VNLA - 2005 Nurseryman of the Year  - Doug Hensel

Presentation by Mary Williams, 2004 recipient of the VNLA Nurseryman of the Year Award

As I have the distinguished honor this year to present the Nurseryman of the Year Award, it is my prerogative to do it a little differently from the past.  Instead of leaving you in suspense till the end of the presentation, I will take the guessing out, and tell you at the beginning as to who the winner of this award is.  This way, as I read, you will understand and agree why this year’s recipient is well deserved for this honor.

So I will begin by saying it is an honor to announce that Doug Hensel is our new 2005 Nurseryman of the Year.

As a businessman, Doug has shown leadership.  He applied for employment at The Great Big Green House in 1977 and has been there ever since.  He worked himself up the ranks of management and became President of the company in 1999.  During his 29 years there, he committed himself to hard work and demonstrated his loyalty to the company by bringing The Great Big Green House to be one of the outstanding garden centers in the state of Virginia.

Doug has shown commitment and leadership to our industry groups as well.  And as he has served, he has carried out the responsibilities entrusted to him with the highest degree of honesty, dignity and old-fashioned hard work!

In 1992 he was elected to the board of the Central Virginia Nursery and Landscape Association and served as President in 1997. Doug was instrumental in implementing new and beneficial ways of promoting the association to its members and to the public. 

In 1997 Doug was elected to the Board of the VNLA, serving as President in 2004 and Past President this past year in 2005. Throughout his term on the VNLA Board, he has demonstrated leadership by contributing sound advice in every area of activity. 

As Chairman of the Membership Committee he produced and assimilated a membership survey that became the basis for a productive strategic planning meeting. 

He has been responsible for leading successful Field Days and Summer Tour events. Doug has also been instrumental in The Great Big Greenhouse providing attractive arrangements of violets in baskets for the VNLA Legislative Committee to deliver each year to all the members of the General Assembly.  

As President in 2004, Doug continued to use his quiet leadership style to provide excellent direction to the association.  And as Past-President in 2005, he has worked on revising the VNLA Policy Manual.  Most of us would at this point be looking forward to the green pastures of board member retirement, but not Doug!  Now he has volunteered to be the new Vice-Chairman of the Plant Introduction Program.

I’m feeling tired just talking about all of this, but we’ve still not reached the end of all of the work Doug has been doing in order to benefit you and the industry. Since 1992, Doug has been on the MANTS Board, serving as President in 1995 and in 2004.  Note that this was also the year that he was president of the VNLA.  MANTS has become one of the top horticultural trade shows in the nation, and that didn’t happen by accident.  Doug’s hard work and leadership, along with that of many other board members, has allowed all of us to reap the benefits.

Do you want a good visual illustration of Doug’s passion for his company and industry?

Just turn to Richmond’s NBC channel 12 once a week.   There we see his love and knowledge of horticulture by answering unrehearsed call-in questions on their “Ask The Expert” segment.  As he graciously answers caller’s sometimes-crazy questions, notice the Certified horticulturist badge that he proudly wears.  He reminds listeners to look for a Certified Horticulturist to help them with their gardening questions.  Doug feels strongly that promoting certification and professionalism is key to our industry, so he takes this great opportunity to tell thousands of listeners about it.

As Doug returns to The Great Big Greenhouse, we notice signs around the store promoting the fact that Certified Horticulturist work there.  And as we look around, an amazingly high number of employees have Certified Horticulturist badges on to prove it.  This is evidence of Doug’s commitment to help his business, employees, and our industry at the same time.  If we all followed his lead, we would be significantly further down the road to broad customer awareness of the Certified Horticulturist Program.

On a more personal level, Doug is the loving husband to his wife, Donna, and a caring father to his twin sons Marcus and David.  Doug met Donna in 1978 while Donna was working at The Great Big Green House.   Donna admits at falling in love with Doug while watching him interact with customers. 

I guess that is what the nursery, the landscape and the garden center professionals have also done, fallen in love with the man who loves plants.

Thank you Doug for being you and working so hard at promoting our industry!