iList Paducah: Mary Kay Sanders, you are just cute, cute, cute, no doubt about it. Your dad’s cute, too. I love seeing you both at Cynthia’s.Mary Kay Sanders: Thank you! And yes, my dad’s cute. He’s very sweet.
IL: So your people are from here. How many generations?
MK: The Sanders family goes back five generations. Actually our last name is Sander. It was “Americanized” by my great grandmother.
IL: You’re a St. Mary’s gal, yes?
MK: Yes, I graduated from St. Mary High School in 1986 and from WKCTC with an associate’s degree in accounting. I do plan to go back to school and finish my bachelor’s and master’s degrees when time allows.
IL: How did your family get involved in gardening?
MK: My great-great-grandfather Frank started growing and grafting trees when he came to Kentucky. Then two of my great uncles, Joe and Lawrence, went to work for the Yopps, which is my mother’s family, before they started Sanders Brothers Nursery. My grandfather, James Sanders Sr., worked for them. In 1957, my father and grandfather started James Sanders Nursery. My uncle Larry owns it now, and my cousin Crystal is the president.
IL: What do you and your dad do now?MK: We have J’ San, Inc., a landscaping business. I am a company officer and hold stock in the company. I do a little bit of everything – from the books to landscaping. I started taking design courses this past summer, and plan to take more throughout the year. I really enjoy working with my father. He has so much knowledge from the 50 years of experience in this business. We work strictly one-on-one with clients, and we help design new, expand or renovate existing landscapes. We also offer maintenance.
IL: Were you the kid with the most perfectly landscaped yard on the block?
MK: No, it’s sort of like the saying the cobbler’s children are the last to get shoes. Well, our house was, and is, the last to be taken care of. It never looks really bad, but this year everybody is having a hard time with the weather.
IL: So you didn’t really learn landscaping growing up?
MK: Actually, I spent most of my time at the horse barn. I started riding when I was 8 and didn’t really get involved with the nursery business until after I had graduated high school and finished one year of college.
IL: Do you have a green thumb? What plants do you do especially well with?
MK: I really don’t have a true green thumb. I buy plants that are pretty well established and then just try to keep them alive and growing. I do best with peonies and lilies.
IL: Tell us about your community outreach.
MK: I do floral work for my church, St. Thomas More Church, and for some of the members. I’m also very active with The Lourdes Foundation. My family established the Kathryn Yopp Sanders Nursing Scholarship Fund in memory of my mother and to help continue the caring attitude of the staff. We’ll have a booth at BBQ on the River next week to raise more funds for it.
IL: Everyone loved your mom.
MK: My mother was known as a one-of-a-kind. She was the sixth of nine children of Lucile and Ed Yopp of Yopp Seed Co. My grandfather tagged her with nickname “Lady Nurseryman.” Mom was appointed to the Paducah Beautification board by Mayor Dolly McNutt in the early ’70s. In the mid-’70s she was appointed by Governor Julian Carroll to decorate the State Capitol and the Governor’s Mansion two years in a row.
IL: Wow. That’s so cool.
MK: She was a very strong woman. Not only did she put in a 40+ hour week, but she raised three children, two exchange students, a foster son and many of our friends. I guess that is why I am so very independent. I learned at a young age that there wasn’t much I couldn’t do, and if I ever had any doubt, my mom was there to encourage me and give me support.
IL: Mary Kay, what do you like to do on a first date in Paducah?
MK: I like to do something casual and fun like eat pizza and go see a movie. Then if there is a next date, we can step it up a notch.
IL: Growing up here, you probably know all the best secret places for dates.MK: Some of my favorites are rollerblading through the park and going for walks in Downtown at night. I also still like going to the drive-in movie when it’s not too hot.
IL: Which one?
MK: The one in Calvert City.
IL: What kind of person are you looking to meet?
MK: I would like to meet a guy who is independent but still gives a call just to say, “Hey.” I am the type of person who meets no strangers, so the person I date has to be comfortable that I am a social butterfly. My family is very important to me, and I have a passion for horses and dogs. So he better be an animal lover.
IL: It’s awesome, and easier, when you know what you want, isn’t it?
MK: I am pretty simple. I say what I mean, and I mean what I say. Don’t ask me a question if you don’t want to hear the truth. I am pretty forward like that.
IL: Forward is sexy, Mary Kay! We love your confident, fun-loving and outgoing ways! Bloom on!
