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Behind the Scenes
| Ball Publishing Staff
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>> Published Date: 6/15/2010
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 With Jennifer Duffield White off to graduate school, we decided to use her “welcome-to-the-issue” spot to introduce the Ball Publishing staff, culminating with Jennifer Zurko, our new staff editor, whom we’ve hired to replace the old Jen (who will continue to do freelance writing for us). It takes more than an editor and a few freelance contributors to create such a top-notch magazine every month, so here’s a chance to get to learn a little about the other folks that make GrowerTalks possible.
Your title and current responsibilities: “I’m associate editor for GrowerTalks and Green Profit. I write articles for the magazines; travel to different greenhouses, garden centers and trade shows; coordinate with all of our columnists and other contributors for each issue; along with adding content to our website. I work closely with (Editor-at-Large) Ellen Wells to make sure we have all of the content for the magazines each month.”
How long have you worked with Ball Publishing? “I’ve only been with Ball Publishing since September 2009, so going on 10 months. But I’ve been with Ball Horticultural Company for seven years—I was previously a writer in the Marketing Department. I have a journalism degree, so this is what I was meant to do with my life.”
Tell me something personal about yourself (but not TOO personal). “Doug and I will be celebrating our eighth wedding anniversary this year and we have a beautiful 17-month-old daughter named Olivia. We also share our home with two crazy cats—Fisk (after baseball Hall of Famer Carlton Fisk) and Austin (after WWE Wrestler Stone Cold Steve Austin).”
What were your original career plans and how are they different from where you are today? “My dream was to be a sports writer when I started college, so I wrote for the student paper and The Daily Herald. But then I found out that the Chicago Tribune and Sun-Times don’t hire reporters right after graduation (unless you sell ads). I wasn’t patient enough to ‘pay my dues’ getting coffee for sports editors, so I decided to go into corporate writing. It got me in the door at Ball Publishing and I’m really happy. It allows me to do what I love and have a good, balanced family life.”
How are reporting on horticulture and sports alike? “The only similarity is that you get to travel to different events and interview the key ‘players.’ A major difference is that there aren’t many egos in this industry and I don’t feel like a ‘vulture’ as I did when I was a sports reporter. Sometimes it felt like I should be hanging out with the paparazzi; it was very cutthroat and people would do anything to get a major story. With the hort industry, the people I meet are happy to talk about their businesses—even the negative aspects. They don’t try to avoid you because they only went 3 and 1/3 innings or threw an interception in the end zone in the last seconds.”
Any hobbies? “I love to read (but lately I’m reading more children’s books). I love music—I have more than 2,000 songs on my iPod and couldn’t live without it—and Doug and I go to a lot of concerts. And of course, we go to Bears, White Sox, Cubs and Blackhawks games when we have the time and money.”
People in the hort industry are: “Really genuinely nice. And they’re hard workers.”
People would be surprised you are: “A pretty decent Karaoke singer. And that I love Hip Hop and R&B music.”
Your garden at home? “Low maintenance. I have a lot of perennials. I’m also back into growing vegetables this year. I’m trying to get Olivia into gardening, too. She loves to help me water.”
Your life “theme song” would be: “In my 20s, it would have been ‘Fight For Your Right To Party’ by the Beastie Boys. Now that I’m in my 30s, it’s ‘Stop This Train’ by John Mayer.”
On the weekends, you like to: “Spend every waking moment with my daughter—especially because I’m a working mom who travels. My husband and I have a large circle of friends and a close-knit family, so if we’re not entertaining, we’re hanging out at someone’s house with our kid in tow. We also try to squeeze in our endless home improvement projects.”
Your ideal day at work: “All of the editorial is in EARLY so that the designers don’t give me dirty looks and I can actually eat lunch away from my desk. Then, at the end of a stress-free day, I walk into my babysitter’s house and hear a little voice say, ‘Mama!’ Luckily, that last part really does happen every day.” GT
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