The Oregon Association of Nurseries announced its annual Friends of Nurseries Awards at the recent 2023 OAN Convention, which was held at Brasada Ranch Resort in Central Oregon. The awards are given to elected and other officials and partners who demonstrate understanding of Oregon’s nursery and greenhouse industry and/or support for its advancement.
The recipients for 2023 are State Rep. Shelly Boshart Davis (R-Albany), State Rep. Mark Owens (R-Crane), State Rep. Ken Helm (D-Beaverton), State Sen. Bill Hansell (R-Pendleton), U.S. Rep. Lori Chavez-DeRemer (R-Oregon) and U.S. Rep. Cliff Bentz (R-Oregon).
Four of the recipients were designated for specific types of Friends of Nurseries awards.
Boshart Davis was named the OAN’s 2023 Ag Warrior, becoming the first two-time winner of that award. She was also the OAN’s 2019 New Legislator of the Year and 2022 Legislator of the Year. “She has been a consistent advocate for the OAN and nurseries,” 2023–24 OAN President Amanda Staehely said. “She’s a repeat Friends of Nurseries recipient, and for good reason.”
Chavez-DeRemer, a first-term member of Congress, was named the OAN’s Legislator of the Year. It was her first time winning a Friends of Nurseries award. “She’s been a staunch ally,” said OAN Government Relations Committee Chair Mark Bigej said. “She opened the door for the OAN to be a key player in the Farm Bill hearings in Oregon, and she’s been a go-to resource for our federal priorities.”
Helm and Owens shared a Bipartisan Leaders Award for their longstanding work on water issues. Helm was a previous Friends of Nurseries award winner in 2017 and 2021. Owens won in 2021. “Water affects everyone in the state and is only getting scarcer,” OAN Past President Todd Nelson said. “It takes careful, collaborative work to resolve conflicts thoughtfully, and Owens and Helm have shown a commitment to listening and fairness.”
Bentz received a Friends of Nurseries Award for his advocacy for immigration solutions in the U.S. House Judiciary Committee. He previously won one in 2013 when he was a state representative. “Immigration is a challenge that has defied solutions, but Rep. Bentz continues to do the work and speak eloquently for balanced legislation that provides border security and assures a needed labor supply.”
Hansell, who is retiring from the Oregon Senate, also received a Friends of Nurseries Award. It’s his second; he also won one in 2013. “He has been a stalwart for the association on numerous issues, including leading and passing estate tax reform for agriculture in 2022,” Bigej said.
The OAN’s Friends of Nurseries Awards began in 2009 with the first recipient, Darlene Hooley, who was then a U.S. representative. Regular classes of inductees began in 2012.
