Godfrey selected to CALP

SACRAMENTO — Denise Godfrey, a Fallbrook community leader in agriculture, has been selected to participate in the California Agricultural Leadership Program (CALP), one of the premier agricultural leadership opportunities in the United States. Her class, the 37th selected in the program’s history, was recently inaugurated in San Diego.

CALP is an intensive two-year fellowship that focuses on more effective leadership enlightenment and cultural exposure. It has been in operating since 1969 and has more than 1,000 alumni, including such influential leaders as Secretary of Agriculture A.G. Kawamura, State Senators Mike Machado and Abel Maldonado, US Representatives Devin Nunes and George Radanovich and former Secretary of State Bill Jones.

“Ag Leadership is a fantastic opportunity for me to learn more about various facets of society and gain a better understanding and appreciation for people’s passions, motivations and concerns,” says Godfrey. “I look forward to applying this knowledge and influencing positive change in my own community.”

Godfrey is the second generation of Olive Hill Greenhouses, a wholesale nursery started by her parents, Tony and Sue Godfrey, in 1973. The nursery has grown to become one of the 100 largest nurseries in the country. Godfrey is responsible for selling their Fallbrook-grown, pollution-fighting tropical foliage – including bromeliads, anthuriums and orchids – to customers throughout the western United States.

With the support of her husband, Will McGregor, Godfrey serves as president of the San Diego County Flower and Plant Association, serves on the Board of Directors for the interior plant initiative Plants at Work, and is a leader of the Fallbrook 4-H Floriculture Group (an activity she enjoys sharing with her daughter Emma, 2). Godfrey is committed to educational programs promoting the health benefits of flowers and plants and to teaching children the joys of having flowers and plants in their lives.

As a member of Class 37, Godfrey will be exposed to a variety of issues and activities unique to CALP. Those include visits to San Quentin State Prison in San Rafael and intercity youth programs in East Los Angeles, as well as trips across the United States and to developing nations. The participants’ interaction with non-agricultural environments follows CALP’s belief that effective leaders must have a true understanding of the world around them.

For more information about CALP, visit http://www.agleaders.org or call (916) 928-2302.