• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
  • History
  • Research & Development
  • I Want to Become a Customer!
  • Find My Sales Representative
  • Meet Our Sales Team
  • Career Opportunities
  • Grow Our Plants
  • Think you discovered a cool new plant?
  • Charity Shrub Sale
• 
• 

July 14 - 17, 2012, Columbus, Ohio

The OFA Short Course is recognized as the premier educational and trade show event for horticulture professionals in North America. The 2011 OFA Short Course will be the 82nd event – featuring nearly 1,440 trade show booths, approximately 500 exhibiting companies, and more than 130 educational sessions. It will attract an estimated 10,000 horticulture professionals to Columbus, Ohio July 9 to 12.

The OFA Short Course is the best place each year to get your own worldwide perspective on horticulture. Attendees come to the OFA Short Course from throughout the United States and more than 20 foreign countries. They come to view the latest products and equipment, find answers to business problems, learn new skills, catch up with old friends, and network with industry leaders.

The first Ohio Florist Short Course was held in January 1930, in the old Horticulture and Forestry Building on The Ohio State University (OSU) campus. Professor Alex Laurie organized the meeting.

The OFA Short Course soon moved to the Home Economics Building (Campbell Hall) at OSU to take advantage of its auditorium. After Short Course attendance outgrew Campbell Hall's capacity, the meeting was moved to the Deshler Hotel in downtown Columbus. Attendance continued to increase, and the OFA Short Course was moved to the Neil House Hotel in 1942.

The first two OFA Short Courses featured design schools, but they were dropped so the program could concentrate on grower problems. In January 1962, the design sessions plus business seminars for retail florists were again incorporated into the program.

With an attendance of nearly 1,000 and a 50-booth trade show, the OFA Short Course moved in 1964 to a brand new convention hotel, then called the Columbus Plaza and later renamed the Sheraton-Columbus Hotel.

In 1968, seminars for wholesale florists were added to the OFA Short Course, in cooperation with the Wholesale Florists and Florist Suppliers of America (WF&FSA). These seminars continued until 1974 when WF&FSA developed its own program.

In 1981, the OFA Short Course moved to the new convention center and hotel – the Ohio Center and the Hyatt Regency Columbus Hotel. Total attendance was 2,200, and the trade show held 259 booths.

A program for garden center operators was introduced in 1981. Seminar attendance has increased for this industry segment each year. Interior plantscape seminars were incorporated into the Short Course in 1982; special tours and workshops for this group were added in 1983.

Because it increased the trade show from 89 to more than 300 booths, the move to the Ohio Center caused much concern. OFA wondered how they would attract sufficient attendees and exhibitors. Ironically, by 1988, the OFA Short Course had outgrown the meeting space in the Ohio Center and some events had to be scheduled in the Holiday Inn across the street.

The trade show also grew dramatically. First, all the floor space in the main hall was filled, then space was used in an adjacent banquet room; and finally, the balcony of the main hall was used. For several years in the late 1980s, the existing exhibitors were out of room to expand, and a waiting list of interested companies was compiled.

The OFA Short Course was held in January each year until 1983, when it was moved to July because of the unpredictable winter weather. Rather than lose momentum and not have an event for 18 months, the decision was made to have two in the same year. The January convention had 2,500 attendees and a 245-booth trade show. The June convention had 2,200 attendees and 308 booths.

By 1988, all available space was utilized for the convention of more than 4,000 attendees and 440 spaces. By 1990, the trade show had a waiting list of more than 40 companies and attendance was 4,359.

After three strategic planning meetings, the OFA's board of directors elected to move to Cincinnati in 1991, where there were plenty of meeting rooms, hotel rooms, and a larger exhibit hall. Attendance at the 1991 Short Course was 5,289, and the trade show had 599 spaces.

By 1994, with numbers still on the rise, the board of directors again considered a move to a larger facility. The 1995 OFA Short Course was a record breaker, with 6,300 attendees and 675 trade show booths.

In 1998, the Short Course re-established its home in Columbus, Ohio. Attendance was 8,837, and the trade show had 903 spaces. In 2002, the OFA Short Course enjoyed an all-time record attendance of 10,499; and the trade show had 1,283 spaces. In 2011, OFA expects nearly 10,000 attendees; and approximately 1,550 trade show booths will be filled by 500+ exhibiting companies.

The OFA Short Course is contracted to be held at the Greater Columbus Convention Center in Columbus, Ohio through 2016.

For more information, click here.

Full Address Greater Columbus Convention Center 400 N High St Columbus, OH 43215

Save this event to your local calendar (Outlook, GCal, Ical)