At our 2026 NNBA Fall Meeting & Trade Show in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, we were honored to recognize Joseph Carli as the recipient of this year’s Lifetime Achievement Award.
Each year, the NNBA Board selects one individual to receive this special recognition, alternating between a member and a vendor. This year, it was time to celebrate one of our valued vendor partners. While there are many deserving individuals throughout our association, Joe’s decades of dedication to the nursery industry and the relationships he has built along the way make this recognition especially meaningful.
Through his company, All Green Goods, Joe serves as an independent sales representative for several respected Oregon wholesale nurseries, including Brentano’s Tree Farm, Eshraghi Nurseries, and A&R Spada Farms. An Oregon State University alumnus with a degree in Landscape Architecture, Joe has spent his career sharing his passion for plants, trees, and beautiful landscapes with customers and fellow industry professionals alike.
But Joe’s influence reaches well beyond the sales floor.
His commitment to growing a stronger community goes back decades. In the late 1980s, Joe was part of a group known as the Portland Tree Brigade and became one of the early champions of what would grow into Friends of Trees, a nonprofit dedicated to bringing communities together through tree planting. It was an early reflection of something that has remained a constant throughout his career: a genuine belief in the value of trees, green spaces, and the people who make them possible.
Joe has also generously given his time and talents to organizations throughout the industry, including the American Conifer Society (ACS), the Oregon Association of Nurseries (OAN), and the Farwest Trade Show. His involvement with the American Conifer Society helped make possible the donation of conifers and other plant materials to the Oregon Garden, contributing to a nearly one-acre collection dedicated to dwarf and unusual conifer cultivars.
His contributions have not gone unnoticed. In 2011, Joe received the Oregon Association of Nurseries’ Outstanding Service Award. More recently, he helped raise more than $8,000 for ONPAC, OAN’s political action arm supporting Oregon’s nursery and greenhouse industry.
Joe has also found ways to share his knowledge and enthusiasm beyond the nursery community, contributing to publications including the Street of Trees Tour Guide and Conifer Quarterly, helping connect both industry professionals and home gardeners with the world of trees and conifers.
And for those of us at NNBA, Joe’s impact is felt in a more personal way, too.
Through the vendors he represents, Joe has been a longtime and dedicated partner to our association. But over the years, he has become much more than a vendor representative. He has become a friend to our staff, our members, and the many people who make up this community. His willingness to show up, lend a hand, share his time, and genuinely care about the people around him is something we have always appreciated.
The nursery industry is built on more than plants and products. It is built on relationships, shared knowledge, and people who are willing to invest in something bigger than themselves. Joe has spent decades doing just that.
We are incredibly grateful for all he has contributed to this industry and to the NNBA community. Please join us in congratulating Joe Carli, the 2026 NNBA Lifetime Achievement Award recipient!
Congratulations, Joe. This recognition is so well deserved.