Endowment Names Cade, Kepner to Ball Committee
The American Floral Endowment has appointed a Texas State horticulture professor and a Pure Beauty Farms executive to a committee overseeing an intern scholarship program.
Updated on Nov. 2, 2026 in Botany
The American Floral Endowment appointed Tina Cade, a professor of horticulture at Texas State University, and Tim Kepner, Senior Vice President of Production, Research and Development for Pure Beauty Farms, to the Vic & Margaret Ball Committee. The committee will review applications for the Vic & Margaret Ball Intern Scholarship Program.
Why it matters
The appointments bring academic and industry expertise to the selection of students for a program the Balls established in 1992 to place interns in horticulture. Cade and Kepner will also help promote the program to students.
The appointments are documented in an official endowment announcement listing Cade's 25 years building Texas State's horticulture program and Kepner's more than 40 years in the industry. The release does not say how many applications the committee will review or how many internships will be awarded.
The players
American Floral Endowment
The American Floral Endowment is a nonprofit organization that funds horticultural research, education and scholarships for the floral industry.
Tina Cade
Tina Cade is a horticulture professor at Texas State University and a Fellow of the American Society for Horticultural Science who has published more than 100 peer-reviewed papers.
Tim Kepner
Tim Kepner is a horticulture executive with more than 40 years of industry experience who leads production, research and development at Pure Beauty Farms.
The details
Cade oversees the university's Bobcat Blend campus composting program and is a Fellow of the American Society for Horticultural Science. Kepner joined Pure Beauty Farms in 2003, which produces more than 50 million plants annually across farms in Florida, Georgia and Texas. The internship options include three, four, or six-month paid placements.
Timeline
1992: Vic and Margaret Ball donated to establish the internship program.
2003: Tim Kepner joined Pure Beauty Farms.
November 2, 2026: Committee appointments of Cade and Kepner announced.
Big Picture
The appointments extend the American Floral Endowment's long-running funding of horticultural education, which has reached more than $18 million in research and educational projects since 1961. Adding academic and industry expertise to scholarship oversight continues that pattern of investment in the field's next generation.
Students interested in the Vic & Margaret Ball Intern Scholarship Program will have their applications reviewed by a committee that now includes a university professor and an industry executive. The appointees will also help promote the program to students considering horticulture careers.
The takeaway
Students weighing a career in horticulture can look to scholarship and internship programs like the Vic & Margaret Ball Intern Scholarship Program for hands-on experience. The committee's new members are positioned to guide applicants toward those opportunities.
Further reading
Explore more botany news to see how horticulture education and research are developing across the country.
Source note: This article includes information reported by Perishable News.
