Metrolina Greenhouses INC

At Metrolina Greenhouses, caring for our employees, their families and our communities is at the heart of what we do. In 2024, we proudly donated a record-breaking $1,000,000 to local charities in the communities where we live and work. In addition to the $750,000 donated via Metrolina Greenhouses’ regular donations our 2024 contributions include: • $100,000 combined relief efforts in Western North Carolina and other affected communities in the wake of Hurricane Helene this fall. Metrolina’s Community Outreach Committee spearheaded the entire company’s engagement in identifying organizations and we contributed to several groups including Samaritan's Purse, Angels & Sparrows, the Charlotte ToolBank , Little Milligan Care and Share Programs, INC , MountainWays, the FEAST fundraiser through Bountiful Cities and the ASAP (Appalachian Sustainable Agriculture Project) Sustainable Agriculture Project . • $100,000 combined from our Benevolent Fund supported employees facing tough times and helped local organizations through our Community Outreach Committee. • $70,000 in college scholarships helped our employees’ families pursue higher education. Metrolina also worked with one of our partner growers in Western North Carolina to grow out 100,000 poinsettias when the grower was inundated with flood water during the hurricane. Our MX5 grower team and many others were involved in growing and shipping the plants to their customers this holiday season, at no charge to the grower. This has enabled the operation to get the boiler system and other systems back on track, so they are ready for the spring season! Many of our Metrolina team members have donated their own time, resources and money to local churches and community organizations, and by going into hurricane-impacted areas to help their families and friends following Hurricane Helene. We are thankful for them and their stories have been both gut-wrenching and heartwarming. All of us at Metrolina continue to look for ways to help and we are committed to helping our communities build back from the devastation. Metrolina is more than a greenhouse — we’re a team rooted in compassion and committed to our community. Thank you to our dedicated employees for helping to make this possible! #Teamwork #MetrolinaCares #GrowingTogether #OneMetrolina #Horticulture #Business

At Metrolina Greenhouses, caring for our employees, their families and our communities is at the heart of what we do. In 2024, we proudly donated a record-breaking $1,000,000 to local charities in the communities where we live and work. In addition to the $750,000 donated via Metrolina Greenhouses’ regular donations our 2024 contributions include: • $100,000 combined relief efforts in Western North Carolina and other affected communities in the wake of Hurricane Helene this fall. Metrolina’s Community Outreach Committee spearheaded the entire company’s engagement in identifying organizations and we contributed to several groups including Samaritan's Purse, Angels & Sparrows, the Charlotte ToolBank , Little Milligan Care and Share Programs, INC , MountainWays, the FEAST fundraiser through Bountiful Cities and the ASAP (Appalachian Sustainable Agriculture Project) Sustainable Agriculture Project . • $100,000 combined from our Benevolent Fund supported employees facing tough times and helped local organizations through our Community Outreach Committee. • $70,000 in college scholarships helped our employees’ families pursue higher education. Metrolina also worked with one of our partner growers in Western North Carolina to grow out 100,000 poinsettias when the grower was inundated with flood water during the hurricane. Our MX5 grower team and many others were involved in growing and shipping the plants to their customers this holiday season, at no charge to the grower. This has enabled the operation to get the boiler system and other systems back on track, so they are ready for the spring season! Many of our Metrolina team members have donated their own time, resources and money to local churches and community organizations, and by going into hurricane-impacted areas to help their families and friends following Hurricane Helene. We are thankful for them and their stories have been both gut-wrenching and heartwarming. All of us at Metrolina continue to look for ways to help and we are committed to helping our communities build back from the devastation. Metrolina is more than a greenhouse — we’re a team rooted in compassion and committed to our community. Thank you to our dedicated employees for helping to make this possible! #Teamwork #MetrolinaCares #GrowingTogether #OneMetrolina #Horticulture #Business

We celebrated another successful year at Metrolina Greenhouses' annual holiday luncheon on Thursday, December 12, which was appropriate as it also happened to be World Poinsettia Day! There are so many exceptional people who make up our Metrolina team and as a group, we honored 86 people marking anniversaries at the company. Three of our honorees are celebrating 30 years and two are marking 35 years in 2024! We also congratulate and honor 10 retirees this year and we wish them all well in whatever the next chapter may bring! Thank you to all of our great employees who have made 2024 such a successful and productive year despite some challenges. Everyone has rolled up their sleeves to pitch in and make a difference not only in our day to day operations, but also in the communities in which we live, work and distribute plants. And thank you to the VanWingerden family for their unmatched generosity to our team and a delicious lunch to boot! #happyholidays #holiday #poinsettia #employeeappreciation #team #onemetrolina #2024

We are incredibly thankful for all veterans and their service to our nation. To acknowledge the #veterans who work with us at Metrolina Greenhouses, we went around and surprised them at work with a special gift to show our appreciation. Sometimes a small gesture and token of thanks goes a long way but their sacrifice will always be greater than anything we could ever give. Thank you to all veterans and to those still actively serving! Order of appearance: Carlos Amezquita - Marine E4 served 4 1/2 years Kenneth Cooper - Marine Logistics and Embarkment served 4 years Armando "Steve" Gamez - Navy IC1 served 20 years Elwood Garretson- Navy Petty Officer First Class served for 21 years Erik Horner - Navy Commander served 23 1/2 years Nycole Jones - Army E5 served 21 years Zacharias Kale - Army Specialist served 10 years David McClurkin - Army Active Duty and Reserve served 12 years Jason Montie- Army E5 Sergeant served 5 years James Richardson - Army Corporal served 4 years Jonathan Rogers "JR" - Army Combat Engineer and Infantry served 23 years Kelli Stewart - Navy Petty Officer 3rd Class served 5 years #veteransday #service #sacrifice #military #freedom #thankyou

