Tom Courtright, New ANLA President

''Over the next year, ANLA will balance helping our members to weather this economic recession, with preparing them for opportunities that emerge as markets begin to recover.'' - Tom Courtright, the new ANLA president

Tom Courtright, president of Orchard Nursery and Florist in Berkeley, Calif., assumed the presidency of the American Nursery and Landscape Association (ANLA) at their recent annual meeting in Washington, D.C. Tom brings a long history of volunteer leadership to the nursery and landscape industry. He served as president of the Central Chapter of the California Association of Nurseries and Garden Centers (CANGC) several times since 1975, and as president of the state association in 1993. He was on the board of Master Nursery Garden Centers for 25 years, was president of the ANLA retail division board in 1993, and served on the board of the Horticultural Research Institute (2002-2004) prior to joining the ANLA Board of Directors.

Tom has been active in his local Rotary and Chamber of Commerce, and was named the Lafayette Citizen of the Year in 1989. Earlier this year, his community honored him with recognition of Orchard Nursery as the Lafayette Business of the Year.

Tom purchased Orchard Nurseries in 1972, where he works today with his daughter. He is part of an extended nursery family. His sister operates the Berkeley, Calif.-based garden center that belonged to their father. Tom's wife, Jacquie Williams-Courtright, is the owner of ANLA member company Alden Lane Nursery, located 30 miles away from his garden center. They met while studying together at California Polytechnic, San Luis Obispo in the late 1960s and were married years later in 1990.

During his opening address, Tom stated, ''ANLA has been there for us in the good times and is now there for us in the tough times. ...Let’s keep sharing and let’s keep caring. Our members, our industry and our customers are counting on us.''