Tscharner Watkins III has been named the 2003 Nurseryman of the Year by the Virginia Nursery and Landscape Association (VNLA). The Vice President and Manager of the wholesale and propagation division of Watkins Nurseries in Powhatan, Watkins is Chairman of the Virginia Agriculture Council and past chairman of the VNLA Research Committee. He is a lifetime member of VNLA, was President in 2002 and has been a driving force with the VNLA research fund raising Gala and the organization’s Plant Introduction Program.

“Tscharner has always been a positive, energetic and enthusiastic supporter of the VNLA,” said Executive Director Jeff Miller. “The entire time he was on the VNLA board, he never missed a meeting. He’s a real “survivor” too! The nursery has survived a tornado, a hurricane, a lightning strike and an earthquake, all in 2003!”

Watkins, a Virginia Tech graduate with a degree in Horticulture is a member of the Midlothian Bethel Baptist Church, the Huguenot Society and on the Maymont Foundation Board. He is married and has two sons.

Virginia Nursery & Landscape Association is a non-profit organization that serves and promotes Virginia’s nursery and landscape industry and is the leading horticulture organization within the Commonwealth’s agriculture community. Through its Horticulture Research Foundation is funds $20-25,000 in research projects each year and offers awards two college scholarships to Virginia college students. VNLA publishes a 96-page bimonthly newsletter and an annual listing of growers in Guide to Virginia Growers.