By Nance Ebert
Contributing Writer
SHREWSBURY – John Lebeaux knows plants. He has over 25 years in private sector agricultural business experience, combined with public sector service at both the municipal and state level as well as many professional affiliations.
Shrewsbury roots run deep
Lebeaux grew up on Walnut Street in Shrewsbury on the land that his grandfather, Leander Lebeaux owned, which once consisted of over 200 acres known as Buttonwood Farm.
After graduating from Trinity College, he eventually returned to Shrewsbury with his wife, Debbie. He followed in his dad Reuben’s footsteps, joining his business, Shrewsbury Nurseries, which was on a portion of Buttonwood Farm. He held the role of vice president/general manager at Shrewsbury Nurseries for over 25 years. His father founded the business in 1947 after returning from military service in World War II, and Lebeaux fondly recalls growing up there.
“The business was very successful for most of its sixty years. In 2008, there was an economic turn, and people were not buying flowers and plants readily, “ Lebeaux recalled. “Gas prices were high, and it was a tough time for us. My dad passed away and my sister and I made the difficult decision to shut the business down,” he said. “Shrewsbury Nurseries meant so much to so many people. To this day, seeing so many of our trees and shrubs growing and maturing is gratifying. We also provided jobs for many high school and college kids and remain close to many of them.”
Customers would often comment on the humorous billboard signs in front of the nursery on Route 9. One such sign read, “We’re rooting for you. Come in for a shady deal.” Another sign read, “Honk if you’re thorny.” He said these signs also garnered a lot of smiles from people driving by.
Public service
Lebeaux’s family was active in town politics, and in 1998 he was elected to the Board of Selectmen. which he served on for 24 years. A good friend, Shrewsbury town manager Michael Hale, repeatedly urged Lebeaux to apply for the town administrator position that opened in Princeton soon after the nursery had closed. Lebeaux applied and to his surprise, got the job and held it for almost six years. He found this job most gratifying.
“Princeton was the most damaged town in the state as a result of the 2008 ice storm. With my colleagues, we successfully sought and received over $3.8 million in federal and state emergency assistance,” he explained. “When faced one summer with a totally unexpected environmental emergency at the town’s only school, I led the effort to relocate half the school population for the new school year to a school in an adjoining town,” Lebeaux added. “I coordinated the appropriate mitigation efforts so the kids could return the next year and maximized state reimbursement to fund the work and reduce the local tax impact.”
Lebeaux was appointed as the Agricultural Commissioner for the Commonwealth under the Baker-Polito administration and served for eight years. He got to serve the nursery industry as well as all of agriculture in Massachusetts. He was there during the pandemic which presented many challenges and was a very uncertain time for many.
“We had to figure out how to run our agency and help the farmers, nursery people and others in the agricultural sector run their businesses,” Lebeaux explained. “Suddenly, there was a very high likelihood that in a concern for public health, farmers’ markets, farmstands, pick your own farms, nurseries, greenhouses and garden centers would not be allowed to operate. This threatened the very survival of these businesses,” he noted. “The Massachusetts Department of Agricultural Resources (MDAR) developed protocols that allowed the businesses to operate within public health guidelines, provide their goods to a public that very much wanted them and avoid financial ruin,” said Lebeaux.
Lebeaux credits what he learned from his dad at the nursery along with the public sector education he received as a Shrewsbury selectman and Princeton town administrator to his effectiveness as the State Commissioner of Agricultural Resources.
“No one taught me more about government processes than former Shrewsbury Town Manager Daniel Morgado,” said Lebeaux.
Pivot to consulting
Soon after the Baker-Polito administration ended, Lebeaux once again had to pivot. That is when he decided to do consulting work and Buttonwood Farms Consulting became his newest venture, paying homage to the land his grandfather once owned.
“I am now able to guide people through government processes that frequently seem to the public to be very complicated and difficult to successfully navigate,” said Lebeaux. “Maintaining the retail approach that started at Shrewsbury Nurseries, I specialize in helping the ‘little guy’; the small operations that are like my family’s, though I help the ‘big guys’ too.”
Lebeaux credits any success he may have had in his career to what he learned from his parents and wife Debbie. He acknowledges the support and assistance as well from his colleagues at Shrewsbury Nurseries, the towns of Shrewsbury and Princeton and the Massachusetts Department of Agricultural Resources.
And while Lebeaux is no longer working for the state, his commitment to serving the public continues. He recently joined the board of directors of the Worcester County Food Bank. “It allows me to continue some of the food insecurity work I did when I was with the state and I’m excited about that,” he said.
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