From left to right: Charlie Hall, Ph.D., Ellison Chair, Texas A&M; AFE Board member and owner of Ellison’s Greenhouses PJ Ellison; Jim and Ellen Ellison; Mark Hussey, Vice Chancellor and Dean for Agriculture and Life Sciences, Texas A&M; and AFE Chairman Tom Butler of Teleflora.

After a yearlong drought, the AFE Board of Trustees brought some much-needed rain to Texas during its recent visit to College Station. Even with tornado warnings and delayed flights, weather didn’t dampen the spirits of the Trustees.
The AFE Board convened at Texas A&M University from Jan. 25-27, 2012, at a meeting hosted by Charlie Hall, Ph.D., Ellison Chair in International Floriculture. Activities included tours of the campus buildings, faculty presentations and a reception at the Agrilife Center.
AFE Board member and owner of Ellison’s Greenhouses, PJ Ellison, AAF hosted a reception and dinner at Ellison’s Brenham location to kick off the meeting.
The following day, AFE Board members visited the Vegetable and Fruit Improvement Center, the Institute for Plant Genomics and Biotechnology and the Benz School of Floral Design.
Bhimanagouda S. Patil, Ph.D., director of the Vegetable and Fruit Improvement Center, led a tour of the laboratory facilities where scientists are conducting research on increasing phytochemicals in fruits and vegetables. Martin Dickman, Ph.D., director of the Institute for Plant Genomics, gave a presentation on fungal plant interactions and Bill McKinley, director of the Benz School of Floral Design, gave a tour of the floral design classrooms where his students’ work is displayed.
The AFE Board of Trustees and staff would like to thank Texas A&M University and Ellison’s Greenhouses for hosting the events and for making the meeting such a success. The AFE Board will meet again in July at Ball Horticultural Co., in Chicago.
Click here to see photos from the January 2012 AFE Board Meeting on Flickr.
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