Build your snow dream team

SIMA Season Opener: Building Your Snow Dream Team
September 19-20 in Baltimore, MD

By Justin Gamester, CSP
After much discussion and research, SIMA is launching a new Season Opener series that will take place each fall to help the industry kick off the season with passion and purpose. Each event will focus on real-world solutions, high-level peer engagement and expert insight. 

Our first event, focused on talent acquisition and retention, will take place Sept. 19-20 at the Hyatt Regency Inner Harbor Hotel in Baltimore, MD. Recruiting and retaining quality seasonal and long-term team members has become the number 1 challenge in our industry. We are confident SIMA’s Season Opener: Building Your Snow Dream Team will deliver tangible takeaways for attendees to start overcoming the talent challenge.

An all-star lineup
To create a dream team, you need all-stars - and we’re excited about our lineup:

• Mark Eaton, former NBA Utah Jazz All-Star turned team-building expert, will kick off the event. Eaton will share stories and lessons learned through his experiences in team dynamics at the highest levels, and he’ll walk attendees through a facilitated discussion on recruiting methods and techniques being used by some of the most successful companies in our industry. 
• Industry peers will lead an Employee Growth Round table, sharing experiences, examples and tips for building snow careers within your organization. 
• Leslie Boomer, a Gallup-Certified strengths coach (and publisher of Snow Business magazine) will provide takeaways on how to develop talent within your organization. As an added bonus, registered attendees will receive a free StrengthsFinder assessment, a highly useful tool used by business leaders across the globe to develop balanced teams.

Lasting impact
The benefits of attending will not end when folks go home. Using information learned at the event, SIMA will develop two best practices guides tied to recruiting and developing careers in snow and ice management. In addition, attendees can attend a follow-up webinar on how to apply StrengthsFinder to identify talent in their organizations and how to nurture those talents for greater success.

Make plans to join us and share your insight by registering today at www.sima.org/dreamteam. Bring yourself and key leadership staff! Each additional registration from your company receives a significant discount. If you have questions on the event, contact Brian Birch at brian@sima.org. 

Justin Gamester, CSP, is president of Piscataqua Landscaping and current SIMA board chair. Contact him at jgamester@piscataqualandscaping.com.