A British Olympic silver and World Championship gold medallist has been booked for the Garden Centre Association's (GCA) conference.
Athlete Roger Black MBE will be one of the speakers at the event, which will attract leading independent garden centres from across the country.

Said GCA chief executive Iain Wylie: "Roger was the first presenter we booked for the event, which also sees our organisation mark its 50th anniversary, and we're very much looking forward to all he has to say about being a champion and the dynamics of being in a highly successful and motivated team."

Roger Black added: "I'll focus on the Olympic mindset by sharing with the audience the lessons learnt throughout my athletic career that enabled me to run fast, overcome adversity and achieve my dreams both individually and as part of a team."

The GCA's annual conference will be held at The Grand Hotel in Brighton January 24-27, 2016. As well as the golden jubilee celebrations it will provide the usual mix of quality speakers, analysis of the garden centre inspections and best practice, and the unveiling of competition and award winners.

The schedule is as follows: Sunday, Greenfingers Challenge Cup; Monday, inspection and competition round-ups plus keynote speakers, based around operational issues, plus evening dinner and networking; Tuesday, a day of strategy with keynote speakers on subjects such as the economy, challenges facing business and direction of future market trends, with an emphasis on maintaining and enhancing profitability. In the afternoon, the supplier exhibition, and in the evening the Annual Gala Dinner and awards presentation, plus a special celebration of the 50th anniversary.