Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, May 6, 1993 TAG: 9305060391
SECTION: NEIGHBORS PAGE: S-6 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: CHARLES STEBBINS
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
Shrader, a horticulturist, even felt an aversion to life as a farmer after a hot day working in the fields of his father's Amherst County spread. But his family had a long tradition of farming, and his grandfather was an orchardist and boxwood cultivator.
But, by the time Shrader graduated from high school in 1972, he was not so determined to avoid a life in agriculture or something closely related.
He entered Virginia Tech, where he earned a degree in horticulture in 1976.
Today, he's an award-winning horticulturist with Carter Associates and has two hotel landscaping projects under his care.
At both the Roanoke Airport Marriott and the Marriott in Blacksburg, travelers find the grounds and patios restful places to unwind after a day of traveling. Carter Associates maintains the landscape for Roanoke Marriott.
Lynn Kirk, director of marketing for the Roanoke Marriott, said hotel guests often comment on the tastefulness of that hotel's garden-like courtyards, patios and interior plants.
The Roanoke hotel has about 20,000 bulbs, 2,500 annual flowers and 5,900 trees and shrubs growing on about 12 acres.
\ Full name: William Dennis Shrader.
\ Age: 38.
\ Residence: Blacksburg.
\ Family: Wife, Peggy, a first-grade teacher; two sons, Brian, 16; and Michael, 17. Also, "Coal," 10-year-old part Labrador retriever.
\ Hometown: Amherst County.
\ Education: Amherst High School, Virginia Tech.
\ Awards: The Grand Award for 1992 from the Professional Grounds Management Society. The hotel competed in the Small Sites category of the competition.
The other was the Keep Virginia Beautiful Landscaping award the hotel won in 1992 and in 1991.
\ Jobs: After college graduation, Shrader went back to the family farm. Putting his education into practice, he built a greenhouse where he operated a small landscaping business for about three years.
Then, he came to a crossroads in his life. The landscaping business had reached the point that it would be necessary to expand and move to a better location to continue it.
"I had to decide if I had enough commitment to the business to do that."
He subsequently got a commercial landscaper job at Laurel Creek Nurseries in Christiansburg, where he had worked part time as a Tech student.
Shrader held the job from 1979 to 1985. During this time, he was given the task of putting in plants at the Roanoke Marriott, after the nursery won a contract to supply planting.
He met T.A. Carter Jr., a Roanoke Valley architect who developed the hotel and is now the owner.
Carter, looking for someone to continue maintenance of the grounds at the Roanoke and Blacksburg Marriott hotels, offered Shrader the job.
\ \ Job obstacles: "Horticulture is hard work. It's not the easiest field to go into."
Horticulture entails long hours, and there is much frustration because "Mother Nature can make or break" all the best efforts of a grounds crew.
"So, I can say that farming prepared me for hard work and gave me a love of the outdoors."
\ Favorite plants: Impatiens are his favorite flowers, because they have spectacular color, are showy and require minimal care.
His favorite tree is the Japanese maple, because it has character - it grows into a variety of interesting shapes.
Among shrubs, Shrader's favorite is the rhododendron because of its showy blooms in the spring.
\ Hardest aspect of the job: Balancing dedication to the job with an obligation to his personal life.
Shrader says the job could take all his time if he didn't work at keeping it from doing so. He finds it difficult to be committed to the job and not neglect his family.
\ Favorite TV program: "Home Improvement." Also watches comedy and drama movies on video.
\ Reading: Mostly trade journals. Rarely reads strictly for pleasure.
\ Favorite sports: Soccer, basketball, football, baseball, about in that order. Plays some soccer with his two sons. Also plays some softball, volleyball and likes water and snow skiing and turkey hunting.
Keywords:
PROFILE
Memo: Also ran in Neighbors May 20, 1993 and in Current on May 20, 1993 (with