Meet the Staff
Benjamin Romney has been the backbone of our horticulture department for many years. He is a renowned floral designer and lover of all plants. He and his wife, Kaye, have 5 children and 15 grandchildren. They love to travel the world together. Just last week they returned from a trip to South America where they were helping one of their sons, Abe, gather research for his doctorate thesis. Bro. Romney also made sure to stop at the new AgReserves Farms in the area.
Ross Spackman returned to BYU-Idaho fall 2014. After graduating from Ricks College he finished his bachelor's and master’s degrees from USU. He then worked for seven years in various federal and state governments before going to the University of Idaho to complete his PhD. Dr. Spackman was teaching at CSI (College of Southern Idaho) for several years before coming back to Rexburg. He and and his wife, whom he met at Ricks, have four children- two of which are BYU-I graduates. Brother Spackman enjoys fishing and racquetball. He teaches Plant Science, Forage Crops, Irrigation, Soils, Foundations 200 (Science- Renewable Energy).
Jared Williams teaches our soil science classes ranging from introduction to soils to crop physiology. Last semester he had the opportunity to teach in Cambodia at the Royal University of Agriculture_ as a Fulbright Scholar. Read more about what a Fulbright Scholar is here. Brother Williams represented the U.S. and taught three sections of soil science...in a different language, Khmer to be exact. So if you're sitting in one of his classes and realize you don't understand what hey's saying, be sure to remind him to speak English.
Nels Hansen's Bio Coming Soon!
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Daniel Dewey teaches a variety of classes including Plant Science, Plant Propagation, Turfgrass Management, Irrigation, Plant Breeding and Genetics, Greenhouse Operations, Home Gardening, and more. Where a lot of time in other classes is spent on the art aspects of horticulture, such as identification and design, a class from Bro. Dewey dives deeper into the science of horticulture.
Read more on the blog. Tricia Cox hails from Kaysville, UT. She attended Ricks College as a general studies major and took a floral design class from Bro. Romney. From then on she was hooked on horticulture and flowers. She completed her bachelor’s degree in Horticulture Management at BYU (Provo). After finishing her bachelor’s degree she worked in various floral shops as well as doing wedding flowers on her own. She teaches the floral design classes. Outside of work her interests include ultimate Frisbee, reading, anything to do with Superman, her main man, water activities, the color purple, and classic movies—think John Wayne and Cary Grant.
Jerry Toll's Bio Coming Soon!
Chris Humphreys' Bio Coming Soon!
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Mitzi Pruitt is our department secretary. She loves and has been heavily involved in scouting for many years and even helps takes care of the Krupp Scout Hallow camp. Mitzi and her husband have 2 boys and 2 dogs. They live in Rigby and enjoy scouting, camping, and skeet shooting. We're so lucky to have someone in the office who already knows their way around. Stop in and say hello to Sister Pruitt anytime.
Blake Willis is a crop and soils scientist and teaches the following classes: Intro to Soils, Environmental Stewardship, Integrated Weed Management, and Agro-Ecology. He grew up plowing dirt in Arco, ID. Bro. Willis started his college education here in Rexburg at Ricks College. He finished the rest of his schooling at Utah State. He and his wife, Debbie, have four children and recently became grandparents.
Reese Nelson's Bio Coming Soon!
Justin Maughan's Bio Coming Soon!
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