Last month at the OFA Short Course in Columbus, Ohio, the GIE Horticulture Group honored representatives of all 50 states for displaying outstanding leadership abilities at their businesses, in their industry and in their communities. The recipients of the inaugural Horticultural Industries Leadership Awards (HILAs) included a number of garden center operators —one of whom was given a special citation. Jenny Gunderson, who with husband Bill Raynolds owns My Garden Nursery in Mill Creek, Wash., is a breast cancer survivor, and both her parents had Alzheimer’s disease. Her personal experience helped shape both the look and the mission of her garden center, which has raised tens of thousands of dollars for research efforts associated with both diseases. (Photos by Jody Bossert) Jenny Gunderson, co-owner of My Garden Nursery in Mill Creek, Wash., was presented the National Award of Excellence for Charitable Giving. The following is her remarkable story, which only serves to underscore that great leaders aren’t necessarily born or made, but rather, they are defined by how they respond to circumstances in their lives.My Garden Nursery in Mill Creek, Wash., has built a passionate following by being fun, quirky and friendly. When customers enter the grounds, they find a place where gnomes are celebrated, where heuchera warrant 365 days in the spotlight and where visitors feel almost as much like museum patrons as shoppers. And when they leave, they know they’ve not only secured something from the region’s best selection of plants and garden gifts, but that they’ve contributed to the greater good—thanks in large part to someone who knows a thing or two dozen about the greater good. Jenny Gunderson is co-owner of My Garden Nursery, along with husband Bill Raynolds. As of a year ago, Jenny Gunderson also was declared a breast cancer survivor. To celebrate that significant victory, she has dedicated much of her time—and much of her store’s profits—to a cause that ultimately could help others win as well. But that’s just part of her story, the latest chapter of which was still being written last month as industry folks gathered in Columbus, Ohio, for the inaugural celebration of the GIE Media Horticulture Industry Leadership Awards. Jenny was chosen as the first recipient of the award for Industry Excellence in Charitable Giving. From the benevolent efforts her store makes to fund breast cancer research to like endeavors in support of finding a cure for Alzheimer’s disease, Jenny has turned My Garden Nursery into a philanthropic model everyone could—and should—emulate. In the meantime, she has become a role model for anyone who might have wondered, “How in the world did I get dealt this hand?” The truth is … Jenny has been challenged—in a life-altering way—not once, not twice, but thrice. There will be plenty to note on that shortly. First, a little history is in order. My Garden Nursery opened in November of 2006 and evolved over the past half decade into a unique, 4-acre garden center full of fabulous displays colorful combinations, and “fun” stuff. In March of 2009, however, “fun” ceased to be the operative word at My Garden. That’s when Jenny’s cancer was detected—early in its development. She underwent treatments that included surgery, radiation and chemotherapy that cleaned her body of the disease and that left her with a new resolve. “I’m one of those crazy Pollyannas that doesn’t believe anything bad is going to happen,” she said. As such, she set out to make sure something good did.  Jenny Gunderson tends to a monument planter in My Garden Nursery’s “Plant a Head for Alzheimer’s” Memory Garden.Actually, something else good. Even before the cancer was detected, My Garden had been dedicating a portion of its profits to another benevolent project, Alzheimer’s disease research. The “Plant a Head for Alzheimer’s Memory Garden” was created at the store to commemmorate personal losses resulting from the disease. “Both my mom and dad had Alzheimer’s,” Jenny said. “I took care of my dad in my home for six years. It was the hardest thing I ever had to do, including my cancer experience, and yet one of the most beautiful.” That’s Jenny, making lemonade. She’s good at it. “When we started the nursery I realized it wasn’t just about selling plants, that it had to be about more,” she said. On the Alzheimer’s front, she used the Memory Garden and other fund-raising projecst to procure more than $27,000 for research. After her breast cancer experience, she set about creating projects at the store to raise money for research on that disease. Her efforts there, too, have raised tens of thousands of dollars. More lemons. Given all she has been through, Jenny has become something of an expert on forks in the road—which is just as well, because a couple of weeks prior to the HILA presentation, she came upon yet another. “She developed a cough that just wouldn’t go away,” Bill said. “We thought it was the flu or something.” It turned out to be a very bad “something.” The incessant cough prompted her to visit a medical clinic, where Jenny was diagnosed with congestive heart failure. “They think the chemotherapy (for her breast cancer) caused it,” Bill said. “That sometimes happens. Chemo can wipe out one of your ventricles, they said, and apparently that’s what occurred with Jenny.” She was sent immediately to the hospital, where more tests determined that she had just 15-percent pumping capacity in her heart. Her medical team deemed that if action wasn’t taken quickly, she might not be able to recover from this setback. Jenny underwent an emergency procedure during which a defibrillator was inserted into the damaged organ. Then her medical team watched and waited to see how her heart might respond to this treatment. Long story short: It took a licking, but it kept on ticking. “I am so bummed not be there at the OFA Short Course, but happy to be alive!,” she e-mailed the Garden Center magazine staff a few days before the HILA banquet. “One more bump in the road for us. The chemotherapy I had has led to congestive heart failure ... 15 percent of my heart is pumping … wah wah wah … anyways, I just want to thank you for the opportunity to share my story.” In our original correspondence, the last thing she told us suggested hers is a story worth sharing. “On My Garden’s 50th Anniversary,” she said, “I want to be that 90-year-old lady sitting at the cash register greeting the customers and making them smile!” What she wrote in the e-mail suggested hers is a story worth emulating. “I really meant it when I said I wanted to be the 90-year-old lady at the cash register at My Garden,” she noted. “The doctors tell me it is possible to get to 90 with this. I may have a defibrillator, but I will be there.” With that ever-present, lovely smile on her face, no doubt. .jpg)  Other 2011 National Award Winners .jpg) Horticulture ResearchKen Altman, owner, Altman Specialty Plants (Vista, Calif.) … Altman was instrumental in the creation of the new Center For Applied Horticultural Research. The center, a 1-acre facility donated by Ken and wife Deena Altman, was created to conduct research that will help all growers produce better plants and maximize profits. .jpg) Community ServiceCammy Walters, manager, Finally Free Ministries Nursery & Landscape Division (Springtown, Texas) … Walters and the non-profit ministry she oversees work with people coming out of substance abuse or domestic violence situations. The ministry offers jobs in its Nursery and Landscape division to participants in its outreach program. In addition, Walters and her team provide skills training, life training and pastoral counseling. .jpg) Industry DevelopmentDon Shadow, owner, Shadow Nursery (Winchester, Tenn.) … Shadow has traveled throughout the United States and many parts of the world, acquiring plants that have become an important part of horticulture throughout many areas of the country. He focuses on species and cultivars that he describes as “new and useful.”  Employee DevelopmentStan Cope, president, Bonnie Plant Farms (Union Springs, Ala.) … As president of the largest provider of vegetables and herbs in the country, Cope is involved in every aspect of the 93-year-old company that his grandparents started and is a trusted friend among the employees that work with him. Since joining the company in 1967, Cope has never missed a plant season, even during his college years and while serving in the military reserve. |
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