Landscape Changing for the West Virginia Nursery and Landscape Association

Beth Loflin has been growing plants, and her résumé, for years, leading to a new job as director of the West Virginia Nursery and Landscape Association. The organization has been growing as well.

"I love plants, and the members of this group love plants," said Loflin, 47. "I find that plant people are, by nature, easy to work with and interested in the well-being of our communities."

Outgoing Association President Cary Levenson introduced Loflin to the membership during an association conference last week. She is the first woman to hold the position and replaces retiring 10-year Director Bradford Bearce of Morgantown, W.Va.

Started by 26 men in 1939 and called the Nurserymen's Association, the organization now has more than 120 members who grow or sell ornamental nursery stock including trees, evergreens, shrubbery and perennials as well as furnish materials and services to the nursery and landscape business.

The organization, like many other trade groups, is focusing on how to deal with the recent economic downturn.

"We are working to help our members survive and thrive in today's market," Loflin said. "In this job, I have a great opportunity to make people aware of the green industry."

A Wheeling, W.Va., native, Loflin graduated from West Virginia University in 1984 with a degree in landscape architecture. Her first major project was during Gov. Arch Moore's administration.

"I entered the contest to design the veterans memorial," she said. "While I didn't get that job, Govenor Moore saw my entry. I had never met him, but he called me and asked me to come work for the state. I helped with the project that closed Washington Street through the Capitol Complex, creating what we now know as the Capitol campus."

Loflin worked with several governors either as a state employee or on contract, and she said each of them took great interest in her job.

"I would take a regular walking tour of the grounds with Governor Moore, as well as Governor Caperton and Governor Underwood, as they were very involved in how the Capitol looked," Loflin said.

Following her stint in state government, Loflin worked for TerraCare. After the birth of her second child, she started her own business, Blooming Designs, and has been her own boss for 15 years. All led to her recent hiring as director of WVNLA.

The state nursery and landscape group sponsors the Mid-Atlantic Nursery Trade Show in Baltimore every year. Virginia and Maryland are the other two states that sponsor the wholesale trade show, now in its fourth decade. It is one of the largest private trade shows serving the horticulture industry.

Other tasks for Loflin will include marketing, communication with the members and working with new President Brett Merritt of G&G Nursery in Lesage on a community service project. The organization's last service effort was to re-create the outdoor space at Sojourner's Shelter in Charleston. All planning, labor and materials were donated through the organization and its members, including new doors and windows, playground equipment, brick patios, a picnic area and, of course, plants.

Loflin hopes to be more active with schools, educating students to the potential careers in the industry.

"I want to raise awareness of the two-year degree programs available in land management, and to get the word out about our scholarship program," she said.

She will travel throughout the state visiting members, and will attend trade shows across the country to promote West Virginia businesses as well as to learn new techniques, business practices and new plants, all which she will share through meetings, newsletters and an annual conference.