Holly Scoggins joins NewGen Boxwood, Saunders Brothers

Holly Scoggins, Ph.D., has joined NewGen Boxwood and Saunders Brothers, Inc. as NewGen program manager and Saunders Brothers marketing coordinator. Scoggins joins NewGen and Saunders Brothers with extensive experience in horticulture that includes university-level teaching and research, leadership roles with national associations, and specialized expertise in multiple facets of plant production.

The majority of Scoggins’s efforts will be devoted to the administration of the expanding NewGen Boxwood program with responsibilities for marketing, licensee management, industry education and outreach, and content creation and communication across various channels. As marketing coordinator for Saunders Brothers, Scoggins will provide a range of marketing guidance and execution for the wholesale nursery. Specific duties will include maintenance of the online plant catalog and photo library and coordinating plant tag production.

© Matt McClellan

Scoggins’s career in horticulture spans more than 25 years. She received her bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the University of Georgia and her Ph.D. in Horticultural Science from North Carolina State University. She is an associate professor emeritus from Virginia Tech, retired after 20 years in the Department of Horticulture with teaching, research, and cooperative extension responsibilities. She also served as Director for the Hahn Horticulture Garden from 2002-2014. Before her new positions with the Saunders companies, Scoggins was vice president of educational programs for AmericanHort, working on the development of green industry education programs including sessions at Cultivate, fall specialty conferences, and webinars.

Career honors and awards include Professional of the Year from Virginia Nursery and Landscape Association, an academic award from the National Perennial Plant Association, teaching awards from Virginia Tech chapter of Gamma Sigma Delta Honor Society of Agriculture, the Virginia Tech College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, and the Omicron Delta Kappa National Leadership Honor Society. Scoggins currently serves as President-elect of the national Perennial Plant Association, taking office in October 2021.

“I’m so pleased to be working with the Saunders organization in this dual capacity,” said Scoggins. “It’s the best of two worlds. NewGen® is the exciting cutting-edge of breeding, research, and marketing for boxwood and Saunders Brothers is an industry pillar spanning over 100 years and four generations of excellence and innovation. I’ve been associated with the Saunders family for many years through Virginia Tech and I couldn’t pass up this opportunity to be a close part of the team.”

To learn more about Scoggins' role, read this Q&A on the NewGen blog.