Debbie Hamrick

Debbie Hamrick’s life work has been about relationships and connecting people—connecting people to business information, connecting people to new ideas, and most importantly, connecting people to one another.

Her high-profile career with Ball Horticultural Company in West Chicago, Illinois, includes founding FloraCulture International magazine in 1989. Through her work as a publisher and journalist, Debbie cultivated relationships with many of the world’s leading floricultural producers, wholesalers, and plant breeders. Her publishing career also included being Editorial Director for Ball Publishing. In that role, she grew the company’s leading title, GrowerTalks magazine, and launched Green Profit magazine targeted to US horticultural retailers. Under her editorial direction, the company greatly expanded its book publishing and conference businesses focusing always on high-quality editorial content.

In mid-life she transitioned from horticultural publishing to lobbying and advocating for specialty crops farmers in her home state of North Carolina. There, she became Director of Specialty Crops for the North Carolina Farm Bureau Federation, the state’s largest agricultural organization.

At the North Carolina Farm Bureau, Debbie became well-known across the state as a champion for horticultural and specialty crop producers. She was a frequent speaker at industry events and represented their viewpoints to policymakers, regulators, and legislators.

Debbie recently retired. In addition to traveling, cycling, and gardening, her volunteer activities include community and industry board service and assisting the North Carolina State University Department of Horticultural Science in fostering the next generation of horticulturists. She resides in Raleigh, North Carolina.