About Us
Summers & Associates manages The Garden Center Group and the Sidney B. Meadows Scholarship Endowment Fund. A legacy site for The Southern Nursery Association, which Danny and Karen Summers managed for more than 25 years, has been created to highlight the historical significance the association played in the horticulture industry and to preserve the records of those industry leaders that served throughout the decades. You will find this site at www.sna.org.
DANNY SUMMERS possesses a wealth of knowledge in various for-profit and non-profit business management business sectors. Before Summers & Associates, he served as Executive Vice President of the Southern Nursery Association, a regional trade association with more than 1,800 members, for 18 years (1988 - 2006). Danny developed one of the industry’s largest trade shows, with more than 800 exhibitors and 10,000 attendees, and created and managed an education foundation for 16 years.
His for-profit experience includes sales and marketing management of retail, wholesale, and manufacturing businesses. Danny’s areas of expertise encompass association/foundation startup and management, consulting and strategic services, event and trade show management, grant writing and management, fundraising and marketing, and implementation of systems and workflows to support these programs. Danny is known for his no-nonsense and straightforward approach and his ability to see the “big picture” and provide a roadmap for a business to succeed.
Danny currently serves as Managing Director for The Garden Center Group and Executive Vice President of the Sidney B. Meadows Scholarship Endowment Fund.
KAREN SUMMERS has an extensive business management background with more than 25 years of association management. During her early career, she was an advertising assistant for one of the nation's largest retail chains, manager of a retail florist shop, and office manager of a large real estate appraisal firm.
These positions developed her strong marketing, administrative, and customer service skills while further developing her innate creativity. She served in management roles for the Southern Nursery Association (1989 - 2006) and returned to serve as Executive Vice President from 2011 - 2021. During her respite working for the SNA, she enjoyed working for a winery using both her business and creative skills.
Karen is well versed in administrative services, communications, marketing, public relations, and event management - from 10 to 10,000 attendees. In addition, she is experienced in graphic design, desktop publishing, and website development.
She currently serves as the CFO and manages Client Services for The Garden Center Group.