New England Grows names 2016 Future Leader

A Massachusetts high school student was named the 2016 Future Leader by New England Grows.

New England Grows honored Angelo Butera, a horticulture student at Minuteman High School in Lexington, Mass., for an essay he wrote about his experience at the association’s Future Leaders program in December. Out of 60 submissions, Butera’s essay “captured the spirit, determination and insight of a future leader,” the association said.

“We felt Angelo’s essay demonstrated technical knowledge, as well as an understanding of the big picture and how the information he learned at Grows would be applicable to grow his family’s business,” said Michelle Harvey, New England Grows’ president and owner of Lakeview Nurseries in Lunenburg, Mass.

She noted that Butera represents the third generation of a family-owned landscape business, Leo Butera & Sons Landscaping of West Newton, Mass. Now in his junior year at Minuteman, he is an honors student who is also an active leader in the Minuteman FFA chapter and participates in the school’s Cooperative Education Program.

Butera was recognized for his achievement in a ceremony held at Minuteman High School on May 10. Harvey presented Butera with the 2016 Grows Future Leader of the Year award in a room filled with fellow students, family, faculty members and horticulture industry leaders.