GUEST SPEAKER, ALAN VIERKANT, General Manager with Shenandoah Growers, is welcomed by NARFE Chapter 1191 members, Dolores Carter and Kathryn Hart during their May meeting in Corsicana, Texas. (Submitted Photo)
Navarro County Herb Farm Manager Speaks to NARFE
The National Active and Retired Federal Employees (NARFE) Chapter 1191 held its monthly meeting on Tuesday, 8 May 2018, at the Sirloin Stockade in Corsicana.
The guest speaker was Alan Vierkant, General Manager for Shenandoah Growers, formerly HerbCo Texas, managing local area locations at Rice, in Navarro County, greenhouses near Reagor Springs, and Sherman. He worked with the company in Michigan and Arizona before moving to the local area a little over a year ago.
The speaker discussed the history of the herb farm at Rice, which began as a hydroponic farm in 1984. He covered the growth and company mergers to become the largest grower of herbs outdoors with ten locations across the country. The Rice facility has 50 acres and about 300,000 square feet of growing space for organically produced herbs marketed to a large number of grocery stores and retailers in the area. There are about 170 employees at the Rice and Sherman locations and about 1,200 nationally. A question and answer session follwed the presentation.
NARFE Chap. 1191 covers Ellis, Navarro and adjacent parts of the surrounding counties. Membership in NARFE is open to all active and retired federal employees and their spouses, former federal employees, and former spouses who are entitled to a federal survivor annuity. For more information, please call Midlothian at 972-268-5793 or 972-775-2463, Waxahachie – 469-939-8102, Ennis – 214-949-6197, Red Oak – 412-722-6307, or Corsicana – 903-874-3092. You may also go to www.narfe.org or http://www.dfwnarfe.net/Chapter1191/ChapterPage.html or see NARFE Chapter 1191 on Facebook.
