Jeff Stone

From little ones to leadership

By Jeff Stone — Posted October 12, 2023

Families are the cornerstone of OAN and the children of members who grow up in the organization become future leaders

We exist to serve members

By Jeff Stone — Posted September 5, 2023

It is easy to get disconnected from your trade association during the sprint of shipping, not to mention dealing with weather and labor challenges. However, we all know the great unseen threats that loom over the industry, starting with state and federal regulations. Your volunteer leaders on the OAN Board of Directors and Government Relations Committee serve as your voice and your defense.

50 years of growing Oregon’s brand

By Jeff Stone — Posted July 26, 2023

As I write this column, I am at Cultivate’23 in Columbus, Ohio, where Oregon is well represented. More than 60 OAN member companies are exhibiting, dozens of them are walking the show floor, and Oregon’s own Nancy Buley (J. Frank Schmidt & Son Co.) and Ryan Contreras (Oregon State University) are cornerstones of the educational […]

The shining city on the hill

By Jeff Stone — Posted June 21, 2023

Only the stoutest of political nerds would recall that President Ronald Reagan’s farewell address to the nation invoked a 1630 sermon by Puritan pilgrim John Winthrop. White House speechwriter Ken Khachigian tapped into Reagan’s long-held North Star of America, defining his vision of “the shining city upon a hill.” Looking back from where we were […]

My chat with ChatGPT

By Jeff Stone — Posted May 31, 2023

I had a conversation a few months ago with Steve Shropshire, the association’s legal counsel from Jordan Ramis PC, about the emergence of ChatGPT and the open-source abilities. I found it fascinating. Type pretty much anything into ChatGPT and it’ll spit out a confident, convincing response. What some have found is that its answers can […]

Sustainable industries need sustainable solutions

By Jeff Stone — Posted April 20, 2023

Every year, when I try to come up with a column topic for the month of May, my tendency is to focus on labor. This year’s May issue of Digger is focused on sustainability, and that only leads me to an angering paradox. Many things about the nursery industry are sustainable — but our labor […]

Blessed to be part of this industry

By Jeff Stone — Posted March 24, 2023

It took my legendary predecessor, Clayton Hannon, to notify me that I now stand as the longest serving executive director in the history of the Oregon Association of Nurseries. I thought this couldn’t possibly be correct, but as it turns out, as normal, Clayton had his facts straight. Over the last 12 years, I have […]

The lifeblood of our industry

By Jeff Stone — Posted February 24, 2023

The Water Issue is one of the most pertinent Digger efforts to serve our membership. We hope that how we lay out the issues makes sense and provides some context of the dynamics we are facing at the state and federal levels. Our industry stretches the water resource farther than most of those involved in […]

Everyday things matter

By Jeff Stone — Posted January 30, 2023

As Benjamin Franklin left the Constitutional Convention, he was reportedly asked what kind of government the founders would propose. He replied, “A republic, if you can keep it.” This phrase has resonated through American history. It has been tested through a civil war, world wars, and even the toxic sludge of political discourse we are […]

Time to go big and green

By Jeff Stone — Posted December 27, 2022

Look around us. There are so many exciting innovations and breakthroughs happening all over the world. Many of these are happening in agriculture, which is no surprise. We are the stewards of working lands. We know from deep experience how to take what we have, and make something even better from it. It’s in our […]