American Floral Endowment announces two new Vic & Margaret Ball Internship Committee members

Tina Marie (Waliczek) Cade and Tim Kepner have been appointed as the newest members of the American Floral Endowment’s Vic & Margaret Ball Committee for the Vic & Margaret Ball Intern Scholarship Program.

Cade is a professor of horticulture at Texas State University, and Kepner is senior vice president of production, research and development for Pure Beauty Farms, based in Miami.

Cade has spent the past 25 years building the horticulture program at Texas State University, where she is a professor and faculty manager of several campus facilities, including the agriculture greenhouses and gardens. She also oversees the university’s award-winning Bobcat Blend campus composting program and frequently works with more than 30 undergraduate student employees.

A fellow of the American Society for Horticultural Science, Cade is also a Service Learning Excellence Fellow at Texas State University, where she promotes hands-on learning and connections between the university and surrounding community. She has mentored 35 graduate students throughout her career, with five continuing on to earn their Ph.D.

Her research focuses on sustainability, interactions between people and plants, invasive species, composting, and service learning. She is the co-editor and co-author of Urban Horticulture and has published more than 100 peer-reviewed papers. Cade earned her bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Kansas State University and her doctorate from Texas A&M University.

Kepner brings more than 40 years of horticulture industry experience to the committee. As senior vice president of production, research and development for Pure Beauty Farms, he oversees production planning and scheduling across the company’s Florida, Georgia and Texas farms, which produce more than 50 million plants annually. He also leads Pure Beauty’s Research and Development Team, helping introduce new plant material and genetics to the market.

Kepner was brought onto the Vic & Margaret Ball Committee to serve as an additional grower representative.

Kepner joined Pure Beauty Farms in 2003 to help bring owner Henry Yanes’ vision for the company to life. Since then, he has held several leadership roles and played an important part in the company’s growth and development.

As members of the Ball Committee, Cade and Kepner will be working with several AFE trustees and other faculty members to review student applications for the Vic & Margaret Ball Intern Scholarship Program and provide counsel to help promote the program to students.

The Vic & Margaret Ball Intern Scholarship Program gives students the opportunity to gain practical, hands-on floriculture/horticulture experience through a three-, four- or six-month paid internship at a commercial production greenhouse or nursery.

Vic and Margaret Ball made a donation to AFE in 1992 to establish the program for students to apply classroom knowledge to real-world experiences and help ensure successful future generations of horticulture professionals.