all about managing the KPIs – of course!

Even if you didn’t participate in the 2024 P&L Study, you can benefit from Tim's analysis of the numbers, ratios, and trends. Everyone is encouraged to join this discussion that can help move your Center to a higher level of success.

Getting Wiser begins by gaining a better understanding of the 2024 P&L Study!

3:30 pm - 4:30 pm
Get Wiser: Sage Advise on 3 Key Unprofitable Categories
Tim Quebedeaux, RetailKPI Consulting

The Group is Not profitable in 3 key Categories. But we can Get Wiser from those who are making it work.

A panel of Group Centers will share how they continue to be profitable. What's the common denominator? Do they have a formula for success? Does it lie in their strategic plan? Growing their customer base? Making better decisions through data analytics? Will you hear a common thread among all Centers?

Join Tim Quebedeaux and these Group Centers for a lively discussion as he explores the strategies and practices that make these Centers profitable. No doubt, you will gain invaluable takeaways to put into practice at your Center to help you Get Wiser and More Profitable!

Danny Summers is
Managing Director
of The Garden Center Group

Learn more about 
Danny Summers

4:30 pm - 5:00 pm
Get Wiser! Get Connected
Danny Summers

Dan Gingiss 

8:30 am - 9:30 am
A Remarkable Experience Is Your Biggest Competitive Advantage 
Dan Gingiss, The Experience Maker™

In today’s competitive retail environment, garden centers can no longer rely on price or product alone to stand out – customers have more choices than ever. So, how can your business cultivate long-term loyalty and turn shoppers into passionate advocates? The answer is customer experience.

In this engaging keynote, customer experience expert and former Fortune 500 executive Dan Gingiss will show you how creating remarkable experiences can drive sales, increase customer retention, and generate powerful word-of-mouth referrals. When you delight customers at every touchpoint – from the moment they walk in to long after they leave – they’ll keep coming back and bring others with them.

You’ll walk away with actionable strategies to differentiate your garden center, foster deep customer connections, and thrive in a crowded marketplace. And because Dan doesn’t just talk about experience – he creates one – you’ll see firsthand how CX can help your business flourish! You'll also walk away with his recent book titled The Experience Maker™!

DAN GINGISS is an international keynote speaker and customer experience expert with a dynamic and engaging speaking style that has captivated hundreds of audiences around the globe. Believing that a remarkable customer experience is your best competitive advantage, Dan shares insights from his 20-year professional career that included leadership positions at McDonald’s, Discover, and Humana. His speaking engagements are enriched by real-world examples and effective strategies that inspire immediate action.

Dan is the author of The Experience Maker: How To Create Remarkable Experiences That Your Customers Can’t Wait To Share and Winning at Social Customer Care: How Top Brands Create Engaging Experiences on Social Media. Dan also co-hosted the award-winning Experience This! podcast.

For 20+ years, Dan led teams in customer experience, marketing, and customer service. He learned by doing, whether it was building a customer-centric culture or developing the leadership skills to get the most of employees. He became known as an outside-the-box thinker and the boss that everyone wanted to work for.

Many speakers and consultants have never actually experienced life “in the trenches” at a company. Dan understands those dynamics and challenges and provides unique credibility, including a J.D. Power Award for Customer Satisfaction.

Following is a quick introduction to The Experience Maker™ - Dan Gingiss!

Go beyond theory and hear
directly from the people
who matter most – your customers.

9:30 am - 10:30 am
Live Customer Focus Group
Dan Gingiss, The Experience Maker™

Go beyond theory and hear directly from the people who matter most – your customers. Dan Gingiss will host a Live Customer Focus Group, a dynamic 30-minute session where real customers take the stage to share unfiltered insights about their experiences, preferences, and expectations. This session puts the actual voices of your customers front and center – offering a rare opportunity for franchise management and operators to listen, learn, and take action on real customer feedback.

Dan expertly moderates the discussion, asking insightful questions that uncover what customers love, what frustrates them, and what would keep them coming back. Then, the audience gets the chance to ask their own questions, diving deeper into what matters most to their business. The session concludes with key takeaways and actionable strategies – what to start, stop, and continue – so participants walk away with real, customer-driven insights they can implement immediately. If you want to truly understand your customers and elevate your brand, don't miss this immersive session – it's an eye-opener and a game-changer.

