Norman Cox 4-H Scholarship

Norman Cox was one of the most successful gladiolus growers in the Fort Myers area as founder and first president of the Florida Gladiolus Brokers Association, and president of Gulf Coast Farms. A native of Evansville, Indiana, Cox began in the flower business in 1931 as a florist supplies salesman. Ten years later, he came to Fort Myers with his wife and two small children, put all their savings as a down payment on a piece of land just south of Pine Island Road along Matlacha Pass in North Fort Myers, and set to work manually clearing the land for a gladiolus farm. Harvesting his first crop in 1945, Norman and his family built a successful business harvesting 18 million bulbs annually.