Industry Insider: Maximizing Your Time at Cultivate’23

Choosing Who to Send from Your Team

Susie Raker-Zimmerman
Vice President, Raker-Roberta’s Young Plants

Susie Raker-Zimmerman is a current Greenhouse Community Connector, a former AmericanHort Board Member, and regularly sends her team to Cultivate. Susie grew up with horticulture being a constant in her life having worked in the greenhouses since she was a teenager. A Michigan State alumna, Susie started her professional experience in breeding, greenhouse production and sales as well as having worked as a weed science lab technician. After working at Bachman’s Nursery Wholesale in Minneapolis, she returned to the family business and held various positions at what is today known as Raker Roberta’s Young Plants. A 12-acre greenhouse facility that employs more than 200 people the company is the leading wholesaler of custom grown plugs and liners in North America. As vice president of the business, Susie was the third generation to take the company reins and has helped the organization overcome financial challenges. She was instrumental in ensuring a smooth transition when the company was acquired in 2017. Under her leadership, she has worked with management to implement KPI’s and a structure leading to their current business success. She previously served on the board of the Ohio Florist Association (OFA, Michigan Greenhouse Council, and the AmericanHort Board since its founding in 2015.

Navigating the Tradeshow Floor

Rayne Gibson
Consultant & Owner, Taproots

Rayne Gibson’s experience in the green industry began at a young age, working with the family’s wholesale nursery in Louisiana in the early 2000s. Over the years, he gained comprehensive knowledge of running a nursery and witnessed it grow from 10 to 100 acres. Rayne later graduated from Louisiana State University with a Bachelor of Science in horticulture and sought out various opportunities to broaden his expertise, including internships with prominent names in the wholesale growing industry.

After starting his career as an inventory manager, Rayne advanced to sales and eventually became a general manager at a Louisiana-based wholesale growing operation. He found his passion in analyzing and building businesses from the inside out, honing his skills in logistics, production, purchasing, budgeting, and spray programs.

Since then, Rayne has helped companies across the southern United States achieve their goals and improve their operations. His dedication to the industry has led him to serve on the boards of both the Louisiana Nursery Landscape Association and the Texas Nursery Landscape Association, where he collaborates with businesses to address issues and create a strong community.

Selecting the Best Education Sessions for Your Business and Professional Development

Broch Martindale
National Nursery & Greenhouse Strategic Account Manager, Corteva

Broch Martindale is an AmericanHort Community Connector and has attended Cultivate events since he was a small child. Growing up in the family greenhouse business is where Broch found his passion for plants and this industry. Broch studied greenhouse production at Ohio State and returned home to the family business before searching for his next challenge. Broch joined Dow AgroSciences what is now Corteva 9 years ago. Broch focused his work on IPM and greenhouse technology. He recently took on the role of National Greenhouse and Nursery Strategic Account Manager for Corteva to get back to working with the industry and growers he loves so much. In Broch’s free time he and his wife Jenifer own and operate a 4-acre specialty cut flower farm just outside Indianapolis.

Using MyShowPlanner to Plan Your Experience

Amanda Holton
AmericanHort, Information Specialist

Amanda Holton joined AmericanHort in 2017 as our information specialist. Her duties include database maintenance, event registration, customer service, membership reporting and helping with membership onboarding and renewal processes, as well as various other administrative tasks. She is affectionately known as “The Queen of our YM database and excel guru”. Amanda enjoys all aspects of her job, particularly time spent mining data for information that helps us better serve our membership. She likes learning about our industry and getting to know our members better.

Getting Involved in Networking and Industry Activities at Cultivate

Melinda Knuth
Professor, North Carolina State University

Dr. Melinda Knuth is an AmericanHort Community Connector and a previous HortScholar and has attended many Cultivate events as a participant and as a presenter. Dr. Knuth’s research area focuses on consumer and market research experience by focusing on the interface between people and plants, helping the horticulture industry understand consumer preferences, perceptions, and motivations. Historically, Dr. Knuth has evaluated trade flows of horticulture products in the United States, assessed the supply chain in the cut flower industry, investigated profit margins in substituting species in floral arrangements, and estimated consumer acceptance of retail messaging.

She currently is an Assistant Professor in Horticultural Science at North Carolina State University. Dr. Knuth teaches Greenhouse Management, Floriculture Production, Floral Design, and Horticulture Marketing. Dr. Knuth received her PhD from Texas A&M University in Horticultural Science with a certificate in Applied Statistics. From there, she was a postdoctoral research associate at University of Florida in the Food & Resource Economics Department. Dr. Knuth received GPN Magazine’s 40 under 40 award in 2021, is a member of AFE’s Young Professionals Council, and a 2017 AmericanHort Scholar.

Getting Involved as a Young Leader in the Industry

Ryan Watkins
Chief Executive Officer, Brownswood Nursery and Landscape

Ryan Watkins is an AmericanHort Community Connector and current Leadership Academy participant. He has attended Cultivate many times as a participant and as a presenter. He is a 3rd Generation Grower, Lead Design Consultant, and CEO at Brownswood Nursery & Landscape. Born and raised in Charleston, South Carolina, Ryan received his Management Degree from Oral Roberts University. He is a South Carolina Certified Nursery Professional with 16 years of horticultural experience, 10+ years as a lead landscape designer, and 3 years of experience as a Horticulture Instructor for the City of Charleston. Ryan was nominated and selected as a top 3 finalist for the Young Retailer Award by Green Profit Magazine in 2015 and received the 40 Under 40 Award for GPN Greenhouse Product News in 2020. Ryan’s landscape design, installation, and consulting work has been featured on HGTV, DIY Network, and Charleston’s local news networks.

What Horticulture Students Need to See

Ethan Jenkins
Graduate Student, North Carolina State University

Ethan Jenkins is a previous AmericanHort HortScholar and attended Cultivate in 2022. He obtained his Bachelors of Horticultural Sciences with a concentration in Production Systems and Entrepreneurship and a minor in Biological Sciences from NCSU and a current graduate student He works as a research assistant in the cognitive behavior lab in the horticulture department. After obtaining his Masters, he plans to work in the horticulture industry for several years before eventually returning to his hometown to open a nursery business. He hopes to serve his community by allowing local school agriculture programs to visit his facilities as an educational experience and by providing quality plants to consumers that will change their perspective on plants and enrich their lives.