Happy Halloween from the White House! 🎃👻 IFPA was honored to be a part of this year’s “Hallo-READ!” event, supplying fresh, healthy treats and vibrant décor for yesterday’s celebration. From apples and baby carrots to pumpkins and mums, we’re proud to represent our members nationwide. Thank you to Frey Farms, Yes! Apples®, Grimmway Farms, Metrolina Greenhouses INC, and Keany Produce & Gourmet! #Halloween #JoyofFresh

We’re excited to share that Plant Partners has become part of Metrolina Greenhouses! Together, we’ll deliver even more value, innovation and quality plants and services to our industry colleagues, retail partners and gardening consumers. Welcome, Plant Partners - Metrolina Greenhouses Community! Plant Partners, formerly a separate retail merchandising services company that celebrated 20 years of merchandising excellence in 2024, officially joined Metrolina Greenhouses at the beginning of this year. The Plant Partners LinkedIn page will soon merge with ours, and we’re thrilled to welcome new followers. We’ll continue sharing updates, industry news and insights from our expanding team. Stay connected with Metrolina Greenhouses for all things green and growing! #metrolinagreenhouses #plantpartners #team #retail #horticulture #floriculture #plants #flowers #grownfreshforyou

The Metrolina Greenhouses team is deeply saddened by the devastation caused by Hurricane Helene across the southeastern United States. While our facilities in York, SC and Huntersville, NC were unharmed, our priority has been ensuring the safety and well-being of our team members, particularly those based in Western North Carolina and South Carolina, where the impact has been greatest. Additionally, with the VanWingerden family roots right in Fletcher, NC, near some of the hardest-hit areas, this storm feels personal to us. Although our extended family’s facilities there were spared, we’re also concerned for other greenhouse operations and horticultural businesses affected by the storm, and we are working with them already in the unique ways greenhouse operators can help each other. We are also working closely with our retail partners and local organizations to provide immediate relief in the affected communities across North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, and Tennessee. Many of our Metrolina team members have already donated time, resources, and money this week with their local churches and community organizations, or by going into the impacted areas to help family and friends. We are thankful for them, and as you can imagine, their personal stories are both gut-wrenching and heartwarming. Our Metrolina Community Outreach team has begun organizing donations to key groups in the local community, and we are also supporting donated goods to local drop-off points, including the Lake Norman YMCA in Cornelius, NC, and Liberty Church in York, SC, which are collecting supply donations. At Metrolina, we stand with those affected by Hurricane Helene and we are committed to helping our communities rebuild. We are grateful for the generosity of our team and neighbors. More to come as we know this sudden event has created long-term need and commitment from our team, our company, and our family. #hurricanehelene #disaster #disasterrelief #team #family #horticulture #floriculture #rebuild #business #onemetrolina 

Happy National Intern Day! (+2 days) Another year full of eager students and graduates who are dedicating their summers or up to one year toward learning more about horticulture and pursuing career paths that might interest them. Our interns are placed throughout many different departments in the greenhouses including Horticulture, Marketing, HR and Operations. Metrolina partners with several different programs such as Lake Norman Economic Development, CAEP and Ohio State University International Agriculture. It is a melting pot of cultures and backgrounds. We have the opportunity to host international students from Philippines, South Africa, Dominican Republic, Brazil and Nicaragua, who bring unique perspectives and innovative ideas from their home countries. A majority of our interns are located domestically, attending a number of colleges from within North Carolina, such as Appalachian State, NC State and UNC, to out-of-state at Auburn, Clemson, University of Florida and University of Tennessee, to gain valuable industry experience. We are grateful for our managers and mentors who have taken these interns under their wings and shown them the ropes, while creating an environment where they can learn and contribute! #nationalinternday #internday #interns #OneMetrolina #metrolinagreenhouses #seedyourfuture #careers #jobs #internships #northcarolina #team #cultivate #culture #diversity #students #college #internationalstudents

Congratulations to Growmentum for receiving Greenhouse Grower's Medal of Excellence for Technology of the Year at AmericanHort Cultivate'24! We're proud to work with innovative, enterprising partners like you. Thanks for your contributions! #innovation #business #labor #greenhouses #horticulture #floriculture #technology #ingenuity #partnership #cultivate24

GrowerTalks asked this year’s Young Grower Award finalists how they balance work and life in this industry. Read their essays (including one from Metrolina's own Horticulture Director Carleton Stuecker) here! Congratulations to Carleton Stuecker and all the nominees, and thank you to GrowerTalks and Jennifer Zurko for this thought-provoking series of essays! #growing #careers #greencareers #horticulture #floriculture #greenhouses #team #nextgeneration #leaders #industry #balance #business https://lnkd.in/g-T_BXjt