A Long and Winding Road
As we were putting this issue together, I couldn't get two Beatles songs out of my head: "Sergeant Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band" and "Birthday."
No, my iPod was not stuck on repeat, so you may be asking yourself, "What do those two songs have to do with this issue of GPN?"
The opening lines from both of those tunes, "It was 20 years ago today…" and "So you say it's your birthday, well it's my birthday too…" are also appropriate for GPN this month: This issue marks our 20th anniversary!
It was a different world back in September 1990. The price of a loaf of bread was 72 cents, a gallon of gas was $1.16, minimum wage increased to $3.80 and the Dow Jones Industrial average was still below 3,000.
Our industry has changed considerably since then, too. To learn about some of those changes, check out the articles from Dr. Jim Barrett and Stan Pohmer (pages 18 and 42, respectively) to get their perspective on how things have evolved since our first issue.
What will happen in the next 20 years obviously remains to be seen, so we asked a handful of experts to give us their thoughts on where we may be headed. You can read their predictions on page 14.
Also, this month we are starting a new tradition with the introduction of our Hort Hero, an annual award we created to recognize an individual who is truly making a difference in our industry. We are pleased to announce that Ken Altman of Altman Plants in Vista, Calif., is our inaugural honoree. You can read about how he and his wife, Deena, are contributing to and investing in our industry's future on page 22.
It's Intern Time
As college students return to the classroom this month, I wanted to be sure to remind you that we are currently looking for the 2011 GPN/Nexus Intern of the Year.
We want to find that one exemplary student who has recently completed an exceptional floriculture-related internship and present that student with a check for $3,000, an expenses-paid trip to 2011 OFA Short Course and feature him or her on the cover of the January 2011 issue of GPN.
To learn more about the eligibility requirements for the 2011 Ti/Nexus Intern of the Year program, please turn to page 23.
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