May 2023 - 24

40 UNDER 40
Laura Lara
SENIOR BREEDER
Scott McAdam
EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT
STAR ROSES AND PLANTS
WEST GROVE, PENNSYLVANIA
Accomplishments:
* One of the inventors
of hydrangea 'Sweet
Starlight', a paniculata
hydrangea expected to
be the company's largest
internal release of woodies.
* Has increased efficiency,
reduced errors and
decreased time spent with a
new system for planting.
* Trains new team members.
Central and South American Roots:
A Colombian who has lived in five countries, Laura still can't
get enough of Colombian food, and flowers have been a
huge part of her upbringing. Her parents started (and own)
a cut-flower farm in Guatemala: " They exemplified for me
work ethic and the power of a vision. "
Lending a Hand:
Laura loves volunteering with Catholic organizations that
work with youth and single mothers.
Qingwu (William) Meng
ASSISTANT PROFESSOR
UNIVERSITY OF DELAWARE
NEWARK, DELAWARE
Accomplishments:
* Gave a TEDx University of
Delaware talk entitled " How
Do We Grow Food Anywhere,
Without Soil? "
* Earned the Bukovac Outstanding
Graduate Student Award in the department of horticulture
at Michigan State University and presented to the USDA
Secretary of Agriculture.
* Developed the Delaware Indoor Ag Lab at the university
and contributed to the development of the ControlledEnvironment
Lighting Laboratory at Michigan State University.
* Received the American Society for Horticultural Science
(ASHS) Outstanding Vegetable Publication Award.
A Young Architect:
" My artistic inclination propelled me to study architectural
design and engineering in college, " he says, but after an
architecture internship, he decided to pursue his interest
in horticulture.
Noodling Around:
His favorite meal is Lanzhou hand-pulled beef noodle soup from
his hometown in China.
24
MAY 2023 GPNMAG.COM
MCADAM LANDSCAPING INC.
FOREST PARK, ILLINOIS
Accomplishments:
* Became minority owner in
Spring 2022 and transformed
the financial and operational
management by implementing better
practices and more stringent cost accounting to grow
profitability by 125%.
* Exceeded $1 million in annual sales.
* Past-president of the Illinois Landscape Contractors
Association (ILCA), where he worked tirelessly to deem
the landscape sector as essential during the COVID-19
pandemic and brokered the unification of ILCA and the
Illinois Green Industry Association into one.
I Do:
Scott has become an accomplished wedding officiant and
considers himself a relatively talented amateur chef (who
loves breakfast foods).
A Tough Choice:
" Becoming a father is the greatest personal accomplishment
of my life ... or shooting a career-best low round of golf of 67.
That was pretty cool, too. "
Kimberly Noffke
GREENHOUSE & NURSERY SALES SPECIALIST
BASF
RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK, NORTH CAROLINA
Accomplishments:
* Increased her sales territory by double digits for three
consecutive years and has served as the integrity selling
champion of her team.
* Created a connection with customers during the pandemic
through her passion for food, sharing meals and food gifts
sourced from minority-owned inclusive vendors in Michigan.
The Travel Bug:
Kimberly's love of traveling once led to seven modes of
transportation (car, bus, airplane, tram, ferry, bicycle and horsedrawn
carriage) in a single day. Her favorite vacation spot is
Piedmont, Italy.
International Love Story:
Around World War II, the
Portuguese and U.S. governments
decided to build an airport on much
of Kimberly's great-grandmother's
land on the island of Santa Maria.
" The development of the airport is
what brought my grandfather from
Sao Miguel to Santa Maria and that
is how he met my grandmother! "
http://www.GPNMAG.COM
May 2023

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of May 2023
