The 2026-2027 Board of Directors Election
Vote by April 3, 2026
AmericanHort is pleased to present two new board of director nominees and slate of officers for your review and approval.
Board of Directors Nominees
Genevieve Reiner Mills
Oakland Nursery, Inc.
Genevieve Reiner Mills is Chief Operating Officer and In-house Counsel for Oakland Nursery, Inc., and Director of Oakland Green Interiors. She spent several years as a negotiator and trial attorney for the Franklin County, Ohio Prosecutor’s Office and uses those skills in her position leading teams at Oakland Nursery. As a third-generation family operator of Oakland Nursery, she is grateful to have grown up in the green industry and to work with her family in a field dedicated to connecting nature to our built environments.
Genevieve holds her Bachelor of Arts in European History from Boston College, her Master’s in Arts in South Asian Art History from The Ohio State University, and her Juris Doctorate from The Moritz College of Law at The Ohio State University. She is a Certified Trainer for Green Plants for Green Buildings and has served as a board member and president of the Ohio Green Industry Association. For the last several years, Genevieve has been a member and a community leader of the Interior Plantscapes Connector Group with AmericanHort. Genevieve is a vocal champion of local and small business ownership, and in her free time she is a passionate cook, baker, and gardener who loves spending time with her husband and two children.
Robert Saunders
Saunders Brothers
As CEO of Saunders Brothers, Robert Saunders works alongside his three brothers and five fourth generation family members in a diverse agricultural operation in Piney River, VA. Production includes both container and field grown operations with a wide range of annuals, perennials, flowering shrubs, evergreens, and trees, as well as a retail farm market that is supplied with fruit from their peach, apple, and Asian pear orchards.
Robert, on behalf of Saunders Brothers, was named the Southeastern Farmer of the Year in 2022 based on the company’s commitment to excellence, adaptation of new technology, and positive contributions to the agriculture industry.
Robert has a bachelor’s degree in engineering from Virginia Tech. Robert has been happily married to his wife Pat for 38 years; they have five children and three grandchildren. In his spare time, Robert enjoys gardening, woodworking, traveling, mission work, and Virginia Tech football.
Slate of Board Officers
Chair of the Board
Derek Clark
South Central Growers
Derek Clark is Director of Sales for South Central Growers, a second-generation family-owned greenhouse in Springfield, TN, producing annuals and perennials for the big box retailers. He began working in the horticulture industry in 2005 and held several key account management roles before joining South Central Growers in 2013. Derek is a graduate of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill as well as a graduate of EAGL, the Executive Academy for Growth and Leadership. He is passionate about helping strengthen the industry for future generations.
Vice Chair of the Board
Emily Showalter
Willoway Nurseries, Inc.
Emily Showalter is the Chief of Human Resources at Willoway Nurseries, Inc. in Avon, OH, a third-generation family-owned business and one of the largest wholesale growers of quality nursery stock in the Midwest. Emily grew up in the family business, graduated from The Ohio State University with a BS in Agriculture, completed the Goldman Sachs 10k Small Business Program, and is a graduate of the Executive Academy for Growth and Leadership. Emily served as President of the Ohio Green Industry Association in 2020 and serves on area Horticulture program advisory boards.
If you have any questions, please email Debbie Eisele at [email protected], or call 614-487-1117.
Each Class A Member Company of AmericanHort is eligible to complete a ballot for the board of directors. Only one vote per member company will be considered in the final tally.