A Struggle for Restoration - Hurricane Michael Recovery

A STRUGGLE FOR RestorationHURRICANE MICHAEL RECOVERYBy G.B. Crawford, Director of Public Relations

FLORIDIANS WHO SUFFERED LOSSES due to Hurricane Michael last year have trouble summarizing their experiences. The destruction in affected areas was so overwhelming, its impact cannot be easily conveyed.

In April, after a data analysis, scientists at the National Hurricane Center announced that Michael was a Category 5 storm with catastrophic winds of 160 mph.

The hurricane affected farm commodities in 25 Florida counties. For many agricultural producers in the Panhandle region, the ordeal of recovery continues to be a daily grind.

Gary Hennen has reason to question whether the operation he has helped to lead for nearly 40 years can even survive. Hennen, president of Oglesby Plants International, Inc. in Calhoun County, said the plant propagation business lost 80% of its inventory along with buildings and equipment.

“The storm picked up an air conditioning unit and threw it into a wall, knocking it down,” he recalled. “All of the plastic in the greenhouses was completely blown away. Everything from about waist height was pretty much gone.”

One greenhouse was a total loss. The hurricane blew apart or ruined fans, irrigation systems, lighting, heaters and other equipment as well as shade covers and roofing. The walls of buildings were riddled with holes. Virtually no part of the properties escaped damage.

Some damage posed emergencies for both the company and its neighbors. For example, the winds ruptured a gas line in one of the greenhouses. Mary McKenzie, an owner and daughter of the company’s founder, Ray Oglesby, recalled, “You could see the vapors. One of the heaters had been pulled off the building and the line was shooting gas into the air. We could not shut it off.”

A specialist from Pensacola drove for seven hours through rubble and debris so he could get to the facility and stop the

leak. Other service vendors helped put together temporary irrigation lines and delivered generators.

But such services are expensive. The business is relying upon savings while Hennen and his team attempt to pay for restoration and reconstruction work. And Oglesby is still at 50% of its production capacity after more than six months.

“This storm has been more of a challenge than anything that I have been involved in since I started with the company in 1982,” Hennen said. Although employees have resumed production, the cost of recovery has been overwhelming.

Hennen, also an owner, emphasized that the staff has documented the enormous losses inflicted by the hurricane. “But the insurance companies have done nothing but give us problems. Over six months have passed and they have sent us limited funds and are delaying additional payments for ridiculous reasons.”

Based upon experience so far, “The lack of funding from the insurance companies is

slowing down our progress and limiting our ability to bring our employees back to full employment.”

Oglesby, the largest private employer in the area, maintains a work force of 85 people throughout the year. During peak periods of activity from May to October, that number can increase to more than 100. Some employees have been with the firm for 40 years.

The company specializes in using various tissue culture techniques to propagate plants for sale to wholesale nurseries throughout the world. Most of them are patented varieties either developed by Oglesby or licensed by other plant breeders.

Founder Ray Oglesby was a pioneer in the development of tissue culture propagation, leaving a legacy of innovation and enterprise success that the current owners, including his son, David, strive to maintain.

With a process that begins in the laboratory and is completed in two-and-a-half acres of greenhouse space, the business can produce tens of millions of young plants each year.

The economic impact of Oglesby extends far beyond its properties. Kristy Terry, executive director of the Calhoun County Chamber of Commerce, said the company is “one of the cornerstones for employment for our county.

“It is hard to put a dollar figure on what the impact would be if it closed because there are so many levels of impact they have on our community,” Terry explained. “Just within the employment they offer and the property taxes that they pay, the partnerships they offer to organizations here and the donations that they make – there are just so many levels of their involvement in our community.”

Oglesby also enjoys a prestigious national and international reputation within the ranks of ornamental horticulture.

“They are one of the few primary sources of starter plants,” said Ben Bolusky, CEO of Florida Nursery, Growers and Landscape Association. “They are a pillar of the Florida nursery and greenhouse industry – especially tropical foliage and house plants – and they have been a phenomenal operation for decades.”

Hennen, his fellow owners and their employees are committed to sustaining their enterprise, despite the financial crisis they face. Their burden would be substantially eased with a bit of help from their insurance carriers.

“We are bound and determined to bring this company back,” he promised. “One way or another, we are going to make it work.”

1. Co-owners Mary McKenzie and Gary Hennen pause in a company greenhouse. 2. The Oglesby firm has sold products to wholesale customers worldwide for many years. 3. This greenhouse is an example of the property destruction inflicted by Hurricane Michael. 4. Wholesale customers from across the world buy products from Oglesby Plants International, Inc.