Back Page: The Best in the Business

Texas A&M University student Lauren Garcia received a $5,000 scholarship from GIE Media.

THE BEST IN THE BUSINESS

GIE Media's Horticulture Group honored the most exceptional people in the industry during the OFA Short Course. Growers and retailers from across the country received Horticultural Industries Leadership Awards. We paid tribute to representatives from all 50 states for their outstanding contributions to the industry and their communities.
 

One of our national winners was Stan Cope, president of Bonnie Plant Farms in Union Springs, Ala. Cope was honored in the employee development category. His assistant Cheryl Lange nominated him because he has "earned the respect and loyalty of his employees through his sincere interest in their performance and personal lives."

Cope addressed the crowd at the awards ceremony with a humble thank-you.

"I've certainly been blessed to have worked in a family business all my life. My grandparents started Bonnie Plants in 1918, and I've been working there since I was old enough to pick up a crate of cabbage," he said. "I want to thank my assistant Cheryl Lange for submitting my name for this award and I want to thank all of my employees to have enough confidence in me to have had a part in my name getting submitted for this award."

During the awards, we also awarded two deserving scholarships of $5,000 each to Lauren Garcia of Texas A&M University and Trenton Spratling of Brigham Young University.

"My goals are to graduate Summa Cum Laude, earn my master's degree, and then proceed to become a director for a botanical garden or arboretum after several years work in the public garden sector," Garcia said.

Spratling is expected to graduate in December with a Bachelor of Science in Landscape Management.

"I want to be accepted for full-time employment by a PLANET member whose culture I fit with," he said. "My desire is to bring value to a company I work for by learning about each aspect of landscape contracting so I can be part of business operations and decisions."

Read more about the awards and the scholarship program on our web site.