AmericanHort welcomes Kathy Fediw and David Korstad to the Interior Plantscape Hall of Fame

AmericanHort is pleased to announce the 2020 inductees to the AmericanHort Interior Plantscape Hall of Fame — Kathy Johnson Fediw, LEED AP ID+C, CLP, CLT and David Korstad, president of Sedgefield Interior Landscape. The AmericanHort Interior Plantscape Hall of Fame honors individuals of integrity whose personal dedication provides great leadership in the development and growth of the interior plantscape industry. Individuals nominated must have contributed a minimum of 15 years to the development and permanent betterment of the interiorscape industry.

Kathy Johnson Fediw worked in the interior plantscape industry for 40 years as an internationally known interior plantscape consultant, author, trainer, and speaker. An alumna of Penn State University, she is a LEED accredited professional, a Landscape Industry Certified Professional and Landscape Industry Certified Technician. Prior to opening her own consulting firm in 2001, she worked for Plantscape, Inc. in Pittsburgh, PA and Natura in Texas. While a consultant, she also served as editor and publisher of I-Plants online magazine for nearly a decade, retiring in 2019. As an author, Fediw has written numerous articles for trade journals, association newsletters, training manuals and programs, and several books including “The Manual of Interior Plantscaping” and “Green Plant Care Tips for Techs”. She served on several boards including for OFA, now AmericanHort, Green Plants for Green Buildings, the Certification Council of the National Association of Landscape Professionals, and the USGBC Piney Woods branch.

David Korstad has worked in the interior plantscape industry for more than 40 years. Having grown up working at the family nursery, he joined the family business, Sedgefield Landscape Nursery, which later became Sedgefield Interior Landscape, after studying at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. The company got its start in interior plantscaping in 1969 after agreeing to its first job for a Westinghouse Corporation facility in Winston-Salem, NC. He moved to Georgia in 1976 to open the Sedgefield Interior Landscapes division where he worked his way up from general manager to president. Semi-retired today, Korstad has served in several industry board positions including as president of the Atlanta Interior Landscape Association (AILA), and held a ten year tenure on the board of directors of the Associated Landscape Contractors of America-Interior Landscape Division/Interior Plantscape Division (ALCA-ILD/IPD). He became chairman of ALCA-ILD in 1986 when the group merged with the Interior Plantscape Association (IPA) to form ALCA-IPD. Additionally, he served as chairman of the ALCA education committee. Korstad was instrumental in the creation of the Foliage Clean Air Council, the forerunner for what is today known as the Green Plants for Green Buildings.

The lifetime achievements of Kathy Fediw and David Korstad will be honored during the Plantscape Awards Celebration held on the evening of Sunday, July 12, during the Cultivate’20 trade show and conference, where they will be inducted into the Interior Plantscape Hall of Fame.

All are encouraged to attend the awards celebration and dinner to raise a toast of appreciation to these industry leaders. The evening event will also include the presentation and celebration of the International Plantscape Awards program. Tickets to the celebration can be purchased at AmericanHort.org/Cultivate. Nominations for the 2020 Interior Plantscape Awards are currently being accepted until March 22. Complete information about the Hall of Fame program may be found at AmericanHort.org/Awards.

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