The annual WorkWave Beyond Service Customer Conference once again brought industry pros, business owners and tech enthusiasts together, and the Landscape Management team was happy to be along for the ride.
Having just completed its fifth year in early February, the conference brings together WorkWave customers across the lawncare/landscaping, pest management, cleaning and security industries, offering educational sessions, networking opportunities, partner booth visits and exceptional service across four days at the Hilton Anatole hotel in Dallas, Texas.
“Our goal in this conference is to enable our customers to get the most out of our products, but also to get the most out of their business,” says WorkWave CEO Kevin Kemmerer. “We want them to learn from us, but we also want them to learn from their peers.”
And learning was certainly a top priority. After an initial welcome reception, the following three days were packed with keynote speakers (including one by world-renowned innovation strategist Shawn Kanungo), meetings with product managers and roughly 175 educational sessions with WorkWave experts and industry veterans.
“When you come here, you actually get to see the whole picture. You can get you put pieces together that are like, ‘Oh, that’s why we have this piece of software … This is what I’m looking for that’s going to solve this issue that I’ve had for years,’” says Elizabeth Hlavaty, product owner for WorkWave’s Service Assistant 5 and an educator at the conference. “It’s here, and you can go to the people who know the most and get your information.”
Landscape industry classes covered all the essentials, including everything from software tips and tricks for WorkWave’s RealGreen system to lessons on building company culture with RealGreen’s founder, Joe Kucik. Women’s sessions, Q&As, insights into WorkWave’s future features and opportunities to provide feedback on the company’s recent developments also took center stage, providing each attendee with options to tailor their experience to what their business needed the most.
Kemmerer says the company’s recent developments is one of the biggest ways the conference stays fresh each year, giving customers new features to learn about and explore. For example, WorkWave launched WAIve — an advanced AI-powered platform designed to help service businesses make actionable business decisions — leading up to the conference. The company followed up by unveiling its new Wavelytics Decision Intelligence tool at the conference, and each new feature was heavily explored in the keynote speeches, classes and the Innovation Station.
“What’s so fun about this conference is it’s a networking event, just like Equip and Elevate and a lot of the other industry events,” says Beth Berry, vice president of turf and ornamental sales for Advanced Turf Solutions and a presenter at the conference. “You’ve got a very high level of folks that use this software to solve customer problems, and they’re sharing those solutions with one another. This is an industry, really more than any other, that shares their trade secrets.”
And the industry definitely had a good time coming together in the many social events and networking opportunities. After a long first day of classes, attendees got to shake things up off-site at Circle R Ranch for a classic Texas rodeo experience, outfitted with games, music, a costume contest and rides on a mechanical bull.
Giveaways, a happy hour with industry partners (including landscaping staples such as LawnPRO Partners, Harrell’s, Corteva Agriscience and Steel Green Manufacturing) and WorkWave’s signature Customer Awards Dinner rounded out a jam-packed schedule of on-site fun and entertainment.
Next year’s conference is moving to the Big Easy from Jan. 31 to Feb. 3, 2027, at the Hilton New Orleans Riverside. And while interested attendees can start planning their visit, many industry pros are already thinking about how the 2026 edition can grow their business.
“We’ve been coming to these conferences for a long time,” says Brad Woods, president of American Turf and Tree Care. “We always pick something up new every year and are learning stuff that we can take back and implement.”
Woods says he’s found the best way to attend the conference is to really hone in on one or two topics to take back to the business, rather than trying out every piece of information he hears. This year, he was particularly focused on leveraging AI more in his company.
For Colin Engstrom, owner of Yard Guard Lawn and Tree Care, one of his favorite aspects of the conference is the people he meets.
“It’s good to make new friends and see old friends,” he says. “If you own a lawn and tree care company, and you want to grow it, you better get here.”
