Conference  Speakers 

Erin Simmons 

Laurel Ridge Studios

Erin lives in the Appalachian mountains of Southwest Virginia where she makes handcrafted brooms and brushes. She loves educating others about the rich history and culture of broom making, watercolor and pressed flowers.

As an art educator and advocate for eighteen years she discovered her  passion for broom making about five years ago and began making them almost three years ago.

She offers whisks and brooms bound by hand, start to finish, and woven with a non-electric process. Many of the handles are harvested in the woods behind my studio or come from repurposed and discarded objects like croquet mallets or deer sheds.

Her brooms are created to carry on the tradition and culture of Appalachia, as well as, to create beautiful and functional pieces of art that help instill a sense

Calvin and Julie Spears

High Flight Herbs and Heirloom Lavender Farm

Cal and Julie Spears, both veterans of the U.S. Air Force, have operated High Flight Herbs and Heirlooms Lavender Farm for the past 8 years in Englewood OH. The operation is primarily a small batch farm and has been successful selling products at vendor shows. Cal and Julie have big plans to scale up to open to the public within the next couple of years. 
Julie leverages her RN nursing background and MS in Herbal Medicine on the lavender ("Herbs") part as well as teaching about herbs, while Cal uses his extensive woodworking skills to craft high-quality handmade wood products ("Heirlooms"). Both of us combine our military skills to run the business end of things, and it's definitely our superpower!
Cal is also the mastermind behind our adventures in culinary lavender. Lavender cooking guru, Nancy Baggett, recently gave his chocolate lavender bark a taste test at the 2025 USLGA conference and gave it "two thumbs up"!' 

Jess and Brenton Underwood

Certified Pour 

With a combined 30+ years of bartending experience, Brenton and Jessica Underwood turned their passion for craft cocktails into a thriving small business, Certified Pour. Launching at the start of COVID, they began by creating handcrafted cocktail mixes and delivering them throughout the New River Valley. As demand grew, so did their vision. Today, Certified Pour specializes in crafting unique cocktails for special events, providing top-tier bartending staff, and supplying everything needed to elevate any celebration. With a commitment to creativity and quality, they bring the art of mixology to every pour.

Jessica Kidwell                        

Floral Fox Farm 

Jessica lives in the heart of Central Kentucky in Nicholasville, where she grows garden mums and heritage mums, lavender plants, luffa sponges, fresh cut flowers and produces many value-added products. She has the heart of a teacher and loves to educate her customers on growing plants and flowers.

She doesn’t come from a farming or horticulture background, but has discovered there is virtually nothing you can not accomplish if you become a lifelong learner. After attending a Master Gardener training in 2009, she began growing new varieties of plants. In 2016, her family moved to 5 acres in the country and she began farming commercially in 2019. Each season she grows and sells out of over 2500 fall mums, and several hundred luffa sponges, value-added products, as well as lavender plants.

She has developed a strategy to add unique and profitable crops during the shoulder seasons before and after lavender has finished blooming. With approximately ½ acre in production between her mum, Lavender, and luffa fields as well as a 72 x 30 high tunnel, she encourages others to grow on their land and demonstrates that it is possible to have a high ROI in a very small footprint.

Zakia Ringgold

Zakia, a seasoned entrepreneur and digital marketing maven, brings over two decades of expertise in Instructional Design to revolutionize small business owners' digital presence. Launching her entrepreneurial journey with Natural Soap By Zakia, she not only crafted handmade soap but also mastered the intricacies of live streaming and online marketing, setting the stage for her subsequent ventures.

Seamlessly transitioning, she founded the Virtual Experience Design Agency, strategically intertwining live streaming and digital marketing to create compelling online brand experiences for libraries, universities and non-profit organizations. 
Now, with Business Tech Lab, she offers tailored training and solutions to make digital marketing simple and effective for small business owners.  Zakia stands out as a prominent figure at the intersection of entrepreneurship and the dynamic world of digital marketing.

Ellen Reynolds

Beagle Ridge Herb Farm

Ellen opened Beagle Ridge in 2001 and has been specializing in Lavender for over 20 years. She is a recognized speaker at lavender and herb events up and down the East Coast, and is a Charter member of the USLGA serving on several committees over the years.

Beagle Ridge is a thriving Herb and Lavender Farm and agritourism destination  in Wytheville VA. Her passion for teaching other growers has created a thriving workshop series known as Lavender Academy. The academy teaches novice and expert growers how to grow Lavender and grow their lavender business. Since beginning the Lavender Academy in 2019, students from 32 states have come to take these weekend long workshops. Ellen said, “when we began, we never imagined this.” Ellen and Gregg encourage new growers to start small and to know what you like and want to do, before you get in over your head.