Altman, Ecke Scholarship Deadline Approaches
The deadline to apply for the Altman Family Scholarship and the Paul Ecke, Jr. Scholarship, administered by the American Floral Endowment (AFE), is only a few weeks away.
College students who are pursuing their horticulture-related degrees can receive up to $10,000 through the scholarship programs.
Applicants must be in the process of completing either a bachelor’s or master’s degree in horticulture or a related field and must have the intention of pursuing an MS or Ph.D. degree on a full-time basis.
One student will be selected for each scholarship. Applicants attending land-grant universities will automatically be considered for the Paul Ecke, Jr. Scholarship. All others will qualify for the Altman Family Scholarship.
The Altman Family Scholarship was established by Ken and Deena Altman — owners of Altman Plants — who support numerous efforts to improve education and research for the industry.
The Paul Ecke, Jr. Scholarship honors the late Paul Ecke, Jr., who made significant contributions to the floriculture industry and believed strongly in research and education.
The deadline to apply is Feb. 1, 2018. To learn more about the scholarships, please visit http://endowment.org.
Home Depot Acquires Company Store
On Dec. 21, the Home Depot announced it had acquired The Company Store, a leading online retailer of home décor products and textiles, from Hanover Direct. “The acquisition of The Company Store provides product development and sourcing capabilities to help us expand our online décor business into broader categories across the entire home,” said Craig Menear, chairman, CEO and president. The acquisition does not include The Company Store’s five retail locations.
New Walmart Personal Service Targets Wealth Shoppers
Walmart is creating a new subsidiary, Code Eight, that will serve as a personal shopping service for wealthy consumers in urban areas. Shoppers will be able to make their purchases and receive product recommendations via text messages — and then receive their purchases within 24 hours. The new service will require users to pay a membership fee but is currently being trialed for free in select locations. Initially, the service will focus on products in the health and beauty, household essentials and apparel/accessories categories.
Christina Minardi has been promoted to executive vice president of operations at Whole Foods Market. She previously served as the Northeast regional president, overseeing 40 Whole Foods stores in three states. In her new role, Minardi will lead four regions while co-leading the integration with Amazon, re-imagining the customer experience and driving e-commerce initiatives, among other key store and regional programs. In this newly created position, Minardi joins Ken Meyer and David Lannon as the third executive vice president of operations.
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