Oregon’s nursery industry honored several outstanding contributors at the annual President’s Awards Dinner, held Friday, October 31. The banquet concluded the 2025 OAN Convention, which was held at Wailea Beach Resort on the island of Maui, Hawaii.
The award winners were as follows:
Emerging Leader of the Year Award winner Tyler Meskers (Oregon Flowers Inc., Aurora) is a member of the OAN Board of Directors, serving currently as secretary and previously as member-at-large of the Executive Committee. Prior to that, he served on the board as a greenhouse grower representative. His parents immigrated from the Netherlands to start Oregon Flowers Inc., a grower of cut flowers. After graduating from Oregon State University, Tyler went to work for the family business and became involved in the association.
Mikaela Eaton of Eschenfelder Farms is a prior recipient of the Emerging Leader of the Year Award and presented it to Meskers. “Tyler has lent his considerable talents to advocacy on behalf of the entire industry,” she said. “[He] moves the needle, both at the business and political end.”
Political Awareness Award winner Amanda Staehely (Columbia Nursery, Canby) is a past president of the OAN Board of Directors (2024) and served in various other board and chapter roles over the past decade, including as a container grower board representative, and as president of Clackamas Chapter. She previously was named the OAN’s New Nursery Professional of the Year in 2019. She recently was selected for AmericanHort’s Horticultural Research Institute Leadership Academy.
Staehely was unable to attend the convention because she was on a trade mission with Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek in Japan and South Korea. OAN past president Kyle Fessler of Woodburn Nursery & Azaleas is a prior recipient of the Political Awareness Award. He accepted the award on Staehely’s behalf, calling her “a singularly effective voice in the capitol of Oregon and in Washington, D.C.”
“Amanda continues to build her skills to serve her nursery and the industry,” Fessler said.
Distinguished Education Award winner Lloyd Nackley, Ph.D. (Oregon State University Extension), is a professor in the Department of Horticulture at OSU, where he teaches on campus in Corvallis and mentors interns at the North Willamette Research and Education Center (NWREC) in Aurora. He is a regular educational presenter at the Farwest Show; coordinates the Growing Knowledge series in Digger magazine; hosts regular field days at NWREC; shares research at national and international meetings; and helped coordinate the Nursery Climate Summit at the 2025 Farwest Show.
Nackley was unable to attend the convention. OAN past president Rod Park of Park’s Nursery accepted the award on his behalf. “To obtain this award, you must stand out and distinguish yourself outside of your own self-interest,” Park said. “Lloyd Nackley has done so.”
Outstanding Service Award winner Robert Van Klaveren, Van’s Nusery Inc. (Salem) is the second-generation owner of Van’s Nursery in Salem, along with his wife, Anneke. He has been a key leader of the Willamette Chapter since 2007, and served on the OAN Board of Directors from 2011–2017. OAN past president Todd Nelson of Bountiful Farms & Nursery is a past winner of the award and presented it to the Van Klaverens.
“Robert and his wife Anneke have continued to build and nurture the family nursery to what it is today: a grower of high-quality products,” Nelson said. “[Robert is] a quiet leader who exemplifies the bedrock of what makes a chapter and an association succeed.”
Chapter or Committee of the Year Award winners the Farwest Show Committee, chaired by Mikaela Eaton (Eschenfelder Farms), were credited with reinvigorating the Farwest Show. OAN vice president Chris Robinson (Robinson Nursery Inc.) presented the award. “There were a lot of behind-the-scenes efforts with changes in staff,” he said. “[The show] looked fantastic. The seminars and keynote speaker were top notch, the New Products Showcase and New Varieties Showcase were highlights, the tours got high marks and of course the Pub Crawl was phenomenal. It takes leadership to make a committee go.”
President’s Five Stars: In addition to the above awards, outgoing OAN President Ben Verhoeven (Peoria Gardens, Albany, Oregon) presented the traditional President’s Five Star Performance Awards for key contributions to his year as president. They included Elizabeth Peña, Eric Morales Mayoral, Mark Blye, Sarah Noble, and Shay Boga. Each is an employee of Peoria Gardens who made key contributions to the business during Ben’s year as OAN president.
Boga was credited for his contributions to the Lean effort at Peoria Gardens, which included leading Kaizen events and serving as a value stream leader in charge of perennial production.
Mayoral was recognized for pitching in to help others, encouraging teamwork and going above the call of duty.
Noble, the office manager at Peoria Gardens, was credited with applying Lean and continuous improvement principles to the nursery’s accounts payable and receivable procedures.
Peña was recognized for pushing to champion and institute a Lean culture at Peoria Gardens, showing its relevance to a farm with 25 employees.
Blye was credited with filling a number of roles at the nursery, including his leadership on various Lean initiatives.
The association also recognized and thanked Verhoeven for his year of service. In a surprise moment, it also recognized OAN Executive Director Jeff Stone for 20 years of service to the association. Stone started with the association as director of government relations before becoming executive director.
