Notables: February 2007 - Nursery Management & Production

New positions

Cindy Zachary to branch manager, Initial Tropical Plants, Pine Brook, N.J.

Paul Bially to associate district manager and field application specialist, Precision Laboratories Inc., Waukegan, Ill.

Bill Whittaker to sales manager, Priva North America, Vineland Station, Ontario, Canada.

Scott Furtak and Ronnie Rogers to sales representatives, Ewing Irrigation, Golf and Industrial, Phoenix.

Honors

New England Grows, South Natick, Mass., was named one of the fastest-growing association shows in the Fourth Annual Tradeshow Week Fastest 50.

An American Floral Endowment memorial tribute was established for Megan Gaul, daughter of David and Laura Gaul, Denver Wholesale Florist Co., Denver.

American Society for Plasticulture award recipients: Dennis Decoteau, Penn State University, University Park, Pioneer Award; Henry (Hank) Taber, Iowa State University, Ames, Distinguished Service Award; and Robert C. Hochmuth, North Florida Research and Education Center, Suwannee Valley, Best Paper Award.

Craig Regelbrugge, American Nursery & Landscape Association, Washington, D.C., was elected to the board of directors, National Immigration Forum.

New Fellows of Eastern Region, International Plant Propagators’ Society: Gary Knosher, Midwest Groundcovers, St. Charles, Ill.; and Ron Amos, Evergreen Nursery Co. Inc., Sturgeon Bay, Wis.

Conrad Quijas, Stem Gallery, Lincoln, Neb., won the Sylvia Cup Design Competition.

Valley Crest Tree Co., Calabasas, Calif., received top honors in Professional Landcare Network (PLANET) Safety Recognition Awards program.

Associations

New board members, American Floral Endowment, Edwardsville, Ill.: Tom Butler, Teleflora, Oklahoma City; Gabriel Becerra, Golden Flowers, Miami; and Chuck Gainan, Gainan’s Flowers, Billings, Mont.

New officers of American Society for Plasticulture: William Tietjen, Rutgers Cooperative Extension, Belvidere, N.J., president; Jodi Fleck-Arnold, independent consultant, Bloomington, Ind., president-elect; Mark Jordan, Pliant Corp., Chesterbrook, Pa., vice president; and David Martin, University of Maryland Extension, Timonium, secretary-treasurer.

Denise Godfrey, Olive Hill Greenhouses, Fallbrook, Calif., was named to the California Agricultural Leadership Program.

Melissa Haberstroh, Burlap House, Boerne, Texas, was named ex-officio member, Gift and Home Trade Association board of directors.

Business Changes

Erva Tool and Manufacturing Co. Inc., Chicago, acquired Nature House Inc., Griggsville, Ill.

Berry Family of Nurseries, Tahlequah, Okla., purchased the assets of Thompson and Walters Nursery, Cornelius, Ore., and will operate it as Zelenka West.

Premier Tech, through its business unit Premier Horticulture, opened a plant in Ste. Anne, Manitoba, Canada.

Green Industry Yellow Pages, Woodbine, Md., changed its name to 10-20 Media Inc.

Master Nursery Garden Centers, Walnut Creek, Calif., will collaborate with 10-20 Media’s Lawn and Garden Yellow Pages, Woodbine, Md., to reach consumers on the Internet.

Costa Farms, Miami, acquired a production facility in Pipersville, Pa., formerly owned by Hines Horticulture.

Chase Research Gardens, Mount Aukum, Calif., and J.R. Peters, Allentown, Pa., reached an agreement to provide diagnostics to the horticulture industry.

McGregor Plant Sales Canada Inc., a subsidiary of McGregor Plant Sales, Jordan Station, Ontario, incorporated in Canada to allow easier imports to Canadian growers.

Danville Gardens, Danville, Ill., joined FloraStar as a trial site.

Pioneer Plants LLC, Plymouth, Mass., signed a propagation contract for Bamboo Select with North American Plants LLC, Lafayette, Ore.

Aquascape Inc., St. Charles, Ill., became master distributor in the water garden industry for pumps manufactured by Tsurumi America Inc., Wood Dale, III.

Myers Industries, Akron, Ohio, acquired ITML Horticultural Products, Ontario, Canada.

Westhoff, Holland, and McGregor Plant Sales Inc., Carlsbad, Calif., signed a licensing agreement for genetics from Florexpo, Costa Rica.

Midwest Trading Horticultural Supplies Inc., Maple Park, Ill., purchased the assets of White Premium Organics, Ottowa, Canada.

Demdaco, Stilwell, Kan., acquired select assets and intellectual property of Silvestri, Beverly, Mass.

John Meredith opened a lobbying and grass-roots strategy firm, Meredith Advocacy Group, Lorton, Va.

Smithers-Oasis Co., Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio, purchased Floralife Inc., Walterboro, S.C.

Biobest NV, Belgium, was acquired by a consortium of three Belgian companies.

Garick, Cleveland, acquired New Milford Farms, New Milford, Conn.

Deaths

{sidebar id=2}

Willard Van Putte, founder of Van Putte Gardens, Rochester, N.Y., died Jan. 11. He was 92.