Rod received his BS in marketing from Indiana Univeristy and completed his greenhouse trade study at DuPage Horticulture School in West Chicago, IL. He managed the potted and cut chrysanthemum range in Louisville, KY before joining Pan American Plant Company to manage and relocate Super Seedlings from IL to Parrish, FL. He owned and operated a wholesale greenhouse for finished annuals in Florida, was president of Grimes Horticulture, and is now at Lake Metroparks Farmpark.