Distinguished Alumni
John R. Thomas
Awarded 1991
JOHN R. THOMAS is called Texas' "Johnny Appleseed." As the President and Founder of Wildseed, Inc., he has spread the beauty of the Texas Bluebonnet, Texas Paintbrush, Indian Blanket, and fifteen other wildflowers over acres and acres of the American landscape. He says, "You can go out in the middle of Central Texas where man has hardly ever been and find a Bluebonnet. You look at it and wonder how it got there. It's like looking at the stars and wondering how they were created."
John was raised on a ranch in Eagle Lake and grew up learning ranching and rice farming. He raised animals in FFA and played sports, enjoying football the most. He graduated with 23 others from high school and came to Sam Houston, desiring to pursue a career in something other than farming. John received his Bachelor of Business Administration degree from Sam Houston in 1970 and worked for a real estate company in Conroe after graduation. When his father became ill, he returned home, There he quickly realized the stifling economy of ranching and searched for a way to combine agriculture and business.
In 1984, after witnessing the growth of residential real estate in Houston with subdivisions developing everywhere, he discovered that lawn sodding was an expensive way of beautification. "He became aware of the trend toward including green belts in both commercial and residential projects." Consequently, he founded American Hydro-Grass, the second-largest commercial revegetation contractor in the South, which "specializes in planting grass for erosion control and beautification," and now operates in Texas, Oklahoma, New Mexico, and Louisiana. Soon landscape architects were asking him to plant wildflowers. After investigation, he found that seed and information were scarce: "We saw so many failures in wildflower plantings. There were lots of old wives' tales, but nobody knew what really worked."
In his first year, after spending $250,000 on equipment and research, John stated it was "a very expensive trial and error," but when he got a call from Lady Bird Johnson who expressed her appreciation for his endeavors, her sincerity added vigor to his commitment. Mrs. Johnson spearheaded the formation of National Wildflower Research Center and John became a member of the Research Advisory Council with several of University of Texas' department heads and directors of botanic gardens. In recognition of his achievements, John received the Houston Park People Award in 1984 and the Environmental Improvement Award of Merit from the Association of Landscape Contractors of America in 1981. Articles about John and his company have been published in National Geographic, The Wall Street Journal, Texas Weekly, Texas Highways, as well as national trade journals such as Nursery Manager, Progressive Farmer, and Texas Gardener.
John spent three years and over half a million dollars to invent two patented field machines which plant and harvest eighteen types of wildflowers. Through inventive use of this technology, John has produced a higher percentage of blooms per acre than ever before. His company is the only one in the country that plants, harvests, and sells its own seed. Currently his company produces and sells 88 varieties of wildflower seeds. The company hand-mixes seed packets and provides detailed, tested planting instructions to the consumer. In cooperation with the Texas Highway Department, Wildseed, Inc. has used its seed blends for erosion control and beautification along otherwise empty miles of roads in all parts of the United States over 2,000 acres in the South. Future plans include an experiment of growing wildflowers in a greenhouse environment to use as bedding plants, which would be another first for the company.
John is a dynamic speaker and has the rare talent to captivate his audience in many ways. As a wildflower lover and innovative planter, he can captivate an audience as he unveils the history and "wives' tales" of wildflowers for a gardening feature. As a businessman who is Chief Executive Officer of American HydroGrass Company and Vice President of Thomas Cattle Company, John reveals the challenges and successes of developing Wildseed, Inc. He speaks of Texas ingenuity, detailing his two patented field machines which have produced more wildflower seeds and blooms more easily than other seasoned growers believed possible. When he speaks or is interviewed, he provides photos of actual fields to prove and document his success. His famous "Texas Wildflower Mix," consisting of 28 varieties, was an official packet of the Texas Sesquicentennial.
John's accomplishments certainly reflect the diversity of Sam Houston graduates and bring pride and prestige to his university. John's wife Marilyn (Meitzen) is a also a Sam Houston graduate who received her Bachelor of Science degree in Education in 1969. The Thomases have two daughters and one son and reside in Eagle Lake.