One of the nation’s leading greenhouses will support horticulture students at West Virginia University with the establishment of the Bob & Corena Barntiz Horticulture Scholarship.
Bob’s Market & Greenhouses, Inc. started as a roadside market near Mason, WV in 1970. The company eventually grew to become a national leader in small plant production and seedling growth. Today the company has multiple retail and production locations in Ohio and West Virginia. They have also expanded to a wholesale market in Pittsburgh and a seasonal location at the Atlanta State Farmer’s Market.
Over the years, Bob’s Market & Greenhouses has earned recognition for its success, winning Ernst & Young’s Entrepreneur of the Year in 2002 and the Greenhouse Grower Magazine’s Operation of the Year in 2011.
The gift to the WVU Davis College of Agriculture, Natural Resources, and Design was made in recognition of Bob and Corena’s exceptional careers and to advance the horticulture industry in the state of West Virginia and across the country.
“It is the hope of Bob, Corena and the entire Bob’s Market board that the scholarship help a deserving student earn their horticulture degree and then become a leading force in the horticulture industry, not only in the state but nationally,” said Anna Barnitz, chief financial officer at Bob’s Market and Greenhouses.
Although he has long since retired, Bob Barnitz, 85, still comes to the office every day to keep up on all that is happening with the business.
He is always present to greet WVU students who visit the company as part of their greenhouse management course, said Sven Verlinden, associate professor of horticulture.
Verlinden said the scholarship represents an investment in WVU’s horticulture students and the program.
“I see the addition of this scholarship as a great vote of confidence in the WVU horticulture program and its students,” he added. “The Bob and Corena Barnitz Horticulture Scholarship is a wonderful gift that will cement the link between Bob’s Market and WVU. It will allow our budding horticulturists to find inspiration and a career path they can be proud of.”
For more information on how to support WVU’s horticulture program and other WVU Davis College programs, contact Andrew S. Barnes, associate director of development for WVU Davis College, by email at Andrew.Barnes@mail.wvu.edu or by phone at 304-293-6962.