A growing
passion
An education helps
Randy Davis find a fulfilling career
Davis began to find his life's passion as a high school student employed at Greenleaf Nursery in Park Hill, Okla., during the summers. While working at his summer job, Davis began to consider his future.
"I was going to go to Northeastern [State University] to be a teacher," Davis said. "My dad was a teacher, and I was going to go to Northeastern because I could afford it. I thought OSU was too expensive."
Although Davis had a plan, he was not overly enthusiastic about it.
After Davis told Kenyon he had but thought it would be too expensive, Kenyon and Gil Nickel, co-owner of Greenleaf, offered him the Greenleaf Scholarship.
The scholarship was originally intended to be a one-time-only offer specifically for Davis and would pay for his tuition, fees and books to attend OSU. Davis was excited about the opportunity.
"I developed a love for plants at home in the garden," Davis said. "It was a thrill to see one grow and develop into a big plant. I'm still amazed by the process."
Davis graduated from OSU in December 1975 with a degree in horticulture. He immediately returned to work at Greenleaf as a propagation supervisor, a position he would hold for 18 years. Then he was promoted and spent five years as the company's vice president and production manager. In 2000, Davis became the company's president and chief executive officer.
When Davis was first presented with the opportunity to come to OSU, he
said he could not have imagined the success that would follow when he
returned to Greenleaf.
"I'm a goal setter," Davis said. "I'm a firm believer that
you set where you want to get to in life. I'm that way about everything.
You have to set your life in the direction you want to go, realizing you
don't always have total control.
Sometimes you achieve success you didn't envision."
Although
his achievements have far surpassed any expectations he had, Davis is
most satisfied in having a career he loves.
"It's been pretty amazing. It's so neat because I have such a passion
for my work. I love Greenleaf Nursery," Davis said.
"To me, that's the important thing, for you or for anyone. Whatever
you go into for your career, you should have a
Kenyon said the opportunities Davis had as a student at OSU have been vital to Davis' success.
"You see so many students like Randy, and that's what OSU does: it gives rural kids an opportunity to meet their expectations," Kenyon said.
Greenleaf
and the OSU Connection
Davis is one of 16 OSU alumni who work for Greenleaf Nursery. Two of those
alumni are also two of the company's owners.
Kenyon is a graduate of the OSU Department of Horticulture and Landscape
Architecture, and Nickel studied math and physics. In addition to their
positions as co-chairmen of the board for Greenleaf, the two recently
earned other important distinctions. They were recognized in 2003 as OSU
Distinguished Alumni. For Kenyon, it was a moving honor.
"I'm extremely humbled," Kenyon said. "A lot of people
are more deserving than I am, but it's an honor I'll always cherish."
Greenleaf also has OSU graduates employed in six of its top management
positions. Seven of the company's production supervisors are also OSU
alumni.
"The people who have come from OSU have been successful at Greenleaf
and have made Greenleaf successful," Davis said. "OSU has helped
create passion and enthusiasm, and the company looks for people like that."
Greenleaf has not always had far to look for such people. Although Davis'
scholarship was originally a one-time-only award, the company has since
provided the scholarship so other employees could attend college. Laci
Couch, planting supervisor at the Oklahoma division, graduated from OSU
with a degree in horticulture in May 2003. She said the scholarship was
instrumental in helping her find a career she loves.
"I was originally going to school to be a teacher," Couch said.
"My grades weren't what they should have been, and I thought
obviously, this isn't what I'm supposed to do.' I didn't like classes;
I didn't enjoy it."
Couch had been studying at Northeastern State University but dropped out.
She enrolled at the Indian Capital Technology Center in Tahlequah for
a year and took horticulture classes. She enjoyed her classes but wanted
to learn more.
"I liked when I was working in greenhouses at the CareerTech but
felt cheated because all I learned about was greenhouses," Couch
said. "Then I was told I could get a job here [at Greenleaf], and
I thought it was the perfect opportunity to see if this is what I wanted
to do."
Even while she was working at Greenleaf, Couch wanted to go back to school.
The opportunity to attend OSU through the Greenleaf Scholarship helped
her finish her education while learning more about the work she enjoyed.
Couch is pleased with the way things have turned out.
"I absolutely enjoy what I'm doing now," Couch said.
A
Growing Company
Greenleaf Nursery has grown tremendously since the time Davis became an
employee. A closer look at the company's history shows it has enjoyed
a rapid growth since its inception.
Greenleaf Nursery was founded in Muskogee, Okla., in 1945 by Harold and
Rebecca Nickel. The company originally operated as a small retail outlet,
but soon began experiments in growing plant material in containers. John
Nickel, a son and business partner, looked to expand the company.
