2023 OGIA Annual Award Winners Announced!

Distinguished Contribution Award

Andy Doesburg

Bern's Greenhouse & Garden Center

Like many in the green industry, Andy grew up around the family business, Thornton Landscape in Maineville. Actually, it was Andy who pushed the idea of a family business. His father, Rick Doesburg, had been working for Thornton Landscape for 30 years. One night during dinner, Andy asked about working in the business, it prompted Rick to buy the design/build portion of the business that Bill and Gary Thornton were selling. Fast forward 10+ years later and under the Doesberg leadership, Thornton Landscape was a $3+ million plus design/build company with over 35 employees.

When Andy graduated in 1999 from Coastal Carolina University with a degree in Recreation and Leisure Management, production, sales, and landscaping wasn’t top on his mind. But the opportunity to work with his father in their own business was far more attractive than managing a tennis facility. Andy jumped in with production and then moved to sales. Andy wore many hats, eventually becoming President over the course of those 20 years.

In 2017, he sold the business, staying on with the new owner as the division manager for Landscape Construction. Andy left the industry for a couple of years, but not going too far. In 2022, he joined the staff at Berns Garden Center and Greenhouse as the Landscape Division Manager.

Andy, an astute leader, or a glutton for punishment, has served as president of OGIA not once but twice. He has also served on various committees and was a recipient of the OGIA Legislative Advocate of the Year award. Outside of OGIA, Andy served as President of the Associates Council of the Greater Cincinnati Home Builders Association where he also built a future with his wife. The two met through the HBA.

OGIA Service Award

Devon Stanley

Benchmark Landscape Construction, Inc.

Growing up in Wooster, Devon spent much of his time playing and working on the grounds of Ohio State ATI where both of his parents were employed for 30+ years. His passion for the green industry was formulated during the high school working summers on the grounds crew at ATI and at a small retail garden center. In 1988, Devon received his degree from OSU in Landscape Horticulture with an Ag Business Minor. He began working with Benchmark Landscape during college as its first official employee, starting on the company’s first day of incorporation and he has been employed there for 27 years. He has worn many different hats ranging from construction and maintenance crew leader, Installation production manager, HR Coordinator, Account Manager and current roles of Maintenance Division Manager and Business Developer. Devon was tasked early on with getting Benchmark’s Landscape Maintenance Division started and he has successfully helped build its’ growing portfolio of high-end residential estate management and commercial clientele to north of $5 million in revenue.

Devon is a former OGIA board member and past president. He is currently on the National FFA’s Nursery and Landscape CDE Committee. He has worked closely with five different Career and Technical Education Institutions serving on advisory committees, recruiting, chaperoning students to state and national horticulture competitions as well as training and preparing those students for competition. He is also a founding committee member of OGIA’s High School Landscape Olympics event.

Devon resides outside Plain City, Ohio with his wife Tracie of 25 years and has four beautiful daughters ranging from 20 to 9 years old. He enjoys coaching fastpitch softball, camping, everything OSU, raising 4-H market hogs and just being with family and friends.

Educator & Public Service Award

Bill Dawson

Bill Dawson has devoted his lifetime to teaching others about his love of gardening and nature while inspiring people of all ages and backgrounds through his passion and enthusiasm for his work.

Bill worked for Oakland Nursery in the mid-80’s and in 1992, he went on to state the outdoor horticulture displays for AmeriFlora, the international gardening exposition hosted on 88 acres at Franklin Park that helped revitalize the conservatory and its surroundings.

Bill has worked at Franklin Park Conservatory and Botanical Gardens for over 30 years and has been leading the Conservatory’s Growing to Green Community Garden Program. Since the creation of Growing to Green in 2000, Bill has helped to grow the number of community gardens in Columbus, Ohio from a dozen to more than 300. Today, thanks to Bill’s help, the City of Columbus has more thriving community gardens per capita than any other major metropolitan city.

As a matter of fact, Bill loves the Franklin Park Conservatory so much that about 39 years ago he married his wife Jodi there. Green is in their blood as Bill and Jodi met while working for Oakland Nursery in 1984. Jodi is still working at Oakland. The couple carries their love of horticulture to their own property in Galloway transforming a one room brick schoolhouse into their home.

While Bill recently retired as the Growing to Green Program Manager, he continues to teach about nature and horticulture through consulting, advising, producing gardening videos and creating Earth Art and nature photography through many social media channels.

Young Professionals of the Year

Liz & Jared Hughes

Groovy Plants Ranch

In 2007, a 19-year-old Jared started in the horticulture industry working at Foertmeyer and Sons Greenhouses as a full-time college student. Succulents back then weren’t nearly as groovy as they are now, but Jared saw them as the perfect starting point with their low care and easy propagation. He started propagating succulents at his parent’s farm in Cardington and would sell his plants at farmers markets when he could. His business just grew from there. Over time, his collection of different and unusual plants from around the world multiplied. One crop paid for a greenhouse, that greenhouse paid for another, and so it went until 2015.

Enter Liz. Liz and Jared married in 2015 and joined in the business. The couple worked to expand, focusing on wholesale customers and the online store, but dreamed of creating a special place full of plants and quirkiness. They purchased property in Fargo and went all in on the new phase of their business, the Groovy Plants Ranch.

They moved their home and business from Cardington to Marengo. For the first year, Jared was mostly growing and running the store while Liz continued teaching. In 2016, Liz decided to join the business full time so that they could focus on growing Groovy Plants Ranch.

Liz and Jared live and work at Groovy Plants Ranch along with their two little girls and two Australian shepherds. Over the years the Ranch and their team has grown and collectively the Groovy Plants Ranch team has over 100 years of horticulture experience even creating their own plants. Liz and Jared, along with their team, have also created a destination environment that is fun, informative, and well… groovy.