Sep 8, 2022

Hoffman Nursery Announce Promotions on Sales and Marketing Team

Hoffman Nursery has promoted two employees, Stephen Gillis to sales and customer service manager and Alex Stanley-Stretch to marketing coordinator.

Gillis joined Hoffman Nursery in February 2019 as a sales and customer service assistant. Since then, he has shown a strong commitment to the nursery and its success. Gillis will oversee the sales and customer service team and be responsible for developing and carrying out strategic plans to grow sales with existing customers and expand the nursery’s customer base. He will continue to help improve efficiencies in processes and databases related to sales and customer service. Gillis will also help chart the effectiveness of their sales strategies and programs.

Gillis has been in customer service his entire career, from his time as a fly-fishing guide in Alaska, working in corporate and institutional IT, running a successful gourmet mushroom farm, to Hoffman Nursery. His primary focus as sales and customer service manager, aside from growing sales, will be to improve service and fulfillment to existing and new accounts to ensure customers receive the quality product they expect from Hoffman Nursery.

“Stephen’s cordial interactions with customers, thoroughness, and determination to provide customers with the best service, keep them happy and coming back,” says David Hoffman, senior director of sales and operations. “We are pleased to have him in this role.”

In February 2017, Stanley-Stretch joined Hoffman Nursery as marketing assistant, and in 2020, she became marketing and graphic design associate. Since then, she has continued to make significant contributions to maintaining and increasing Hoffman Nursery’s standing in the industry and marketing its brand and products. Stanley-Stretch will have increased responsibilities for the nursery’s marketing efforts in her new role. She will coordinate and handle trade show activities and events, and continue to manage and create content for Hoffman Nursery’s social media and website. Stanley-Stretch remains responsible for managing the yearly catalog project including everything from the designing process to print. She will also work closely with the sales team to provide marketing materials that will educate and inform their customer base.

After graduating college, Stanley-Stretch worked for a full-service marketing and advertising company before joining the Governor’s Office in Virginia. While there, she helped facilitate statewide agriculture and tourism initiatives, tours, events and everyday tasks at the Executive Mansion. After leaving Richmond and moving to North Carolina, she returned to marketing, working as a graphic designer and marketing manager for a newspaper and media company. Stanley-Stretch also volunteers her graphic design services in her free time, most recently designing the Perennial Plant Association’s logo.

Regarding her newly assigned position, Hoffman says “Because of Alex’s experience with us and her previous experience, she brings a wealth of talent and knowledge to our marketing, and we are excited about her more extensive position at the nursery.”

Both Stanley-Stretch and Gillis shifted into their new roles in August 2022.