March 22, 2011

Hortica Insurance & Employee Benefits announced changes to its Board of Directors at the Feb. 21-22 Hortica Board meeting.

Hortica Board Chairman Jim Leider announced his retirement effective February 21, 2012. The Board elected Cornelis (Cees) Boonman as the new chairman and Randy Tagawa to the position of vice chairman. Leider, president of Leider Horticultural Companies in Buffalo, Grove, Ill., joined the Hortica Board in February of 1982 and will remain a Director until his retirement next year. Boonman is president of Ball Seed, a division of Ball Horticultural Company in West Chicago, Ill., and Tagawa is CEO of Tagawa Greenhouse Enterprises in Brighton, Colo.

Also announced at the Hortica Board meeting, Lindley Mann retired from Hortica’s Board after 36 years of service, and John Smith, Jr. retired after serving six years. Throughout the company’s history, no director has served longer than Lindley Mann. With the exception of a few years, a member of Mann’s family has been on Hortica’s Board since the inception of Florists’ Hail in 1887.

Hortica’s Board membership is now a full complement of ten directors. Steve Hutton was added to the Board at the December 2010 meeting. Bob Otsuka and Ken Young were elected to Hortica’s Board to fill the vacancies created by the retirements of Mann and Smith.

Steve Hutton is president of The Conard-Pyle Company of West Grove, Penn. Conard-Pyle is a wholesale container nursery, growing an extensive range of perennials, ground covers, grasses, woody ornamental plants and over 70 varieties of roses, including the “Star” and “Knock Out” brands. He is a third generation nurseryman, having joined the company full time in 1978. Hutton holds a Bachelor of Arts Degree, English Literature, from Earlham College.

Bob Otsuka is executive vice president and general manager of the California Flower Market in San Francisco, Calif. He has been with the California Flower Market since 1987. Otsuka holds a Bachelor of Science Degree, Business Administration, from California State University-Hayward.

Ken Young is CEO and co-owner of S&L Flower Company headquartered in Scottsdale, Ariz. The company operates a chain of nine retail flower shops and a wholesale division in the metro Phoenix area under the names of Phoenix Flower Shops and Downs Wholesale Florists. He has been in the floral industry for 31 years. Young holds a Bachelor of Science Degree, Accounting, from DePaul University.