 Yale Youngblood |
This month, at the OFA Short Course in Columbus, Ohio, the GIE Horticulture Group will honor representatives of all 50 states for their outstanding contributions to their industry and to their communities ... And, certainly, to their callings, for there’s no question that our honorees were called to be where they are. And, boy, are we glad they were.
The inaugural Horticultural Industries Leadership Awards—we like to call them the HILAs—will cite many noteworthy people and even more noteworthy achievements, the collection of which should make us all proud to call these fine folks friends and colleagues.
As you might expect, deciding on 50-some-odd “bests” from this industry was no small chore. I met with fellow editorial types Todd Davis and Dave Kuack (publisher and editor, respectively, of our sister publications Nursery Management and Greenhouse Management) on several occasions to sift through dozens of nominations “from the field.”
We rated and debated the merits of each, even offering a few candidates of our own from the three hort fields (nursery growing, greenhouse growing and retailing). Then we played “Rock, Paper, Scissors,” when it became obvious that there is no way to cite JUST 50 great people from this great industry—and when it became obvious that I’m a much better RPS player than either Todd or Dave.
OK, we didn’t really do that. But suffice it to say that our task was daunting—and that the fruits of said assignment were just as rewarding. I can say without reservation that our state winners are all outstanding leaders who put the best interests of their faith, family, businesses and communities ahead of their own. In a nutshell, that’s what leadership is all about, and our very first HILA class is one of which we all can be proud. Please check in next month to see who’s on our Who’s Who list. And, if you’re favorite isn’t ... well, remember, we’ll be doing this again next year.
YOU SAY CYUPON, I SAY COOPON ...
However you say it, there’s no question that coupons of many ilks have emerged as a valid means to attract shoppers to the garden center. This year, thanks (but no thanks) to weather woes from hither to yon to start the spring, practically everyone is trying some sort of coupon program to try to lure customers to the store in summer or to add some oomph to normal fall marketing efforts.
SO ... You’ll want to read our cover story to see if you’re playing the coupon game as well as your peers —or if you should begin to play the game to help turn prospective customers into the real deal.
Speaking of the real deal, how ’bout those Mavericks?! Hey, what can I say? I’m a Texan.
yyoungblood@gie.net
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