"There wasn't enough room in Muskogee to get any bigger, and they
wanted to expand," Davis said.
Nickel began searching eastern Oklahoma for land to purchase and found
a spot near Park Hill, Okla. The property lies 35 miles east of Muskogee
on Lake Tenkiller and is the present-day location of the company's headquarters.
Davis said the Park Hill location has grown from 100 acres to 600 acres
in the time he has been employed at Greenleaf.
"I think [John Nickel] would tell you he never dreamed it would get
this large," Davis said.
Along with the growth in land area at Greenleaf, Davis said the company
has also grown in the areas of technology and plant diversity. Greenleaf
has been a leader in innovations in over-wintering procedures for plants.
The innovations began as a result of the harsh winter in 1962-63 that
resulted in the loss of 90 percent of that year's saleable crop.
After that winter's loss, the company began to propagate and grow hardier
types of plant material such as deciduous shrubs and shade trees. Over-wintering
procedures also were put in place the following fall. Research and development
of winter protection is an ongoing process at Greenleaf today. Davis said
the innovations made by Greenleaf extend beyond over-wintering procedures.
"We're very innovative in production techniques and not just winterizing
techniques," Davis said. "I would say we've been innovative
in all production techniques."
Another of the innovations Greenleaf prides itself on is the use of a
water recycling system in place at the Park Hill facility.
All of the water used for irrigation at the nursery is recycled on site
and used again.
"We did this on our own without the Environmental Protection Agency
telling us we had to," Davis said. "It was something our owners
looked at and said 'We're going to do this because it's the right thing
to do.'"
Because of growth and innovations, Greenleaf has had to expand to new
places over the years. In the 1970s, a second growing facility was purchased
in El Campo, Texas, approximately 75 miles southwest of Houston. Davis
said the El Campo location was chosen mainly because of the climate provided
by the area's long growing season and milder winters.
"It was mostly started for the growing climate, but we wanted to
develop the southern market, too," Davis said.
Today, the Texas operation boasts 400 acres in production, making it one
of the largest container nurseries in the state.
In 1984, Greenleaf purchased and put into production a nursery around
a small hidden lake near Fort Gibson, Okla. The nursery's purpose was
to provide a facility for the low-cost production of tree whips and seedlings
for the Park Hill and El
Campo container divisions. A 14,000-square-foot grading was erected on
the Fort Gibson property in 1990 for the purpose of sorting bare root
tree whips prior to shipment to the cold storage facility at Park Hill.
The grading at Fort Gibson was constructed in conjunction with a 239,400-cubic-feet
cold storage facility at the container division in Park Hill. The facility
creates a humidified, temperature-controlled environment to maintain the
high quality and vigor of trees. These constructions allowed Greenleaf
to begin marketing its bare root trees and seedlings in spring 1991.
Greenleaf added another new location in 1997 when 295 acres of land were
purchased in Tarboro, N.C. The Tarboro facility is a diverse, complete
product line, a smaller version of the Oklahoma and Texas operations.
Davis said the North Carolina division was opened because of its closer
locale to Greenleaf's eastern market.
"We sell a lot of plant material in that area," Davis said.
"We felt we could provide more for our customers by being there."
Today, Greenleaf is the third largest nursery in the United States. During
the peak season, the nursery employs 1,200 people in its facilities in
Oklahoma, Texas and North Carolina. In Oklahoma alone, Greenleaf produces
more than 10 million liners and 8.5 million finished plants. These plants
include 70 varieties of conifers, 570 varieties of broadleaf evergreens
and deciduous shrubs, and 145 varieties of shade and flowering trees,
Davis said. The diversity of plants the company produces has been one
of the biggest changes since he has worked there.
"Diversity in plants has seen a huge change," Davis said. "People
want something different. It's a real challenge to keep up."
Greenleaf currently ships to 45 states and Canada. The company has enjoyed
having a positive economic impact in eastern Oklahoma, as well as in its
other locations.
"It is one of Cherokee County's [Oklahoma] major industries with
much of the revenue being paid out locally," Davis said.
Greenleaf has followed the path of many of its products by taking root
and growing steadily. Davis looks for that growth to continue.
"We're a company that believes in controlled growth," Davis
said. "We're not interested in mergers or acquisitions. [We're] not
really the biggest, but our goal is to be one of the best.
"I see us continuing to grow and prosper, and that's through controlled
growth, good decision making, and planning," he said. "I'd say
the future looks bright for Greenleaf. We've got a lot of good OSU graduates
on hand and a good business plan. I'm really excited about Greenleaf for
the future." By Justin Day, Camargo, Okla.