2022 President’s Message

Welcoming 2022

Kevin Cagle

Greenthumb Nursery, LLC Ether, NC

Kevin

I would like to start by saying thank

you to everyone for allowing me to serve on the NCNLA Board the past few years, and now what a tremendous honor it is to be your NCNLA president for 2022. Trust that I will do my very best to serve the association and its members throughout the coming year.

I am a third-generation nurseryman and co-owner of Greenthumb Nursery. I have a beautiful wife, April, who helps me in the office, and we have three wonderful children: Lilly, Cole and Kanon. Lilly works in the nursery full time. Cole has worked at the nursery the past two summers and plans to do the same this year. And Kanon is looking forward to starting his first job with us this summer. We are grateful that Greenthumb Nursery continues to be a family affair!

The story of Greenthumb Nursery began in 1959, when my grandparents, Daniel James Cagle and Ruth Dunlap Cagle, started growing plants as a hobby—which quickly grew into a half-acre of azaleas and Japanese maples. For that reason, my Grandfather became known in the community as “Mr. Greenthumb,” and in 1960, he had the Greenthumb Nursery name licensed. At this point, growing plants was no longer just a hobby, but a thriving business! In 1980, my father, Robert Edward Cagle, and his business partner, John H. Ritchie, started developing the business into what it is today. They added multiple divisions, including landscape, lawn maintenance, field-grown material and turf. When my father passed away in 2004, it shook up the whole family. He was an awesome father—and business owner— and he is greatly missed. By the guidance of his teachings though, my brother Robby and I stepped up to purchase the family business from John in 2010, and we continue to strive to provide what people have always expected from Greenthumb. We currently have 20 acres in container production and 110 acres in field-grown material, and we are looking to expand our wholesale business by 30 acres in the next couple of years. We are proud of what Greenthumb has become and can’t wait to see what the future holds.

Focusing on current events, I hope you all were able to attend the in-person Green & Growin’ show in January. We had a great show, especially considering ALL the obstacles we faced, including COVID-19, as well as labor and material shortages, just to name a few. And the good news is: Spring is right around the corner! For myself, I know I’m ready to see life springing forward through the new growth of trees and plants, as it lets me see the results of months of hard work— potting, pruning, fertilizing, etc.—come to fruition. All in all, I feel like 2022 is off to a strong start!

I’m thrilled about the upcoming year and promise that we, at NCNLA, will build upon the momentum we’ve gained in years past. We had to make a lot of changes in 2021, due to not having Green & Growin’ in person, which challenged our board and staff members to be more creative in thinking of other ways to generate revenue and increase benefits for our members. Thinking outside the box allowed us to maintain the association’s financial stability, while continuing to grow our membership, build upon our annual Robert Cagle Memorial Golf Tournament (which is our primary source of scholarship funds), focus on advocacy and increase education opportunities. And, needless to say, all of this would not have been possible without the dedicated support of our members—so we’d like thank each and every one of you!

Again, I am deeply honored to be your NCNLA 2022 president, and I look forward to celebrating all of our industry’s successes with you in the year ahead!

2022

robert cagle memorial

golf tournament

Join NCNLA members and industry colleagues for an afternoon of golf followed by a casual dinner and awards ceremony. Proceeds benefit the NCNLA Scholarship Fund. Friday, June 24, 2022 1 p.m. Shotgun Start

Lochmere Golf Club

23511 Kildaire Farm Road Cary, NC

Focusing on current events, I hope you all were able to attend the in-person Green & Growin’ show in January. We had a great show, especially considering ALL the obstacles we faced, including COVID-19, as well as labor and material shortages, just to name a few. And the good news is: Spring is right around the corner! For myself, I know I’m ready to see life springing forward through the new growth of trees and plants, as it lets me see the results of months of hard work— potting, pruning, fertilizing, etc.—come to fruition. All in all, I feel like 2022 is off to a strong start!