G&S Nursery Winter 2018 Newsletter

INSIDER
WINTER 2018
The Rise of
PICKLEBALL
WHAT’S INSIDE | THIS ISSUE
AUTOBAHN PARTY
NEW FACES
EAGLESTON HOLLY

New G&S Team Members
RICH ALLEGER—Account Executive
Rugby players tend to show up to work on Mondays
with fresh wounds that advertise another
weekend spent living life to its fullest. When he’s
not in the scrum himself, Rich is coaching his
collegiate team on to victory, and if not victory,
then at least on to a rowdy good time. Rich deals
directly with our clients, serving their needs and
keeping them entertained.
ZACH ROTH—ERP Specialist
As we grow, we’re always looking for ways to do
things better. Zach was recruited to handle the
transition from our existing accounting and CRM
systems to a new ERP program that will integrate
these functions and allow us to assist you in the
most streamlined way possible.
Zach is originally from Charlotte, NC, and enjoys
fishing, golfing and hanging out with friends and
family.
G&S NURSERY’S $50 GUARANTEE
Have you heard about our in-stock guarantee on our core 4” material? If you order
any plant on our Quick-Ship list and we don’t have it ready in inventory, we’ll pay
you $50! Some of the plants included in this $50 Quick-Ship guarantee are:
4” Asiatic Jasmine 4” Big Blue Liriope 4” Mondo Grass 4” Dwarf Mondo Grass
see www.gsnursery.com/ups-shipmnents for more information
G&S Invades Jacksonville
We’ve opened a business office in
Jacksonville Beach.
We still have our nursery and some
office operations in Lake City, but
now a lot of our sales and administrative
staff will be based in our
Jacksonville Beach location.
Our phone system now rings at
both locations, so you can still
reach any team member by calling
our Lake City number. You won’t
even know if we’re speaking to
you from Lake City or Jacksonville
Beach unless you ask.
The decision to open a satellite
office was spurred by a number
of factors. We were already outgrowing
our office space here in
Lake City, so further expansion
was soon going to be necessary.
Since some of our team members
were commuting every day from
the Jacksonville area, it seemed
like a smart move to add the space
where we could provide shorter
commutes for those who didn’t
need to be here at the nursery. It
also was an attractive idea that we
could recruit good talent from both
Lake City and Jacksonville.
The benefit of having a larger pool
of applicants has already begun to
pay off. Both of the new faces you
see on the opposite page are folks
that we’ve been able to hire from
the Jax area.
Some of our Lake City office
folks have taken advantage of the
opportunity to relocate to Jacksonville.
They liked the thought of
moving to a bigger city, and they
were grateful for the opportunity
to change their zip code without
disrupting their work lives.
Our two offices are very closely
connected and it often feels no different
than if we were situated on
different floors of the same building
rather than 85 miles apart.
Cheers!
Zack Kirsch
General Manager
386 754-0161
sales@gsnursery.com
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The Call of the
PICKLEBALL
Pickleball first gained popularity
among retirees who wanted
to stay active and found
the sport to be lower-impact
than the racquet sports of
their younger days. It wasn’t
long before younger players
became enthralled with
the sport when they realized
that “low-impact” can still be
physically demanding, and the
unique rules create strategic
opportunities that challenge
young and old equally.
Another very attractive aspect
of the sport is the social
atmosphere that characterizes
a typical P-ball club. Many
clubs reserve time at mixeduse
spaces like an indoor gym
where they set up temporary
courts. It’s a very informal
event; anyone can show up
and be confident that they will get
play time in thanks to an everchanging
roster of partners and
opponents. People get to know
one another very quickly this way.
The game can be played by two,
three or four players, with doubles
being the most popular. The court
is smaller than a tennis court and
hard paddles are used to hit a hollow
plastic ball with perforations
similar to a whiffle ball. Play loosely
follows the form of other racquet
sports with the most important
distinction being the “No Volley
Zone.” This zone, also called the
“kitchen,” includes the closest 7
feet of the court on either side of
the net. Players can return a ball
on a bounce from anywhere, but
they cannot return a volley (a ball
that has not yet bounced) while
standing in—carried by momen-
tum into— the kitchen. This No
Volley Zone plays a huge role in
keeping the game interesting.
Players with a background in tennis
typically will relish the opportunity
to bang the ball around but
will often find themselves outwitted
by a less athletic opponent
who knows how to exploit the
kitchen.
Beginners often start out playing
on a wooden paddle furnished
by the hosting club, but it isn’t
long before a player will yearn
for a more sophisticated paddle
and will invest $50 to $100 for a
lighter weight composite paddle.
There are scores of paddle
models available on Amazon and
specialty sites offered by at least
15 different manufactures.
Pickleball enthusiasts will often
boast that it is the fastest growing
sport in the country, but this
is a hard statistic to pin down.
What is not in dispute is the
steady growth of popularity and
passion. Typically, a small core
of players will form in a community
after being exposed to it
from some other area and will
begin introducing it to others
on makeshift courts. They will
soon focus on raising funds
and influencing city councils
to designate playing areas
that are more permanent. Gym
floors can have striping added
to mark off playing areas which
can then be completed by
erecting a portable net. Tennis
courts can similarly be striped
and existing nets can be easily
converted between
the
tennis
and
pickleball
for
a dualuse
arrangement.
When
interest really
starts to
snowball, then
dedicated courts are
constructed.
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At left: Pickleball multiplexes have sprung up in places such as this Retirement community
in Casa Grande, AZ which now has 32 outdoor courts. Center: Pickleball
appeals to all ages.
Right: These players are enjoying a game of pickleball using a temporary net inside
a gymnasium. Many gym floors have been striped with the boundary markings for a
P-ball court. 5

