SFA Gardens October lecture to feature pretty plants, specialty soils

NACOGDOCHES, Texas -- Stephen F. Austin State University's SFA Gardens will host the monthly Theresa and Les Reeves Lecture Series at 7 p.m. Oct. 10 in the Brundrett Conservation Education Building at the Pineywoods Native Plant Center.

Lauren Kilpatrick, technical trial manager at Syngenta Flowers, and Cade Boyd, horticulture equipment specialist with Profile Products, will explore the diverse world of horticulture's supporting industries.

Kilpatrick received a Bachelor of Science in horticultural science from Texas A&M University and a Master of Science in horticultural science from North Carolina State University. She started her career at Syngenta Flowers as a technical trialing scientist, where she conducted technical research trials to enhance unrooted cutting quality on key crops, updated crop culture guides and supported data-driven marketing campaigns.

In 2022, Kilpatrick was promoted to technical lead for the U.S. southwest region, where she collaborated across all business functions, with an emphasis on being customer-facing and providing regional grower support. She recently took on the role of technical trial manager, sharing knowledge of new products and data that helps drive global alignment, and creating data-driven marketing collateral.

Kilpatrick recently provided plant material for SFA's Center for Applied Research and Rural Innovation project, "Deep East Texas Annual and Perennial Trials."

Boyd graduated from Texas A&M University in 2019 with a Bachelor of Science in engineering and a minor in horticulture. He spent the following two years working as a grower for two commercial greenhouses on the East Coast.

Armed with growing experience and an understanding of engineering, Boyd was hired by AdeptAg, a horticulture automation company, as a product manager in 2021. Much of his focus involved working closely with substrate blending equipment, specifically wood fiber processing and solutions for their industry partner, Profile Products.

In the summer of 2024, Boyd was hired on to Profile Product's equipment support team. In that role, he supports their substrate blending operations and customers by providing technical help on site and working closely with AdeptAg to improve their blending equipment solutions.

The Theresa and Les Reeves Lecture Series is held the second Thursday of each month and includes a rare plant raffle after the program. The lecture is free and open to the public, but donations to the lecture series fund are always appreciated.

Parking is available at the Pineywoods Native Plant Center, 2900 Raguet St., or Raguet Elementary School, 2708 Raguet St.

For more information, email [email protected].