Please join us in giving our congratulations to the latest Florida Citrus Hall of Fame Inductees.
Citrus has a long history in the state of Florida, and the Florida Citrus Hall of Fame has been honoring distinguished leaders in the citrus industry for over 50 years. The latest group of inductees has been announced, according to a Citrus Industry article, and we’d like to share our congratulations and spotlight the inductees; see more below.
Recent Florida Citrus Hall of Fame Inductees
The following three citrus industry leaders were chosen to be inducted into the Citrus Hall of Fame at the next Citrus Celebration Luncheon. According to the article, they are:
Frank E. Gardner. Gardner was “sent from Washington, D.C., in 1940 to head up the U.S. Department of Agriculture Subtropical Fruit Station in Orlando. As such, he expanded the citrus research activities there and spent 29 years conducting research work in the areas of breeding, rootstocks, nutrition and diseases. He was instrumental in the establishment of the Citrus Research Foundation Farm, which houses a wide variety of propagation material. Gardner was among the first to establish large-scale systematic rootstock trials…”
John M. Kennedy, Sr. Kennedy “worked with Golden Gem Growers, one of the largest citrus cooperatives in the United States. He was vice president, director of grove services for 44 years before his retirement in 1996. During his lifetime in citrus, he was a leader and active participant in numerous citrus organizations including the Production Managers Association, Florida Citrus Mutual, Florida Citrus Hall of Fame, Florida State Horticultural Society, Lake County Farm Bureau and numerous industry committees and task forces.”
Karick A. Price, Sr. Price “entered the citrus business in 1957 buying, selling and harvesting fruit as an owner and director of T & G Harvesting Company. In 1962, he took over as president of T & G Groves, a partnership which he increased to over 2,000 acres of groves in Lake and St. Lucie counties. He was Farmer of the Year in 1968 and was appointed to three terms as director of the Indian River Grapefruit Committee by the U.S. Secretary of Agriculture. He served on the Florida Citrus Commission from 1971 to 1981 and chaired the Public Relations and Institutional Committees, where he was a strong proponent of The Florida Sunshine Tree symbol and 100 percent Florida orange juice.”
Griffin Fertilizer is committed to helping both growers and ranchers make sound agronomic and economic decisions in order to maximize the health of their grove and pasture. As a full-service custom dry & liquid fertilizer blender and crop protection product distributor, we will continue our mission to further advance Florida agriculture. For questions or concerns about your farm or pasture, contact us and one of our team will be in touch.