Geena Luckett (BMgmt '12)

General manager and co-owner, Luckett Vineyards

It was really important to me that I was in a program that would provide a broader education.

When Geena Luckett chose the Bachelor of Management (BMgmt) program, she was sure about two things. She wasn’t going into the family business, and the BMgmt would give her what she needed to find her passion. She was right about one.

After years of working at Pete’s Frootique, her father’s specialty grocery business, she knew her ‘heart wasn’t in it.’ Standing against the backdrop of her vineyard and an expansive view of the Annapolis Valley, she explains, “when I started the program at Dal, I thought that the equine world would be where I would spend my life.” 

Now the general manager and co-owner of Luckett Vineyards, she came to the BMgmt to build a solid foundation in business and management adding, “the option of so many open electives was important because it gave me an opportunity to explore a lot of other areas.” 

Geena appreciates the program’s ‘grassroots feeling’ and credits her undergraduate advisor, Margie Muise, for helping her find her strengths. “I made tons of connections with faculty and students,” she says, “many of which still continue today.” And she took electives, one of which was Family Business. 

Even though she had no intention of joining a family business, a guest lecturer said something that imprinted itself on her. “If you’re considering joining a family business, first get as much experience as you can outside of it.” 

And experience is what she sought. On the list is running an equestrian supply shop, marketing, social media management for the town of Wolfville, and buying for a small business. 

When the position of events manager for Luckett Vineyards became vacant, she applied for the job. 

In the years since, she’s worked every aspect of the business from harvesting grapes to managing the tasting bar to waitressing in the restaurant. She’s also become very involved in community organizations like Wine Growers Nova Scotia.

She says that so much of what she learned at Dalhousie influences her today. Grateful to her professors and the Bachelor of Management program for providing a broad and solid foundation, Geena says she’s found her passion and “her favourite part of the job is that every day is different.”

Photo: Geena Luckett and Marcel Kolb, Vineyard Manager.