Page 6 - MNLGA Free State Spring 2024_WEB SPREADS

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR’S MESSAGE
VANESSA A. FINNEY
Executive Director
6 SPRING 2024 • Free State News
Every now and again it hits me that I’ve been working with MNLGA and MANTS
for what seems to be forever. But this “forever” period has flashed by like a blink
of an eye. I am reflecting now on my years with the green industry as Kelly and
my youngest child, Eva, is graduating from college in just a few weeks. And
wow, along with the pride that comes with seeing a child graduate, it also
makes me realize that the years have somehow flown by.
Eva was just three months old when my father, Carville Akehurst, passed
unexpectedly, the catalyst that led to my mother, Nancy, and I becoming
the management of MNLGA and MANTS. With Mom, the association got an
experienced “force,” as Mom had worked alongside Carville for many years.
(Those of you who knew Mom best will understand the “force.”) With me, the
association got someone very green in the knowledge of industry issues, but
willing to learn and figure it out.
The association, in turn, offered dozens of people who not only showed me the
ropes, but served as trusted and steadfast mentors to me. These folks, I now
consider colleagues and very close friends. I thank you all for your professional
support over the years and continued friendship.
Eva turns 23 in just a few days. So, for 23 years I’ve been working with you all!
I’m actually getting a little teary as I write this. Are those tears of pride for Eva’s
journey and success, the intermittent grief that pops up from time to time when
thinking of my parents, or from the realization that I’ve worked in a profession
now for 23 years that I’ve absolutely enjoyed and been fulfilled by? Quite
frankly, it’s hard for me to tell, so I am going to attribute the tears to all three.
I am looking forward to my continuing journey with all of you. Hopefully, I’m
closing in on retirement, however, it is still a number of years away. We’ve much
more good work to accomplish as an industry!
I would be remiss in this column to not remind you all to review the 2024 Wholesale growers
General Assembly legislative recap. There are bills that will impact you and your
businesses, potentially and particularly the one that has created a prohibited of exceptional,
plants list. The MNLGA has a group of members working now with MDA in an
effort to protect growers’ continued ability to grow certain plants for out-of-
state markets. You may find the legislative recap, at https://mnlga.org/page/ field-grown, fully
MaGIC. You will receive updates on the regulations developed for this bill in
Root of the Matter. (If you are not receiving Root, please let me know and we finished trees
can get you added to the distribution list.) A
Vanessa Finney and shrubs
Executive Director, MNLGA
“I blinked my eyes and in an instant, decades had passed.”
John Mark Green, Taste the Wild Wonder: Poems
Adamstown, MD • 301-874-8300 • waverlyfarm.com