People, Events and News

People

Arborjet recently announced the addition of two new team members. Emmett Muennink, who has joined as Southwestern regional technical manager, and Dawn Sherman, who will serve as Midwest regional technical manager, will support the company’s continued growth in the invasive pest management and plant health business in these two key regions.

Both will also serve as members of Arborjet’s Urban Forest Tech Teams. The company’s regionalized and corporate Tech Teams offer swift access to top talent and local support for municipalities, whether they are faced with an invasive pest such as Emerald Ash Borer, conducting tree value assessments, taking tree inventories, or other concerns.

David Culp, vice president of sales and marketing with Sunny Border Nurseries, Inc., has been selected to receive the 2014 Garden Media Award from the Perennial Plant Association.

This award is given each year to an individual whose educational and promotional efforts have increased awareness of perennials and the perennial industry.

Environmental Science, a division of Bayer CropScience LP, announced the appointment of Darrin Batisky as the newest area sales manager for the North American turf and ornamentals (T&O) business. In his new role serving the Kentucky, Southern Indiana and Central, and Southern Ohio markets, Batisky is responsible for the growth and maintenance of user relationships and initiating buyer opportunities.

Batisky has a strong background in golf industry sales, having most recently served as a territory sales manager for a turf equipment manufacturer, where he managed product sales, marketing, and customer relations. He also has experience on the other side of the industry, as he served as a golf course superintendent for 15 years at several highly respected courses in Pennsylvania and New York.

Batisky received his bachelor’s in Agronomy with a turfgrass management specialization from Ohio State University. He also served as a turfgrass research assistant while attending school at the Ohio Turfgrass Foundation Research Center.

AmericanHort pledges $100,000 to HRI

AmericanHort announced at Cultivate’14 a pledge to support the Horticultural Research Institute with a gift of $100,000. AmericanHort is committing $50,000 and will match up to another $50,000 in gifts from other individuals and companies for a total contribution of $100,000. The Horticultural Research Institute is the industry’s research and development organization with an endowment of nearly $11 million.

Earlier this year, the Horticultural Research Institute announced it will grant in fiscal year 2014 $400,000 in financial support for 16 new projects that investigate solutions in the areas of horticultural production, pest management, environmental stewardship, and business and marketing. The organization also distributed more than $20,000 in scholarships to college students.