PEOPLE
J
ohn Conroy has been in this business for a very long time, and has seen that education is critical in taking the industry to a higher level. This conviction is a function of the teacher within. Prior to entering the green industry, he received a master’s degree in education and taught eighth graders for three years. Formal education and the desire to be an agent of change aside, a career indoors was not meant to be.
JOHN CONROY
ST R O N G AS A N OA K TREE FARMER JOHN CONROY BRINGS KNOWLEDGE, PASSION AND EXCELLENCE TO THE INDUSTRY
Before starting Fish Branch Tree Farm, Inc. with his wife Linda, Conroy owned two garden centers with landscaping, sod and irrigation divisions as well as a John Deere dealership. “After 14 years of dealing with the public, I decided that those of you who have the strength and patience for that sort of thing deserve any and all rewards derived, and my blessings,” jests Conroy. The Conroys founded their tree farm in 1988 on a property in Southwest Florida that has been in his family since the 1800s. “We started with a modest 25 acres and expanded to today’s 325 acres whenever we had the resources to do so,” says Conroy. Currently, Fish Branch’s team of highly trained professionals grows a wide range of palms and trees for commercial, government and high-end residential clients throughout the Southeast and overseas. Over the years, Conroy says he’s witnessed many changes in Florida’s green industry. “Back in the dark ages of the 1970s, if you bought a large field-grown live oak that lived,
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it was a win,” he recalls. “Now, thanks to Florida’s Grades and Standards and a higher level of professionalism among growers, expectations are far greater.”
WE STARTED WITH A MODEST 25 ACRES AND EXPANDED TO TODAY’S 325 ACRES WHENEVER WE HAD THE RESOURCES TO DO SO Conroy says there are many reasons for this, one being the essential cohesive work of associations. Fish Branch Tree Farm, Inc. belongs to Florida Nursery, Growers and Landscape Association (FNGLA), the Alabama Nursery and Landscape Association (ALNLA), the Gulf States Horticulture Expo (GSHE), and the Texas Nursery and Landscape Association (TNLA), among others.
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