AmericanHort names new board members, officers

Per a press release, AmericanHort announced the election of three new members to the board of directors, along with the election of a new slate of officers. The official welcome and installation will take place at Cultivate’21 held July 10-13, in Columbus, Ohio.

“These individuals are leaders from across the horticulture industry and encompass various experiences, skills, and backgrounds. We are excited to welcome this group of new directors,” said Ken Fisher, president & CEO of AmericanHort. “We appreciate the dedication and commitment of our officers and the leadership they provide our organization and industry.” 

The new slate of officers will include Cole Mangum of Bell Nursery USA  as the new chairman of the board and Jon Reelhorn of Belmont Nursery as vice chairman of the board. In addition, J. Harvey Cotton Jr. recently joined the board to serve as treasurer, a non-voting position. Tom Hughes of Hughes Nursery & Landscaping will become the immediate past chairman.

Mangum is vice president of operations for Bell Nursery in Elkridge, MD, one of the nation’s largest growers of annuals and perennials. Cole oversees operations across 8 facilities as well as coordinating a team of category managers who manage shipping of finished product. A graduate of Salisbury University, Cole has dedicated himself to advocating for various facets for the industry over the course of his career. He has served on the National Leadership Cabinet for the Seed Your Future initiative, as Horticulture Representative for the Maryland Agricultural Commission, and the Greenhouse Grower Technology advisory board. Cole remains committed to keeping the horticulture industry a strong and viable career path long into the future – both at the local and national level.

Reelhorn is owner and president of Belmont Nursery located in Fresno, Calif. Like many successful businesses, Jon’s company values come from the top down. Belmont Nursery is a third-generation business that loves being part of their local community and includes nursery growing, greenhouse growing, and a retail garden center. Jon is a graduate of Fresno State University with a degree in Plant Science, a graduate of the California Ag Leadership Program and a graduate of the Executive Academy for Growth and Leadership. Jon is very active in his industry having served as a board member with the California Farm Bureau and California Nursery and Landscape Association (now Plant California Association), he held several committee roles with the American Nursery and Landscape Association (ANLA) and has been chairman of the Horticultural Research Institute (HRI).

Cotten is a garden writer, designer, and consultant. After 22 years with the Huntsville Botanical Garden, most recently as vice president and chief horticulturist, he retired in 2014. He continues to present workshops for the Botanical Garden, Master Gardener Associations, Garden Clubs and other botanical gardens and arboreta while lecturing across the southeast on various garden topics. Harvey currently serves as president of the Alabama Nursery & Landscape Association and is past president of the Horticultural Research Institute (HRI) and Alabama Invasive Plant Council.

The AmericanHort membership has elected the following new board directors:

Rob Lando is CEO of Oberlin, Ohio-based AgriNomix, North America’s largest supplier of automation to nurseries and greenhouses and is being elected to a second director term. He and three grower partners formed AgriNomix (formerly Flier USA) in 1994 to provide local sales and service for high-tech Dutch-made automation.  While continuing to do so, the company has become a sizable domestic designer and manufacturer as well. In addition to his day job, Rob is an active board member for Neighborhood Alliance, a North East Ohio non-profit which provides essential services to Lorain County residents in all stages of life. Prior to AgriNomix, Lando served as senior vice president responsible for sales and service at Bouldin & Lawson of McMinnville, TN, and he started his journey in the horticulture industry with Langley Peat Moss of Fort Langley, BC in 1980.

Steve Mostardi is owner and general manager of Mostardi Nursery, a retail garden center located in Newtown Square, PA. He is a third-generation nurseryman and a Pennsylvania Certified Horticulturist with a lifelong interest in the world of plants. Steve attended the Arboretum School of the Barnes Foundation, as well as the Ambler Campus of Temple University. He currently serves on the board of directors of the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society, while also serving as Chairman of the P.H.S. Gold Medal Plant Award Committee. In addition, he is honored to judge the horticultural exhibits at the Philadelphia Flower Show. On a national level, he recently served as president of the Horticultural Research Institute (HRI).

Lyndsi Oestmann grew up in the nursery business started by father, Mark Clear. A graduate of Kansas State University, Lyndsi now serves as president of Loma Vista Nursery overseeing all strategic and operational responsibility for 300-acres of container production, 500 acres of field production with sales predominately focused on the Midwest and mountain states. Lyndsi is an active and highly involved participant in the green industry having served as a 5-year board member of Kansas Nursery and Landscape Association, including as board president in 2016, and served on the Western Nursery and Landscape Association board. She is a member of Johnson County Community College Horticulture Advisory Board, and recipient of WNLA’s State Association Leader Award in 2017, and Horticultural Industries Leadership Awards Class of 2020. Concerned for both the present and future of horticulture, Lyndsi is dedicated to recruiting youth into the industry.

These new directors will join current directors Gerry Docksteader, Advanced Horticultural Solutions, MD; Mike Gooder, Plantpeddler Inc, IA; Joe Hobson, Midwest Trading Horticultural Supplies Inc, IL; Amy Morris, N. G. Heimos Greenhouses, IL; Ed Overdevest, Overdevest Nurseries LP, NJ; and Jonathan Saperstein, Everde Growers, TX.

AmericanHort and its members also want to thank outgoing board members, Susie Raker-Zimmerman of Raker Roberta’s Young Plants who served six years on the board including immediate past chairwoman; and Chris McCorkle of McCorkle Nurseries, who completes a three-year term in July.