Hall Of Fame Inductees

 

The individuals nominated should have made a significant impact or positive influence that assures the future of our industry in the lives of generations to come.

 

Once nominated, an individual’s biography and photo are updated on the site, and he or she is placed in the polls for voting. At the end of the year the committee takes into consideration the votes and decides which candidates are inducted.

 

Those with a star (*) next to their name below were either inducted posthumously or have passed away since being inducted.

 

Nomination Qualifications

  • Person with integrity and passion
  • Minimum 20 years in industry
  • Someone who has developed  or invented  new technology
  • Has made contributions that resulted in change
  • Contributed to mankind’s needs in his field
  • Provided education and encouragement  with self-sacrifice
  • Changed the industry

David House

Retiring President & CEO of Village Nurseries

Career

Dave started his career with Village Nurseries at age 15 working summers and weekends to save money for his first car. He continued to work there both part and full-time while attending California University at Fullerton where he earned a degree in business administration with a concentration in finance. Although he never envisioned a career in the wholesale nursery business, he became the company’s first outside sales representative in 1987 and then as the company continued to grow was promoted to Vice President of Sales and Marketing in 1992. He continued in that capacity until March of 2003 when he succeeded Tom House (his father) as President and CEO, following his untimely passing at the young age of 59 in late February of that year.

 

He continued in the leadership role of Village Nurseries helping grow the business and then navigated it through the Great Recession of 2007-2009 under difficult and conflicted ownership/partners. Through it all the company continued to grow to 900 acres with the acquisition of Miramar Nursery’s landscape Center and 175 acre growing grounds in 2013. Dave’s commitment to the greater good of the Company’s 900+ employees led him to prompt ownership to sell the Company to Tree Town USA, one of the Country’s largest wholesale growers. Subsequently, serving as President of Tree Town’s West Coast Division, Dave was instrumental in the negotiation of Tree Town’s purchase of Hines Growers and the sale of Village’s landscape center business to SiteOne, North America’s largest landscape supply company. He is retiring from Village Nurseries and the industry in 2Q, 2019.

 

Notable Contributions to the Green Industry

As a member of the Pierce’s Disease Control Program (PDCP) and the Glassy Winged Sharpshooter (GWSS) Board and Pierce’s Disease Advisory Task Force, he continued to carry the torch on the nursery industry’s behalf on GWSS, leading to development of the Approved Treatment Protocol (ATP) program with the support of the California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA) and the CA County Agriculture Commissioners. The ATP program has been highly successful allowing participating Southern CA Nurseries to ship their products to non-infested counties ensuring 99.99% GWSS free shipments.

 

His commitment to the industry through active financial and personal support of the programs of the CDFA, Nursery Growers Association (NGA) and CA Association of Nurseries and Garden Center (CANGC) highlighted the need for a political and organizational voice in Sacramento and Washington.

 

Personal

Dave has been married 27 years to Kristen, and they have three boys; Ryan 23, Lucas 21 and James 18. He is an avid snow skier, golfer, fisherman, and real estate investor. In addition to serving on the PD’s Advisory Task force and the PD/GWSS Board, he also has been a member of the Young Presidents Organization (YPO) since 2004, serving as treasurer of the Orange County YPO Gold chapter in 2014-15. He is a member of CLCA, CLASS Fund, CANGC, NGA and ANLA. Dave has always tried to focus on balancing work, quality time with family and friends, while always trying to ensure he has his share of good fun!