Berta wins Herb Knodel Award
This award is given to a retired grower for outstanding service to the Alberta greenhouse industry.
Berta Briggs has owned Arber Greenhouses Ltd., situated just outside of Wetaskiwin, since 1981. Featured is a 30,000-square-foot greenhouse located on a 100-acre site.
Arber is now a full-service greenhouse/garden centre growing annuals, perennials, tropicals, poinsettias, trees and shrubs. Throughout the years, Briggs has offered educational courses and radio spots.
She has supported many employees through educational programs, including the Landscape Gardener program at Olds College.
In 1999, she was named the Alberta finalist, in the Impact on the Local Economy category, for the Canadian Woman Entrepreneur of the Year awards program.
Briggs has served the industry in many capacities. She was a member of the AGGA board of directors from 1991 to 1995, and was active in leadership roles with 4-H for many years, receiving the “Friend of 4-H” award for the West Central Alberta region in 2001.
Last spring, she was honoured with the Paul Harris Fellow Recognition by the Rotary Club of Wetaskiwin. Briggs has served as a national judge for Communities in Bloom since 2000, and has travelled extensively across Canada, Europe and the U.S. reviewing participating CIB communities.
In 2007 Berta was asked to speak at a Botanical conference in China.
Her daughter and son-in-law, Andrea and Jeff Cleland, have become co-owners of the business, allowing Berta a little more free time to pursue interests such as travelling and volunteering.
This feature originally appeared in the April 2009 edition of Greenhouse Canada; reprinted with permission.
Berta Briggs has owned Arber Greenhouses Ltd., situated just outside of Wetaskiwin, since 1981. Featured is a 30,000-square-foot greenhouse located on a 100-acre site.
Arber is now a full-service greenhouse/garden centre growing annuals, perennials, tropicals, poinsettias, trees and shrubs. Throughout the years, Briggs has offered educational courses and radio spots.
She has supported many employees through educational programs, including the Landscape Gardener program at Olds College.
In 1999, she was named the Alberta finalist, in the Impact on the Local Economy category, for the Canadian Woman Entrepreneur of the Year awards program.
Briggs has served the industry in many capacities. She was a member of the AGGA board of directors from 1991 to 1995, and was active in leadership roles with 4-H for many years, receiving the “Friend of 4-H” award for the West Central Alberta region in 2001.
Last spring, she was honoured with the Paul Harris Fellow Recognition by the Rotary Club of Wetaskiwin. Briggs has served as a national judge for Communities in Bloom since 2000, and has travelled extensively across Canada, Europe and the U.S. reviewing participating CIB communities.
In 2007 Berta was asked to speak at a Botanical conference in China.
Her daughter and son-in-law, Andrea and Jeff Cleland, have become co-owners of the business, allowing Berta a little more free time to pursue interests such as travelling and volunteering.
This feature originally appeared in the April 2009 edition of Greenhouse Canada; reprinted with permission.
