Chris Campbell, is a fourth generation in the family business. She manages one of the retail garden centers, assists in purchasing and overseeing the annual production facility and is the advertising/marketing coordinator. A graduate of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln in Business Administration, Chris is also involved in the local community and the ANLA.

A 1984 graduate of The University of Notre Dame in Chemical Engineering, Dan has worked his entire career with the same boss – the customers of Mulhall’s. By being active in ANLA for many years, Dan is learning the lessons of what good garden retailing means from the best teachers available. His greatest achievement to date has been to help lead the talented group of individuals from Mulhall’s who are featured in this production and the many more who work everyday to ensure Mulhall’s has it All!

Corey graduated from Michigan State with a degree in Marketing and then when on to receive his MBA from the University of Minnesota with an emphasis on Operations Management. Prior to coming back to the family business 12 years ago, Corey worked for the Coca-Cola Company doing sales and marketing for six years, living in Minnesota, Michigan and Texas. Within the Green Industry, Corey has served on the ANLA Clinic committee for 5 years, serving as the Chairperson of this committee for his final two years. He has also served on the ANLA retail board as both a board member and its President. Corey has also volunteered his time on numerous committees and taskforces with the ANLA structure. Corey is one of the 3rd generation owners of Bordine Nursery. He and his brother Calvin run the day-to-day operations of the company, while his father, Bruce, is still involved on the top-line decisions. Bordine Nursery has 4 retail sites in Southeast Michigan, of which two of them have growing operations.

Steve began his Garden Center career at age 15 with Stauffers of Kissel Hill, bagging mulch when he didn't even know what mulch was, and sweeping the parking lot. He has worked for Stauffers for 43 years and is now the Director of Retail Garden Center Operations and a partner in the business. Steve has been married to his wife Janet for 37 years and they have two grown children. According to Steve, Janet says she has raised three children, "and I am the toughest because I won't grow up and I won't move out."

Steve McShane is a first generation garden center owner along the sun-kissed Central Coast of California. He has a B.S. in Soil Science from Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo and an M.B.A. from Santa Clara. He is ANLA Senator and Board Member for the California Association of Nurseries and Garden Centers. When not working, he loves hiking, traveling to far reaches of the planet and experimenting with exotic fruits. 

Born and raised in Chilliwack, I was always involved in the business. My first jobs were sorting pots and applying Osmocote to field stock, later I was promoted to box stapling and then watering. The glamour hasn’t exactly increased with age or experience! I graduated from the University of the Fraser Valley with a Bachelor of Business Administration degree in 1996. Married with two children, Katie (12) and Sam (7). I have had the phenomenal opportunity to grow with ANLA over the years through the Management Clinic Programming Committee, the 2000 Vancouver Convention Committee, a member of the Retail Division Board. They haven’t gotten sick of me yet (or perhaps are too polite to say anything!!)

As General Manager, Merrideth brings over 18 years of Garden Center experience to The Great Outdoors. From display, design, watering, cashiering, sales, planting, he’s done it all. Now, Merrideth works mostly behind the scenes to steer The Great Outdoors toward being the best garden center in Austin and one of the best in the country. In addition to his work at TGO, Merrideth has written for and spoken to members of the independent garden center community nationwide. He can be seen locally on Fox7 news’ “In Your Garden” segments as well as an occasional appearance on Central Texas Gardener. Merrideth plays upright bass in a local bluegrass band, and spends as much time as he has left with his wife of 10 years Angi and their dogs, cats, chickens, fish, and parrot.

Duane Novotny began his horticultural career in 1977 at Bluebird Nursery in Clarkson, Nebraska. A native Nebraskan, Duane moved from the small town of Clarkson to Lincoln, where he started working for Campbell's in 1996, filling the garden center manager position. An extremely hard-working, self-taught Horticulturist, Duane excels in salesmanship.

Carol Bequette graduated from DeVry Technical Institute in 1995 with a degree in Telecommunications Management. She is an avid outdoor enthusiast having lived for many years in Colorado. There she guided hikes in the mountains and worked for a small nursery. Her family life brought her back to Omaha, where she grew up. She decided that her love for outdoors would guide her career and so she joined the Mulhall’s team in 2009 as a perennials associate. In September of that year she moved into her current position as the Tree and Shrub Manager.