On The Move

Jennifer Zurko

BAILEY NURSERIES
Bailey Nurseries announced the promotion of two Inside Sales Representatives to new roles within the company. Tiffany Nohl has been promoted to Brand & Licensing Sales Representative and Andy Herting has accepted the role of Outside Sales Representative. 

Tiffany will be working to develop and increase sales and sell-through for the brands through the existing network of growers. Tiffany has worked at Bailey Nurseries since 2011 as an Inside Sales Representative.

Also promoted from Inside Sales, Andy Herting will be handling the Indiana, Kentucky, Ohio and Tennessee territory as Bailey Nurseries’ newest Outside Sales Representative. Andy has worked at Bailey Nurseries’ Main Office in Minnesota as an Inside Sales Representative for over a year, and will be relocating to Lexington, Kentucky, to better service his new customers.

BIOWORKS
Jeff Distasio has been named National Sales Manager at BioWorks. In his new position, Jeff will be responsible for managing the BioWorks sales organization and growing the BioWorks family of insect control, disease control and plant nutrition products, programs and services in the United States, Canada and Mexico.

Jeff has over 25 years of sales and marketing experience in B2B, retail, industrial and consumer markets. He previously held positions at Benco Dental, Bausch & Lomb, Aramark and Duracell.

FOREMOSTCO
ForemostCo announced that Brian Jacob has been hired as a Territory Manager for the West Coast. Brian has an Ornamental Horticulture Degree from Cal Poly State University. After graduating, he worked with Orchard Nursery & Florist and soon after, went on to work with Monrovia Nursery Company in Sales, New Products and Inventory Control. Since then, Brian has held various positions in Product Management and Sales at the Garden Marketing Group, Fisher Farms and Skagit Gardens.

FOUR STAR GREENHOUSE
Four Star has promoted Ericka Filonczuk to Regional Sales Representative. Ericka has been with Four Star since 2010 in various capacities and most recently held the position of Sales Program Administrator. She has built strong relationships with Four Star customers in the last six years and her promotion to Southeast Sales Representative is a natural progression for her. Ericka will be responsible for Kentucky, Tennessee, West Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Alabama, Georgia, Florida and Bermuda.

HARRIS SEEDS
Harris Seeds—a provider of vegetables, ornamentals and horticultural supplies to both professional growers and home garden customers throughout the United States—announced that the Board of Directors has unanimously elected Ken Wasnock as Chief Executive Officer effective April 4, 2016. Ken will also become a member of the Board. He succeeds current President Dick Chamberlin, who will be retiring after almost 29 years of continuous service to the company. Ken will assume the title of President upon Dick’s retirement on June 30, 2016. Dick will continue to provide leadership as a member of the company’s Board of Directors.

MASTERBLEND INTERNATIONAL
Masterblend International announced the addition of Kris Warren to its horticultural products sales team. Kris will be responsible for business development and sales of Masterblend’s complete line of water-soluble fertilizers, control-release fertilizers, herbicides, pesticides and other products for professional growers.

As a previous owner of a wholesale greenhouse, she has unique insight into the challenges faced by today’s grower. Her responsibilities spanned every aspect of the operation, from hands-on growing duties to sales and fulfillment of quality horticulture products to customers. This comprehensive involvement in professional growing operations makes her a qualified partner to growing professionals seeking solutions to improve results.

MICHIGAN STATE UNIVERSITY
Dr. Roberto Lopez has joined the faculty in the Department of Horticulture at Michigan State University (MSU) in East Lansing, Michigan, as an Assistant Professor and Controlled Environment/Floriculture Extension Specialist. He will have a 45% research, 30% teaching and 25% extension appointment. Roberto will add to MSU’s lighting expertise with his research background in traditional and LED supplemental and sole-source lighting and become part of the Floriculture Research Alliance. His new area of research at MSU will include hydroponic greenhouse and indoor production of leafy greens and vegetables. Roberto will also add to MSU’s horticulture curriculum by offering courses in greenhouse structures and management, floriculture production, and hydroponic food production. Roberto comes to MSU after eight and a half years as an assistant and associate professor and Floriculture Extension Specialist in the Department of Horticulture and Landscape Architecture at Purdue University.

PLEASANT VIEW GARDENS 
Pleasant View Gardens promoted Russ Knowles to the position of Regional Retail Account Manager, where he will manage relationships with independent garden centers in Northern New England.

Russ has 25 years of tenure with Pleasant View Gardens, having worked in several managerial and supervisory roles over the years. He has worked throughout the company, having started in 1990 in the Production department on the cutting crew and as the Shipping Supervisor. From there, Russ oversaw the Quality and Inventory Control department for eight years and later went on to become a Production Manager. Russ then spent four years as the Transportation Coordinator before moving into his role as an Inside Sales Representative for the past three years. GT