The Department of Horticultural Science and the College of Agriculture and Life Science are pleased to announce the appointment of Mark Weathington as the new Director of the JC Raulston Arboretum. Mark has a long horticultural history, officially starting in the field in 1991 as Assistant Manager for Laurel Creek Nursery. He received his BS in Horticulture and Sociology from Virginia Tech in 1995 and his MS in Horticulture from Virginia Tech in 1999. Mark’s public garden experience commenced in 1996 as a Horticulturist for Atlanta Botanical Garden. In 1999 he joined the Norfolk Botanical Garden, Norfolk, Virginia, as Director of Horticulture and Facilities for the 155 acre garden. In 2007 Mark was appointed Assistant Director of the JCRA with a wide range of duties including curating collections, writing grants, and assisting in the Arboretum administration. Mark is a frequent and popular speaker, professing his love of plants and horticulture. The JCRA is a nationally and internationally acclaimed garden with one of the largest and most diverse collections of plants for landscape use in the Southeast, especially in the area of woody ornamentals. The JCRA is well known for plant introductions and innovative programming and outreach.