The Summit County Farm Bureau Distinguished Service Award is the highest honor we can bestow on an individual. Choosing worthy recipients from the many so qualified is difficult.
Recipients are chosen by the three previous winners. The award is given to a bona fide farmer who has made an outstanding contribution to their local community and the industry of agriculture.
This year’s honoree has been a Farm Bureau member for 17 years and has served 4 years on the Summit County Farm Bureau Board of Trustees.
His introduction to agri-business began at a very young age, when his father started planting Norway Spruce Christmas trees. These trees were harvested and sold at the site which is now The Winery at Wolf Creek. In the late 1950’s, his Dad and uncle expanded the cut Christmas tree business to include a nursery and landscape business.
This small family business expanded in May of 1973, when our honoree and his dad started selling Azaleas along with their other nursery stock and included produce. The sweet corn he sold then (and now) was and is grown at nearby Seiberling Farms.
A 1976 graduate of The Ohio State Agricultural Technical Institute with an Associate Degree in Nursery Management, he furthered his studies to include greenhouse management and landscaping.
Our honoree purchased 75 acres just north of I-76/Rt 224 in 1990, to grow his nursery business, which offers trees, shrubs, roses, perennials, annuals, seasonal plants as well as hard goods such as soils and mulches. The nursery also specializes in Rhododendrons and Azaleas which are some of his long time favorites. Much of the plant material is propagated and sold right there on site. The nursery also offers landscaping and landscape design services.
The nursery is well known for its two large blueberry patches, which provide fresh fruit for Dayton Nursery’s very popular annual Blueberry Festival that celebrated its 5th year this past July.
When many us didn’t even know what a blog was, he began writing a weekly blog of nursery news and homeowner tips in 2008, and continues today.
We are sure many of you have heard him on Saturday mornings from 8-10 on WAKR 1590 AM radio, where he hosts the Ready-Set-Grow program.
The construction of the Owl Barn Market with the “living” Green Roof in 2010, has allowed the nursery to offer a wide variety of local produce and novelty items.
He has been very proactive in promoting environmental responsibility. He has accepted invitations to make presentations to representatives of many, many Summit County communities with responsibilities to meet Ohio EPA requirements for clean storm water. He has done presentations for the Summit Water Conservation District and the Summit County Farm Bureau on benefits of native plants for storm water, soil health and pollinators.
He always makes himself available to lend assistance. He is currently working with our County Engineers to come up with a list of plants to use for open ditches, to improve water absorption and filtration. He has given presentations on rain gardens as well as tours of his facilities to demonstrate water conservation that has been used in the business.
Most of us probably don’t know that this person loves history and seems to be a walking encyclopedia on facts about George Washington and Thomas Jefferson. His knowledge of weather events that have occurred over his past 59 years is uncanny. His friends call him the walking phone book, just tell him your phone number or address once and he will remember it for a lifetime!
As an active member of Summit’s Plow to Chow committee, he is always available to ensure its success. In fact, this past July, he hosted the second Plow 2 Chow at Dayton Nurseries.
He is also a volunteer lay reader at the First Lutheran Church on 2nd Street NW in Barberton.
Ladies and Gentlemen, what a privilege it is to have such an outstanding citizen as a part of our Farm Bureau organization.
Please help me show our appreciation to our 2015 Distinguished Service Award recipient, TOM DAYTON.