SPONSORED WORKSHOP (sponsored by Rainbow Ecoscience)
Joel Spies, Cory McCurry, and Patrick Anderson, Rainbow Ecoscience; Heather Dirksen, Canopy Service Partners
Discover the fundamentals and future of Plant Health Care (PHC) in this comprehensive workshop designed for tree care professionals looking to grow their business. The speakers will start with a brief history and rationale for PHC, followed by real-world business cases that highlight its profitability and potential.
Learn proven sales strategies and explore Rainbow’s process for integrating PHC into your services. Gain valuable insights into key pests, treatment protocols, and essential training to support your team.
Explore Integrated Pest Management (IPM) strategies that balance effectiveness with environmental responsibility. Plus, get a firsthand look at Rainbow’s Value Add approach and learn the next steps to successfully launch or expand your PHC offerings.
Perfect for companies ready to elevate their service offerings and drive long-term growth.
***Lunch Included
TENTATIVE AGENDA
11:30am – 1pm: Lunch with meet and greet
1 – 2pm: Introduction to PHC as a business case
2 – 3pm: Roadmap/checklist for implementing a PHC Program
3 – 4pm: Rainbow Value Add: products, equipment, training, support
4 – 4:30pm: Q&A discussion
Price $150
Biography
Spies, Joel – Rainbow Ecoscience Joel is the vice president of sales at Rainbow Ecoscience. He is an industry expert with over 20 years of experience in plant health care He oversees, instigates, solves, designs and has leadership input into most business development areas for Rainbow. Joel grew up in Missouri, dreams of sailing the world with his kids like Jacques Cousteau, met his wife performing a scene from Ghost (literally in the college pottery studio) and loves fashioning himself in ugly Christmas sweaters to celebrate his holiday birthday. Joel’s favorite tree is really any that provides solid wood he can build things out of. He recently built a wooden fishing boat from scratch, is a noteworthy photographer, and an avid camper/fisherman. Joel would invite Chuck Norris, Tom Hanks, and Barack Obama for an interesting dinner party.
McCurry, Cory – Rainbow Ecoscience
Before joining Rainbow Ecoscience, Cory is a certified arborist with six years of field experience. He started as a plant healthcare technician, became a Plant healthcare coordinator, and then became a consulting arborist in the north region of Chicago. He is happy to be on the team of values-based professionals at Rainbow. Cory holds a BS in Biology with a minor in Chemistry. He is also a 2019 Davey institute of tree science graduate. Cory is a resident of Chicago, IL, and his hobbies include all things outdoors, reading about new scientific advancements/research, and exploring cites in search of the best coffee, food, and entertainment.
Anderson, Patrick – Rainbow Ecoscience
Patrick is a joyous educator with Rainbow Ecoscience, where he provides direction for Rainbow’s Regional Technical Arboricultural/Horticultural Advisors and Research Scientists. He has years of practical tree care experience, has a B.S. in Forest Science from Penn State University, is an ISA Board-Certified Master Arborist and Urban Forest Professional, ISA Tree Risk Assessment Qualified, an ASCA Registered Consulting Arborist, ASCA Tree & Plant Appraisal Qualified, and a North Carolina Licensed Landscape Contractor. In addition, he served as the associate voting member of the ASC A300 Committee and as President of the American Society of Consulting Arborists.
Dirksen, Heather – Canopy Service Partners
Heather Dirksen is a driving force behind the rapid growth of Plant Health Care service lines across the country. As Head of PHC Growth at Canopy Service Partners, she specializes in helping tree care companies launch and scale profitable PHC divisions. With a strong background in arboriculture, training, and sales enablement, Heather equips teams with the systems, tools, and strategies needed to generate recurring revenue, improve client retention, and elevate tree care beyond pruning and removals. Her focus on simplifying complex treatments, building technician confidence, and creating sales processes that work in the real world has helped dozens of teams turn PHC into a cornerstone of their business. Whether leading training boot camps, building best-in-class sales playbooks, or onboarding new partner companies, Heather’s approach is grounded, actionable, and results-driven.