Geneve receives IPPS Award of Merit

Dr. Robert Geneve, University of Kentucky Horticulture Professor, has received the 2014 IPPS Eastern Region Award of Merit, the organization’s highest honor. The announcement was made Sept. 18 at the 64th annual meeting of the IPPS Eastern Region. The event took place in Niagara Falls, Ontario.

An IPPS-ER member since 1991, Dr. Geneve has served in “just about every category and post possible in the Eastern Region,” said Recognition Committee Chair Dr. Paul Cappiello. He has served as director, officer, and president on the Eastern Region Board and is currently the international delegate to the IPPS International Board. He has served on over a dozen committees and has more than thirty papers published in the Society’s Combined Proceedings.

Dr. Geneve is a successful researcher with scores of scientific papers to his credit. His wide-ranging work on nursery production and plant propagation – specifically seed biology - has earned him an international reputation as a first-class plant physiologist. He is co-author of Plant Propagation: Principles and Practices as well as Biotechnology of Ornamental Plants and Book of Blue Flowers.

Beyond his research, Dr.Geneve is known as a champion for students.

“Whether it is new teaching methods to enhance the classroom experience, taking students on trips across the globe, pushing for IPPS student memberships or any other effort to enhance student opportunity and knowledge, he is never out of the conversation,” Cappiello said. “He is a dedicated teacher – of plant propagation, woody plant materials and more - known for innovative teaching techniques and approaches.”

Also at the annual meeting, the 2014 IPPS Eastern Region’s Fellow Award was presented to Brian Decker, president of Decker’s Nursery in Groveport, Ohio. The Fellow Award is presented to members who exhibit exemplary service to the Society and to the advancement of the field of propagation and production.

A member of IPPS-ER since 1986, Brian has served as a director to the IPPS Eastern Region Board, as Poster and Research Grant Committee chair, on the Membership and Publicity Committee and has four publications in the IPPS Proceedings. Brian is just beginning his tenure as First Vice President of the IPPS-ER and will be serving as program chair for the 2015 IPPS conference to be held in Cincinnati, OH. He is also past president of the Ohio Nursery and Landscape Association.

“Those who work with Brian quickly learn two things about him,” said Nominating Committee Chair, Paul Cappiello, “he is a no nonsense businessman and he is passionate about plant propagation. On the IPPS-ER board, Brian brought an analytical and pragmatic approach to discussions – a particularly valuable trait as his tenure spanned the difficult years of the industry downturn. He constantly challenged the status quo and in doing so helped to shape the future of our organization.”

Brian is a graduate of The Ohio State University and a third-generation nurseryman. Decker’s Nursery is a family business that began in 1921 and today provides wholesale shrub liners, specialty conifer grafts and finished material. When Brian was asked to sum up his career in the nursery business his answer was “I have over 35 years experience plus an excellent education. My peers consider me an expert in nursery production and propagation. With all this going for me in this industry, I am just now thinking I might know what I am doing; maybe." (Brian demonstrates his experience - and sense of humor - in Brian’s Blog: click HERE to read more).