Craig Regelbrugge Receives National Plant Board Partnership Award

Columbus, Ohio – The National Plant Board has awarded Craig Regelbrugge, the AmericanHort senior vice president for industry advocacy and research, with its Outstanding Partnership Award. The award was presented at the Plant Board’s annual meeting, held August 3-6, 2015, in Arizona.

In presenting the award, Plant Board president Geir Friisoe of the Minnesota Department of Agriculture noted that Regelbrugge has collaborated with the Plant Board for over 25 years. He has represented the horticulture industry in numerous initiatives to improve federal and state plant health programs and to harmonize plant pest quarantine efforts such as Japanese beetle. Regelbrugge led the effort to publish the first nationwide summary of each state’s plant quarantine and shipping requirements. The summaries are now available online at nationalplantboard.org.

In 1999, Regelbrugge was invited by the National Plant Board to co-chair an in-depth stakeholder review of the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s plant pest prevention and early detection programs. The Safeguarding American Plant Resources report, published in 2000, served as a blueprint for modernizing agency structure and program initiatives.

"Craig’s contributions to our industry are unparalleled and he is certainly deserving of this recognition. Our staff and volunteers are proud to call him a colleague, and we congratulate him on the award,” said Michael V. Geary, AmericanHort President & CEO.

The National Plant Board is a non-profit organization of the plant pest regulatory agencies of each of the states, and the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico and Guam. AmericanHort works to engage and influence the Plant Board in the interest of protecting plant health while maintaining a fair and open marketplace for those producing, selling, distributing, and using all types of nursery and greenhouse plants.

AmericanHort was formed in 2014 by the consolidation of the American Nursery & Landscape Association and OFA – The Association of Horticulture Professionals. With a combined history of 220+ years, AmericanHort supports nearly 16,000 member and affiliated businesses that include breeders, greenhouse and nursery growers, garden retailers, distributors, interior and exterior landscape professionals, florists, students, educators, researchers, manufacturers, and all of those who are part of the industry market chain. The horticulture industry's production, wholesale, retail, and landscape service components have annual sales of $163 billion, and sustain over 1,150,000 full- and part-time jobs. Our mission is to unite, promote, and advance the horticulture industry through advocacy, collaboration, connectivity, education, market development, and research. The association has offices in Columbus, Ohio for administration and member services, and in Washington, DC to facilitate government relations and research activities.

Source: AmericanHort