Bell Nursery Hires Government Relations Specialist

Chris Beytes

Every grower knows that things can happen at their state capital that can really make business tough. Some take the time to get active in local and state politics—a few have even run for office. But Bell Nursery is the first that has gone so far as to hire its own Government Relations Specialist.

Bell’s Gary Mangum stopped by the Ball Publishing booth at Cultivate'15 to introduce Susan Summers, who just joined the Maryland business with the sole task of representing Bell—and by extension the industry—in political issues that might impact their business.

Gary told GrowerTalks this came about because of the neonics and pollinators issue that has dominated industry news. Gary said state officials were on the verge of outlawing neonics in Maryland, which would have left him “putting a skull and crossbones tag in every one of our plants” had he not gotten active. He quickly saw that there were many other issues at play in Annapolis that could negatively impact his business, hence his hiring of Susan, a veteran agricultural publisher and PR specialist in the state. GT

Pictured: Bell Nursery’s Gary Mangum and Susan Summers, Bell’s new Government Relations Specialist.