John Kennedy is Co-Owner
of BoomerWrangle

Learn more about 
John Kennedy

11:15 am - 12:15 pm
TeamWise
John Kennedy, BoomerWrangle

Sid Raisch is President of
Advantage Development and Serves as
The Group's Chief Strategist 

1:30 pm - 2:30 pm
Wise Up! Transformational Wisdom for Garden Retailers in the AI Era
Sid Raisch, Advantage Development

Garden retailers who thrive will be the ones brave enough to evolve today. Don't be left behind.

In his signature style, Sid Raisch is going to give it to you straight. In 30 minutes, he will reveal the challenge: Where we are and why we must take the future opportunities seriously, creating your roadmap for navigating the most significant retail industry transformation you'll ever face. We'll identify what, mindsets, tools and people you need for this journey—and what's holding you back.

In the second 30 minutes, Sid will lead you and a few of your Group friends through the development of your own specific transformational journey.

1. Where We're Going: The Transformational Journey Of Your Lifetime (No matter your age).
2. What to Bring, and What to Leave Behind
3. Who to Bring, and Who to Leave Behind
4. How to Get There, and How to Stay Stuck and Get Left Behind

Don't miss this insightful session designed to help you navigate the inevitable future evolution!

“It’s not that we
have a little time, 
but more that 
we waste a
good deal of it.” 

~ Seneca 

3:00 pm - 3:30 pm
TimeWise
Souny Kennedy, Co-Owner of BoomerWrangle
Sarah Polzin, Retail Operations VP, Down to Earth Garden Center

Wisdom is a combination of knowledge and experience. Having education, training & development at your fingertips can be a game-changer for your team as well as your customer experience.

Join Souny Kennedy & Sarah Polzin as they showcase the workplace solutions and applications that can drive employee engagement, education, and retention.

Whether you are a GroupSpace or ConnectSpace user, or interested in learning more, you would be Wise to join this workshop to learn how to invest your valuable time in order to save invaluable time.

Don't miss this game-changing session!

"I do not think much of a man who is not
wiser today than he was yesterday."

~ Abraham Lincoln

3:00 pm - 5:00 pm
Get Wiser Breakouts
Facilitated by Thought Leaders

3:00 pm - 5:00 pm

 BREAKOUT SESSIONS (Take Your Pick)

 Details Coming Soon!

The Raleigh-Durham-Chapel Hill area
of North Carolina is also called the
Research Triangle because of its
proximity to three major research
universities—Duke, the University of
North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and
North Carolina State University—as well as
being a hub for technology
and biotech companies.

8:30 am - 7:00 pm
The Fall Event Tour

This year’s tour day is jam-packed with garden retailing at its best! We’ve created a full-day tour of five of the Raleigh area's best retail garden centers, including lunch and a reception. Be ready to connect with fellow retailers, our service pros, and our sponsors, and discover new possibilities for profit. Bus captains will provide behind-the-scenes statistics to prepare you for each stop, plus a little Raleigh Trivia along the way.

So hop on board and be ready to enjoy a beautiful fall day of discovery in Dallas and return to the hotel in time to relax and continue conversations with your Group peers.

Buses depart curbside from the front of the Raleigh Marriott Crabtree Valley at 8:30 am sharp and will return by 7:00 pm.

Click here for details of Tour Stops.

7:30 am - 9:00 am
Raleigh Post-Tour Panel Discussion

You just experienced some of the Raleigh area's best garden centers. Now, you can engage with the owners and/or managers up close and personal to ask all of those burning questions you didn't get the opportunity to ask during the tour. This interactive, audience-driven discussion will feature crowdsourced questions during and after the tour, then upvoted for the best ones to kickstart a great list of questions to get the most out of our Q&A time. Don't miss this enlightening session guaranteed to be lively and fun!

Continental Breakfast will be served during this 1 1/2-hour session.

9:30am - 10:30am
Ask the Pros
Moderated by Danny Summers

Danny Summers is
Managing Director
of The Garden Center Group

Learn more about 
Danny Summers

10:30am - 11:00am
A Word to the Wise
Danny Summers, The Garden Center Group