Team

Dreaming up ways to connect plants with pop culture to make the plant-buying experience more fun is the job of Lauren Kirchner. She is the creative force behind many of our house brands, including the Groovy Flower Power™ collection. Lauren double majored in marketing and finance at Baylor University, graduating in 2008. Fifteen years ago, she decided to join the family business and never looked back. She is the past chair of Texas Nursery and Landscape Association Region II, has published several articles on plant marketing in trade magazines, and was recently awarded the Top 40 Under 40 for Greenhouse Products News. When not dreaming up new brands, she loves hiking and biking with her husband Eric and two sons. At home, she works on her cut flower garden and makes bouquets for her sons’ teachers. Her volunteering includes sponsoring and teaching the Rosehill Elementary Garden Club and speaking pro bono as an industry presenter on various marketing topics in the green industry.

Evan Jones wears many hats as our head grower and production manager, but his primary job is to grow and deliver high quality plants that make our clients and their customers happy. As the son of Bob and Carla, he grew up in the business, driving a tractor and helping out after school. He went on to receive a bachelor’s degree in horticulture from Texas A&M University, then spent a year working for Seville Farms in Dallas before joining the family business. When he isn’t collaborating with family members and his team to create house brands that will appeal to customers, he is still growing things! One of his big hobbies is viticulture and growing quality grapes for Texas wine. He also loves fishing, hunting and all kinds of sports.

Miguel Esquivel is the MVP of multi-tasking moving parts. He manages the movement of inventory, the flow of bookings and all order processing. Miguel and his team carefully prepare each order for ultimate customer satisfaction. In 2018, he qualified for the national CC Rack-Building Competition and won third place. Miguel has more than 15 years in horticulture doing professional landscape work. Five of those years have been spent at Spring Creek. An all-around plant guy, he spends his free time doing residential landscaping projects, but you also might find him dancing to his favorite tunes.

Eric Kirchner’s job description encompasses anything and everything related to the business side of Spring Creek Growers. His adaptability allows him to lead our accounting, human resources, safety and IT departments. Eric's greatest strength is keeping us up-to-date with advanced technology tools. Eric graduated from Baylor University where he met his wife, Lauren. He cheerfully admits to having no background in horticulture, but he loves learning about it and enjoys doing something new every day. His favorite part of the job is being able to work with his wife and being able to drop off and pick up their children at school.

Melissa McCoury is the master of organized shopping. She purchases and coordinates seeds, plugs and all inputs that go into growing greatness for customers. Sourcing the very best suppliers, her exceptional attention to detail is the starting point for quality plants. Melissa has 15 years of experience in horticulture — 10 years with Spring Creek. She is a graduate of Texas A&M University, class of 2005, with a double major in Horticulture and Entomology. Finding new varieties to keep gardening exciting is a passion of hers as she is an avid gardener herself. On the weekends, Melissa and her husband can be found hanging outside on their cattle ranch chasing their two kids and dogs.

Managing all things distribution, Steve Buzek has been delivering plants for 35 years. He and his old friend, Bob (yes, that Bob) go way back tag-teaming at previous companies, including one where Steve was named Manager of the Year in 2001. Steve heads up an amazing team of drivers, trucks, and racks dedicated to getting plants into the hands of our clients in a timely manner. During the off-season, Steve and his brother work under the hoods of vintage Mustang cars. Steve and his wife, Liz, enjoy their weekend time with their children and grandchildren.

Matt Thomas brings six years of experience in the horticulture field to Spring Creek Growers. He enjoys seeing the joy on customers faces when they are delivered their final products, exploring new products each season and working closely with our team. Matt’s strengths include his knowledge and professional demeanor with customers. In his free time, Matt enjoys home renovation projects, hanging out with friends and family, and barbecuing on the weekends.

Kailey Swanberg is our resident communicator and orchestrator of the customer experience command center. With more than 15 years of experience in the industry — both in retail and landscape design — her passion for plants shines through to make purchasing a breeze. Kailey is a University of Texas – Arlington graduate and her favorite plant is Verbena Lanai Mango Orange for its vibrant explosion of color and versatility. A dog lover and avid gardener, Kailey can talk to anybody.

Rob Browne has worked in the nursery industry for 25+ years, first in retail, then making the jump into wholesale growers. His favorite part of the job is communicating with our customers. He loves educating customers about new, exciting plants they can add to their mix. His favorites are perennial Salvias, as it seems there is a never-ending number of different types. Outside of work, Rob loves to travel to new destinations. The longer the plane ride, the better. But work always follows, and he usually visits a botanical garden while on holiday.

Gretchen joined our team in October 2023 and coordinates the details of purchasing from plugs to pots. Gretchen’s attention to detail and scheduling allows us to reliably produce precise bookings. After graduating from Texas A&M in 2016 with an Animal Science degree, Gretchen spent 10 years working in cattle reproduction logistics and fulfillment. She is excited to expand her agricultural knowledge in horticulture. In her free time, you can find her taking a buggy ride around her ranch with her husband and son, checking cows and feeding out butcher calves. She also enjoys giving back to the community by volunteering in the Junior League, CattleWomen, and the Millican Heritage Society.

Esmeralda is the one who keeps our crop counts accurate. She enjoys recording the quantities of plants every week and ensures the correct information is delivered to the Production and Order Processing departments. Her meticulous work keeps up customer satisfaction with plant count consistency. Esmeralda also coordinates order processing prep functions like tags and she keeps all of our tag library perfectly organized. Her favorite day of the week during summer is our Snow-Cone Friday - her favorite flavor is Mango. Outside of work, Esmeralda likes to go bowling and play sports with her siblings. She also enjoys going to church with her family on the weekends.

Matt Broussard is our master organizer, always looking to make sure our hard goods are pest are received in good condition. He is focused on having our materials ready to go for production and enjoys watching plants grow from start until shipment. When he’s not on the forklift, Matt enjoys family time, especially fishing with his dad and growing plumerias with the help of his dogs, Duke and George.

Wade was raised in the greater Houston area and holds a bachelor’s degree in Agricultural Business from Sam Houston State University. His previous career in ranch sales and agricultural lending has provided him with valuable sales and customer service experience. Wade’s passion for land management and sustainable practices aligns seamlessly with our mission at Spring Creek Growers. As a member of our sales team, he is dedicated to helping customers find the right solutions to support their plant needs. Wade lives in Hockley, TX, with his wife and two daughters. Outside of work, he enjoys spending time outdoors, traveling with his family, and pursuing his passion for nature photography.

Lisa Shepherd takes care of our people and numbers. As our Human Resources and Accounting Manager, she keeps things moving with her 12 years experience supervising at all levels. Lisa is a graduate of Purdue University with a degree in Manufacturing Supervision and is a 20 year customer of Spring Creek Growers. She enjoys family time with her husband and three sons playing board games, competing in March Madness brackets, and traveling. She also enjoys hiking and wine tasting in the Texas Hill Country.