When a valuable, long-term team member calls it a career, it always brings mixed emotions. This month, we congratulate Gwen Young, perennial production supervisor, on her retirement, and we thank her, sincerely, for more than two decades of dedicated service to Emerald Coast Growers.

Gwen Young first came on board in 1999, when ECG purchased the greenhouses in Pace, FL where she had been working. She quickly parlayed her horticultural experience to meet new challenges in perennial production and cutting management. Gwen oversaw the care and proper planting of both in-house cuttings and incoming URCs.

When Pace closed and production was consolidated into a new, larger range at Milton in 2019, she helped smooth the transition. A change in location isn’t simply a matter of moving material. The modern facility created an opportunity for more efficient, streamlined product flow, which Gwen helped establish. She received a 20-year loyalty appreciation award that year.

 “We will miss Gwen’s presence around the greenhouses.” said President Paul Babikow. “We all wish her nothing but happiness in her retirement years.”