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Do Right’s Plant Growers owners Dianne and Dudley Davis flank 37th District Assemblymember Das Williams, who presented them with the Small Business of the Year Award recently in Sacramento. |
Do Right’s does right with state Small Business of the Year award
June 19, 2013
By Peggy Kelly
Santa Paula News
Dianne and Dudley Davis are back from Sacramento where their business, Do Right’s Plant Growers, was recently recognized as the Small Business of the Year. 37th District Assemblymember Das Williams recognized the Davises at the June 10 California Small Business Day.
Do Right’s has been in business for nearly four decades and employs 80 people in Santa Paula. It has a 30-acre facility on West Telegraph Road at the corner of Briggs Road.
“Do Right’s,” said Williams, “is a Santa Paula and community jewel... they are a perfect model of a responsible employer, and their beautiful poinsettias, plants, vegetables and herbs decorate and nourish our region.” The company has provided a large selection of annuals, perennials, premium color specialty items, vegetables and herbs for more than 40 years.
“What a wonderful surprise it was to be nominated for Small Business of the Year for the 37th District by Assemblyman Williams,” said Dianne Davis. “We were not expecting this recognition.”
Although people throughout the nation may not recognize the Do Right’s branding, it’s guaranteed they’ve enjoyed their products: every year Do Right’s grows about 80,000 poinsettias for the Christmas season that are sold at national retailers and about 300 independent garden centers. The owners of Do Right’s are also responsible for the beautification of the Downtown, where they started placing and maintaining hanging flower baskets and sidewalk containers.
Dianne Davis was the founder of the Santa Paula Chapter of America in Bloom. The nonprofit organization is responsible for numerous beautification projects, and spearheaded a sponsorship project to provide more hanging flower baskets throughout Santa Paula. The group also oversees the Recreational Bike Trail program that includes various volunteer organizations, businesses and individuals who have adopted and maintain stretches of the trail a block at a time.
“We have taken a lot of pride in our beautification projects in Santa Paula,” said Dianne Davis, “but we could not have accomplished all we have without the help of the many volunteers who have stepped up to help us with these projects. We in turn, thank all who have helped Do Right’s Plant Growers make Santa Paula a prettier community to live in. Although we feel a little self-conscious about the attention we are receiving, Dudley and I were very grateful to receive such an honor.”
The Davises have been recognized in the past: they were grand marshals of the Santa Paula Labor Day and Citrus parades, have been recognized as the Chamber of Commerce’s Member of the Quarter and were awarded the Beautification Project of the Year prize for their efforts in the historic Downtown.
Dianne Davis said the couple moved to Santa Paula in 1991: “We were looking for a home to buy and were sitting in the Jack-in-the-Box when Dudley looked up and said ‘Let’s go up the hill there and see if there are any houses for sale....’ There was one with a for sale sign that we fell in love with and made an offer for on the spot.”
The couple moved to Santa Paula, where “for the first 10 years or so we kept our heads down, we worked so hard... Dudley was going to retire when he turned 70,” said Dianne, who shares her husband’s birth date. In fact, “Dudley had the lease for the business property written to expire on that date, but then he realized he didn’t want to retire, brought the property here and built a brand new facility!”
