MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) - A green thumb wasn’t a requirement for Mike Allen’s job as the new executive director of Memphis Botanic Garden.
“I have a great appreciation for horticulture and botany,” said Allen, 60. “And I know a well-landscaped yard when I see one. But, no. My wife would be the first to tell you I don’t have a green thumb.”
He will be jumping into his new job Jan. 2 with both feet. He described his duties as “the operational management of the whole organization. So, you’ve got the traditional garden side. You’ve got the education aspect like My Big Backyard. You’ve got Live at the Garden, which is a tremendous investment that the garden has made. So, my job is to keep everything running on track. To be aware and try to implement the wishes of the board.”
And he’s got a few ideas of his own.
“I just think this is just an awesome growth opportunity here. The idea of having 96 acres. It’s the largest office you can imagine.”
A native of Chicago, Allen was first transferred to Memphis in 1989 to work at International Paper as product manager for what was then their folding carton business. He met his wife, Christa, in Memphis. She also works for International Paper, where she is in communications for senior executives.
After International Paper stints in Appleton, Wisconsin, where their son, Dillon, was born, and Granby, Connecticut, where their daughter, Caroline, was born, Allen was transferred back to Memphis in 2001 to work as marketing and business manager in International Paper’s printing papers business.
He left International Paper in 2006 and started his own business - Strategic Alternatives, which operated a Web site called BaristaWorks.com that sold disposable food service products - cups, lids, straws and napkins - to “mom and pop” coffee shops.
For the past six years, Allen has been president and CEO at Catholic Charities of West Tennessee. “I had been on Diocesan boards and things like that and I was asked by our then bishop (J. Terry) Steib to serve on a committee. Kind of a strategic planning committee. And I was assigned to Catholic Charities of West Tennessee. They were having some operational issues. I ended up there full time.”
His new job at Memphis Botanic Garden is a “culmination” of what he’s done in the past, Allen said. “If you take my corporate background, my entrepreneurial background and my nonprofit background, it just seems like the perfect fit. ’Cause we have Live at the Garden, which is a really important revenue-driven thing. We have food trucks and all these other entrepreneurial things that I just love. And it is a nonprofit at the end of the day. So, I’m going to be out raising money.”
As for what he specifically will be doing at Memphis Botanic Garden, Allen said, “We need a new strategic plan here. We don’t really have a current one. A strategic plan would be like a five-year road map. What do we want to do? What do we want to invest in? What do we want to grow? No pun intended.”
He doesn’t envision any “big capital projects” on the horizon. Memphis Botanic Garden already built a new stage for their Live at the Garden shows and other attractions and built My Big Backyard, a hands-on playground for children. “What I think we need to do and I’ve been told to do is re-invest in the current infrastructure. LIke Hardin Hall, which is the largest of the spaces here for events. One of the board members said, ’We need some Botox.’ I don’t think we’re going to go in and tear it out and redo it, but it needs to be modernized a little bit.”
Allen also wants to “refocus on the traditional aspects, sort of the foundational aspects of the garden. The actual 28 specialty gardens. It’s more of a re-focusing on the core and the basics.”
People don’t often visit some of the gardens, including the iris, sensory and photography gardens, as much as other areas. “It may be as simple as finding a way to direct visual cues. We might bring in an architect to do signage or other visual cues to point them toward a particular garden they might not know exists.”
Live at the Garden, which features five acts each summer, “has been awesome in many ways - awareness, financially, fun. But in some respects I think it has overshadowed some of the traditional aspects of the garden.”
He also wants to focus on attracting millennials to the Garden. Over the years, Memphis Botanic Garden featured organizations, including Avante Gardeners and The Roots, to attract young people, but those groups eventually ran their course. “I think we’re going to try to do some targeting of younger families. The demographics of our guests are older. We’ve got to do a better job of targeting young families and middle age people to come here. How do you find them and get them and keep them?”
Allen already is coming up with some of his own ideas for the Garden. One is to perhaps present a Thanksgiving weekend concert on the big stage at the Garden. “One of the things we did at Catholic Charities was host a Christmas concert every year.”
They videotape the event, which they turn into a one-hour TV special. “It’s all local talent. Locally produced. Local venue. And I think we can do that here.”
They would either feature the concert as a live broadcast or tape it to show later.
Live at the Garden is running smoothly, Alllen said. “I’m going to do my best not to screw it up,” he said. “And stay out of their hair.”
But, he said, “The one area I’m going to be aware of and watching is the competitive thing. Shelby Farms has got their stage. So, next spring that is going to come to life. I’m not sure what they’re going to do out there, but it’s smaller and it’s different. The (Levitt) Shell has come back. It’s terrific. I just saw a thing on Mud Island. Nora Jones is coming in June. So, I feel like this whole outdoor competitive landscape is a thing we’ve got to keep an eye on. We’ve got - what I would argue already without even being here - the best venue, the best parking, the best infrastructure, the best bathroom. All that stuff you need. And this beautiful new stage. So, I’m not too worried about it. But I think it’s something to watch in the future.”
Memphis Botanic Garden Foundation board President Janet Misner said, “Mike brings a wonderful blend of work experience that includes corporate as well as nonprofit. His teamwork approach to management and strong fundraising ability make him a perfect fit for the Garden.”
Allen recently got outfitted - sartorially speaking - for his new job. “I went out and bought a new coat. A new heavy coat. And I went out and bought some new boots. I’ll at least look the part. If I can pull it off, maybe jeans. I don’t know.”
And getting back to that green thumb, Allen remembered he once planted four rose bushes in his backyard. “That was 15 years ago. And they’re still kicking. So, that’s pretty good.”
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Information from: The Commercial Appeal, https://www.commercialappeal.com
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