The Southern Nursery Association has named its board members for the 2020 term. The newly elected members were announced during the 121st Annual SNA Business Meeting held at the Baltimore Convention Center.. The election, open to all active SNA members, determines representation from the four geographic regions of the association:

Chapter 1 - Maryland, North Carolina, Virginia and West Virginia
Chapter 2 - Florida, Georgia and South Carolina
Chapter 3 - Arkansas, Kentucky, Missouri, Oklahoma and Tennessee
Chapter 4 - Alabama, Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas

Rickey Minton, Triangle Nursery, McMinnville, Tenn., was elected president succeeding Joseph Napoli, Athens Wholesale Nursery, Athens, Ga., who will serve as the immediate past president.

 
Other elected members are:

Vice President/Treasurer/Director Chapter 4
Todd Ellefson, Windmill Nursery, Franklinton, La.

Director Chapter 1
Matthew Shreckhise, Shreckhise Nurseries, Grottoes, Va.

Director Chapter 2
Marcus Cook, Marcus Cook Farms, Gray Court, S.C.

Director Chapter 3
Jerry Blankenship, Blankenship Farms and Nursery, McMinnville, Tenn.

Newly elected SNA president Rickey Minton holds a B.S. in Agriculture from Tennessee Tech University, a Masters in Global Studies from Liberty University, and a Ph. D. from Trinity University in Religious Studies. He has been the owner of Triangle Nursery since 1995, a 500-acre field and container production nursery. In addition to his nursery, Minton is involved in several business ventures and is also a pastor and missionary in Haiti, the Dominican Republic, and Africa. He is a Billy Graham Evangelical Association chaplain and Tennessee State prison chaplain. His hobbies include fishing, hunting, and boating. Minton has been married to Greta Porter for 38 years. They have two boys Zach and Wes, and two grandchildren Lake and Landon.

Joining the SNA board this year is Jerry Blankenship. He, along with his wife Beth, own and operate Blankenship Farms and Nursery, McMinnville, Tenn. Blankenship is past president of the Tennessee Nursery & Landscape Association and was awarded TNLA Young Farmer of the Year (2003) and the TNLA Nurseryman of the Year (2014). In 2005, he was awarded SNA's David E. Laird, Sr. Memorial Award. The new board member has served on the Tennessee Department of Transportation Highway Beautification Committee and the US National Arboretum Horticulture advisory board. He and Beth have three children, Katie Beth Stanfield, Emilie, and William. Blankenship enjoys being crew chief for his late model racecar driven by his son, William. He is also a deacon at Westwood Church of Christ.

"This board represents a group of very diverse leaders from across the Southeast, all with excellent business skills," said Karen Summers, SNA executive vice president. "We are fortunate to have such an experienced and talented group of board members who are committed to advancing the SNA, and I am very confident in their abilities to lead this 121-year-old association forward," she added.