The Oregon Association of Nurseries has five new honorary life members. All were announced at the 2023 OAN Convention, held at Brasada Ranch, Powell Butte, Oregon. This honor is given in recognition of a lifetime of invaluable service to the nursery and greenhouse industry.
The newest OAN Honorary Life members are Paul Fukasawa, Al’s Garden & Home; Treda McCaw, Kraemer’s Nursery and Vertical Accents Nursery; Lee Powell, Garland Nursery; and Dave and Leanne Van Essen, Van Essen Nursery Co. They join 27 other living OAN Honorary Life members and 47 in all that have been awarded, according to OAN records.
Paul Fukasawa
Mark Bigej made the presentation on behalf of his father Jack Bigej. Fukasawa worked for nursery supplier Fred C. Gloeckner & Co., as well as for Al’s Garden & Home and other companies.
Mark said that what stood out him was Fukasawa’s three main passions — plants, people and the nursery industry.
Fukasawa served as OAN president in 1990 and as Greenhouse Chapter president. In 1985 he was honored as the OAN’s Young Nursery Person of the Year and in 1994 he received the Pacific Coast Nurseryman Outstanding Service Award. He was also credited with the push to promote Oregon as “The Nursery State.”
“Everyone just loves Paul,” Bigej said. “He loves interacting with people and learning from them …. He’s always in it for everyone else’s betterment.
Treda McCaw
Crystal Cady presented McCaw with the award. Treda recently retired from the sales team at Kraemer’s Nursery Inc. in Mt. Angel, Oregon, and also owns Vertical Accents Nursery in Silverton, Oregon, with her husband, Darrell Massung. McCaw has taken on a variety of roles with the Mt. Hood Chapter Board, the OAN Education Committee, the Yard Garden & Patio Show Committee, the Awards Committee, the Convention Committee, the Farwest Show Committee and the Oregon Certified Nursery Professional program.
“Treda is an excellent listener, and views the big picture in a unique way,” Cady said. “She’s a leader ahead of her time, and the industry turns to her for ideas. She’s also a magnet to the next generation. They want to near her all the time. She is always in support of everything, thinking of and looking out for others, sending them ideas. She’s a mentor to many and a friend to all.”
Lee Powell
Darcy Ruef presented the award. Powell is a fourth-generation owner at Garland Nursery, a retail nursery with landscape services in Corvallis, Oregon. Powell played collegiate football and then worked for Bechtel Engineering on the BART (Bay Area Rapid Transit) project in the Bay Area, and on rapid transit projects in Greece.
Powell returned home to Corvallis in 1992 to work on the family nursery business. He has remained active in the OAN, serving as president of the Retail Chapter, and president of the OAN in 2005. He was awarded with the Young Nursery Person of the Year award in 1998 and Retailer of the Year in 2000.
Dave and Leanne Van Essen
Mark Krautmann presented the award to the two retired owners of wholesale nursery Van Essen Nursery Co. in Lebanon, Oregon. Dave Van Essen started in the nursery industry in 1974 at a landscaping firm in Corvallis. In 1976, he purchased 10 acres on the South Fork Santiam River in Lebanon, founded Van Essen Nursery Co., and started growing plants from liners he purchased. In 1978, he and Leanne were married. The nursery soon signed up for an OAN membership.
“They have 45 years in the business,” Krautmann said. “The OAN was instrumental in getting this shy farm boy involved in the industry and opening doors of opportunity.”
Dave Van Essen served as OAN president in 2007 and received the OAN Outstanding Service Award in 2018. The couple retired in 2020 and sold their business, part of which continues under new owners as Breeden Family Farms.
“Every day now they are happy not to be at the helm of a large company in a difficult business environment, but they miss the people,” Krautmann said. “They may be quiet, but they are thoughtful and amazing people.”
