- By:
Tom Nordlie – (352) 392-0400 - Source(s):
Jimmy Cheek – jgcheek@ufl.edu, (352) 392-1971
Ben Bolusky – bbolusky@fngla.org, (800) 375-3642
GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Florida’s environmental horticulture professionals have a good friend in Jimmy Cheek, the University of Florida’s senior vice president for agriculture and natural resources, and now they’re making it official.
June 13, Cheek will receive the Florida Nursery, Growers & Landscape Association’s Friend of the Industry Award, as will Rep. Marty Bowen, speaker pro tempore of Florida’s House of Representatives. The awards will be presented at the FNGLA convention in Palm Beach.
The award honors individuals from outside FNGLA who have contributed to the advancement or improvement of the industry.
“I am extremely honored and pleased to receive the FNGLA Friend of the Industry Award,” Cheek said. “FNGLA represent those professionals who work in a growing and changing segment of the Florida economy. At last count, the landscape and nursery industry created over $15 billion of economic activity annually in Florida.”
Cheek was selected for the award for his role in maintaining and strengthening the working relationship between FNGLA and UF’s Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, said Ben Bolusky, FNGLA executive vice president.
“His creativity and management talent, his expert insights and his proven leadership skills are a source of great inspiration and comfort to our industry and for all of Florida agriculture,” Bolusky said.
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