Featured
Plant
Like the look of red berries
against a rich, dark. glossy
green leaf? Want a decent sized
shrub/tree that can be used in a
variety of ways? The Eagleston
Holly is a natural hybrid of the
Dahoon Holly and the American
Holly and has emerged as a very
popular cultivar because of its
natural cone shape and slow
growth habit.
It may be planted as a shrub with
floor to ceiling foliage, groomed
into a standard, or trimmed into
an ornamental shape and be the
focal point of your garden. In the
late fall, the red berries emerge
to bring festive color just when
everything else in your garden
turns a dreary brown.
This holly reaches a height of
20-25 feet with a spread of 5-10
feet. It is suitable for zones 6-9.
EAGLESTON HOLLY
Ilex x Eagleston
45 gal: $265.00!
GOING REAL FAST BECAUSE
WE’RE GROWING REAL FAST
Employees and their families ended
the year with a company luncheon
at an indoor race park in Jacksonville
called Autobahn. The smooth
track and electronically controlled
cars can reach speeds of 50 MPH
and are fast enough to require
crash helmets and other safety
equipment. There were thrills and
laughs aplenty, and everyone had
a chance to blow off a little steam
after a very eventful year.
After the races, the party moved
into a large room where deli sandwiches
were served and prizes and
awards were handed out to the
team members who had distinquished
themselves in one way or
another in the preceding year.
Some of the awards were light
hearted. We won’t say who took
home the “Cookie Monster” award
for being “most likely to eat during
a meeting.” After the laughs, we
moved on to the important honors
of the day. The top award, Team
Member of the Year, was shared
by Nikki Knots and Ben Willems in
recognition of their dedication and
hard work in 2017.
Prices good through the end of February 2018
What is important is seldom urgent, and
what is urgent is seldom important.
—Dwight D. Eisenhower
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386 754-0161
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www.gsnursery.com

1550 SW Bedenbaugh Ln.
Lake City FL 32025
RIDDLE OF THE MONTH
CROSSWORD CLUE:
Architectural term for the feature pictured
here:
ANSWER FOR A CHANCE TO WIN:
a u a e
LAST MONTH’S RIDDLE:
What instantly gains 50% in value when
you turn it upside down?
ANSWER: The numeral 6
COULAX
True Wireless
Earbuds
LAST ISSUE’S WINNERS
Dan Walmsley
Kimberly Mullaly
Joyce Parsons
Send answers to newsletter@gsnursery.com before Jan 31, 2018. All correct
answers will be entered into a drawing to win a prize!