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President - GPC

Please welcome Elijah to the GPC Committee. He will be representing the Southern Region taking the place of Sam Lovelace who retired this year from the committee.

The GPC would like to Thank Sam for all his hard work during his years of service to the growing community.

Here is a Bio on Elijah, we are excited to have his expertise on the committee.

9/20/2018 12:56:06 PM

President - GPC

Elijah Meck
Elijah grew up in southeast Pennsylvania where he learned the basics of gardening from his parents. He took various agriculture classes in high school and was a member of the school’s FFA chapter.

9/20/2018 12:57:12 PM

President - GPC

His interests very quickly became focused on agricultural research and product development. Elijah attended The Pennsylvania State University and graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Agroecology. He then moved to North Carolina where he began a Master’s degree program at North Carolina State University in Entomology (the study of insects). Following his Master’s degree Elijah continued his research to attain a Ph.D. in Entomology. Elijah joined Syngenta Crop Protection in 2012 as a Research and Development Scientist in Florida and then moved back to North Carolina in 2014 working as a Technical Lead in the Insect Control Group.
It was during graduate school where Elijah developed his interest in growing giant pumpkins. In 2008 there was a friendly competition between University departments to see who could grow the biggest pumpkin. At the end of the season he was super excited that he had grown the bigger pumpkin and has been hooked ever since. That experience led him to the giant pumpkin growing community where he learned much more about growing giant pumpkins and entered his first GPC weighoff in 2011. Elijah enjoys sharing his knowledge with other growers and has been an active participant in the NC grower’s meeting to educate other growers on safe pesticide handling and application. In 2017 Elijah was very fortunate to have a great year in the patch and grew a new North Carolina state record pumpkin weighing 1458.5 lbs.
When he is not in the patch (and even sometimes when he is in the patch) he can be found spending time with his family. Elijah and his wife Michelle have two young boys that keep them very busy. Besides growing giant vegetables Elijah and his family enjoy other outdoor activities including hunting, hiking, fishing, camping, and the beach.

9/20/2018 12:57:17 PM

Walhalla, ND.

Welcome Elijah.

9/20/2018 1:19:53 PM

Salem, Ohio USA

Welcome. Maybe Syngenta could be a major sponsor.

9/20/2018 4:52:02 PM

Massillon, Ohio

Sam.....Thank you for all you have done, for so long, to further this hobby and to help all the growers.

Elijah.....Thank you for stepping up to this position.
Best of luck to you.

9/20/2018 6:45:54 PM

Bloomington, IN USA

Welcome Elijah!
It is great to learn about you.

10/2/2018 8:11:47 PM

3430 Tulln/Austria/Europe

Welcome on board, Elijah!!!

10/3/2018 12:12:28 AM

Georgia

Congrats Elijah. You have to promise to fight for southern pumpkin growers within those backroom meetings. lol I really think that the GPC Bomber jacket should be attainable by a southern grower. The new threshold will be 2300 lbs. which is not attainable in a truly southern or certain western states. Since weigh-off locations are divided into geographical locations, why not award the GPC bomber jacket to the largest pumpkin each year in each geographical location. If you have repeat winners all they would get is a patch. And at least the locals would have a more attainable goal of being the best in their division. Kind of like in the real old days before your time, when Harley Race was the NWA World Heavyweight Champion and Ric Flair was the United States Heavyweight champion. I will never knock off a grower of a 2500lb pumpkin in the northeast, but I might someday knockout a southern pumpkin king from Tennessee.

Fight for us Elijah :-)

10/3/2018 12:41:08 PM

Westmoreland, KS

Welcome Elijah!

10/3/2018 10:33:11 PM

Ontario, Canada

Welcome to the BoD Elijah.

Thank you Sam. Your service & dedication to the GPC is gratefully appreciated.

10/4/2018 7:30:36 AM

Walhalla, ND.

Welcome Elijah..

10/4/2018 8:33:52 AM