SCHS 2013 ANNUAL AWARD BANQUET

Join us at 6pm for social hour and silent auction, dinner and presentation begins at 7pm.

Professor Dave Lannom of Mt. San Antonio College has been chosen for our 2013 Horticulturist of the Year. Professor Dave is an example of what a huge influence a truly great teacher can have on an entire industry.

Dave himself was a student in Ornamental Horticulture at Mt. SAC college. After completing coursework there, he transferred to Cal Poly Pomona and received a Bachelors Degree in Ornamental Horticulture. He worked as their first Greenhouse Manager/Technician while he completed a Masters Degree. He also began his teaching career at Cal Poly and rose to the level of Assistant Professor.

Dave took a short detour into nursery management at La Costa Nursery in Encinitas, and then Deigaard Nurseries in Santa Barbara, where his love of palm trees really took root. (To this day, his truck license plate is “Palm Man.”)But he soon realized that his passion lay in teaching. When a faculty position opened up at Mt. SAC in 1985, he headed back into academia. He taught a wide variety of classes and eventually became the Department Chairperson for Agriculture. In his own words, he has been “corrupting the youth of America” for over 30 years and the youth have responded. He received the Mt. SAC Outstanding Faculty Member Award in 1996 and the Faculty of Distinction Award in 2005. His teaching style of mixing facts with stories from his long and legendary career have created fiercely loyal students. Many of his students have gone on to run nurseries, supervise parks departments or earn PhDs.

He is also a well-known member of the California Association of Nurserymen and Garden Centers, and the International Plant Propagators Society. As if teaching college kids wasn't enough, he has taught through the Master Gardener Program and often gives horticulture talks to groups around Southern California. It seems like everyone in horticulture in Southern California has at least heard of Professor Dave!

PLEASE CALL STEVE GERISCHER WITH ANY QUESTIONS:  

(323) 257-3629