EAGL Program Graduation! - Spring Grove Nursery

by springgrove99

March 4, 2021

SGN News

Becky Thomas recently graduated from the EAGL Program, Executive Academy for Growth and Leadership. The year long program culminated in a Capstone project this past February in Austin, TX. Throughout the year, we worked in areas of Strategy, Marketing, and Finance to gain new insights and skills needed to grow our nursery into the future. The collaboration with fellow EAGLs has already proved to be an invaluable experience, and we are looking forward to being a part of this powerful network going forward. Many thanks to Dr. Charlie Hall, Kellee O’Reilly, Kip Creel, and Corey Bordine for sharing their leadership and expertise. During this past year it was difficult to navigate a commitment like this given the curveball we were all thrown with Covid. But in the end, the timing couldn’t have been better for us to invest into the future of our growing nursery. We are excited to watch the new roots we planted this year grow and flourish.

Here is a bit more about the EAGL program in their own words:

“EAGL is an executive ‘mini-MBA’ curriculum tailored to the nursery and greenhouse industry, developed in collaboration with Dr. Charlie Hall at Texas A&M University. This University-recognized certificate program has been designed particularly with the challenges of contemporary wholesale growing businesses in mind. For nine months, you focus and collaborate with like-minded contemporaries to put world-class research and educational resources to work improving your company’s competitive position and profitability. EAGL is a practical curriculum, with highly interactive and personalized adult learning principles in mind. Each class has a maximum size of 10 Executives, and meets four times in a year (in person), supplemented with significant webinar and assigned preparation coursework. Throughout the year, the group becomes a peer support network – we do not accept two competitors into the same year’s program to enable candor and sharing. EAGLs also have 1:1 progress reviews with the facilitators as each participant builds and revises their strategic plans, marketing plans, and financial frameworks. The curriculum of each module is highly customized to the needs of individual participants: facilitators poll the group on the topics most of interest to them and tailor each module accordingly. Students completing the program receive a Certificate in Applied Horticultural Business Management from Texas A&M University.”

One of the best parts of the EAGL program, is the relationships that take root within your EAGL cohort. Congrats to fellow EAGL Grads:

Alan Jones, Manor View Farms (MD)
Andy Aiken, Grower Direct Farms (CT / ME)
Bob Blew, Centerton Nursery (NJ)
Farai Madziva, Kitayama Bros Farms (CA)
Karin Walters, Walters Gardens (MI)
Ryan Hop, Walters Gardens (MI)

We were honored to be among such an intelligent and inspiring group of fellow growers. The diversity of our nurseries and collective experiences added tremendous value to the program.

Thanks too for the work of Jamie Thomas and Maggie Thomas Harper behind the scenes back at the nursery. Much collaboration throughout the year between our team helped the effort seamlessly come together at the Capstone event. It was quite a journey this past year through the program. But like Dr. Hall says, the journey as an EAGL is just beginning. We can’t wait to see where we grow from here!