Master Gardeners Awarded Silver Shovels

Due to the pandemic, they were unable to hold the event in 2020, so they had two years' worth of accomplishments and awards to celebrate.

Following a pot-luck dinner and a presentation on wetland vegetation by Dr. Tom Pluto, Master Gardener Coordinator Dr. Debra Burrows awarded pins to acknowledge years of service as Master Gardeners. She recognized the contributions of Kathy Gillen, Lynda Cridge, and Candy Gore, who each received 5-year pins for volunteer service as Master Gardeners. Deborah Liguori, who became a Master Gardener in 2011 received a 10-year service pin.

Burrows then announced the recipients of the Silver Shovel Award, a stainless steel wooden handled hand trowel, given to Master Gardeners for exemplary service to the program, their community, and their fellow volunteers. The first two recipients, Candy Gore and Deb Liguori received Silver Shovels for their work as coordinators of the Garden Hotline and Plant Sale projects respectively. Burrows described Gore's commitment to making sure garden hotline questions were handed accurately and efficiently during her years as Hotline Coordinator and thanked her for taking on the added responsibility. She acknowledged Liguori's service as coordinator of the annual plant sale which has grown over the years to feature hundreds of plants, especially natives and native cultivars, that are made available to both the general public and local organizations seeking to support pollinators and other wildlife. Burrows thanked Liguori for going above and beyond to ensure that everyone got the plants they needed, in spite of the challenges posed by the pandemic.

Next to receive Silver Shovels were Kathy Gillen and Lynda Cridge for their willingness to step up and do whatever was needed throughout their years of service. Burrows indicated that their dedication was exemplary and that she knew she could always count on them, no matter what the task. She mentioned Kathy's efforts to harvest Winterberry holly for one of the group's Holiday Greens Sales, traveling to another county, tramping through a swamp, and falling in the mud, and yet she still kept going until enough Winterberry had been gathered. Burrows thanked Lynda for coordinating the Ask a Master Gardener informational table which she sets up at Farmers' Markets, fairs, and other events to provide literature and answer gardening questions. She also thanked her for always being available when another pair of hands were needed to get a job done, and especially for her help rescuing a kitten in distress during plant sale preparations several years ago.

James Randall received a Silver Shovel award for being, as Burrows explained, "the go-to guy" that the group counted on for solving problems like finding hay bales for the fair display and providing a trailer to move nearly 600 plants for the plant sale. She also acknowledged his excellent work as a beekeeper and the delicious honey he provided.

Charles Kincaid, who transferred into the Clinton County Master Gardener program from New Jersey several years ago was awarded a Silver Shovel for his outstanding service in developing PowerPoint presentations, writing articles for the newspapers, coordinating Basic Training classes for new recruits, developing displays, and for always taking a positive, relaxed, and supportive approach to any situation. She acknowledged that the group has benefited greatly from his input which is much appreciated.

One of the newest members of the group, Melissa Green, who became certified as a Master Gardener over the summer, received a silver shovel for her service as a workshop presenter. She created a presentation called "Grow your own Salad" in which children learn about growing vegetables by planting seedlings of salad ingredients such as lettuce, tomatoes, peppers, etc. She also developed a composting presentation for adults interested in using yard and kitchen waste to improve their garden soils. Melissa's presentations were very well received by adults and children alike.

Another new Master Gardener, Amy Strong, received a Silver Shovel for her outstanding work in several areas, including designing and distributing the 2021 plant sale catalog, as well as flyers, advertisements, and press releases about upcoming activities. Amy also coordinated a Master Gardener booth at the SPCA Pet Extravaganza where volunteers provided catnip seeds and shared information about plants that could be harmful to pets. She created two iMovies, one on the plant sale which she shared on Facebook and another featuring photos of Master Gardener volunteers throughout the years which she showed for the first time at the annual dinner. Amy designed a color-coded planting plan for a native plant garden and worked tirelessly to develop a display for the Clinton County fair and conduct activities to encourage children's interest in gardening.

Also receiving Silver Shovel awards, but unable to attend the event due to illness, were Kathy Dorman for coordinating the writing of gardening articles for the Backyard Gardening Column in The Record and Lucy Cramer for taking over Garden Hotline coordination duties last year. Both Kathy and Lucy have worked diligently to make their respective projects successful. Because they were not able to attend, Burrows indicated that formal presentations of their Silver Shovels would be made at a later date.

Master Gardener Deb Liguori acknowledged the work done by Anne Gibson, Melissa Green, Charles Kincaid, and Jim Randall to provide workshops at the Garden Sense Symposium held on September 18^th and gave each a mug filled with treats to thank them. Jim Randall found a very creative way to share the honey his bees made by packaging it in light bulb-shaped jars with ladybug lids and passing them out to everyone. He and his daughter also created herb-infused decorative soaps which they gave to those in attendance.

As the evening drew to a close, Master Gardeners surprised Dr. Burrows with flowers, cards, and gifts to thank her for her encouragement and her work as program coordinator. In keeping with annual dinner tradition, each Master Gardener received a potted hardy Chrysanthemum as a thank you for another year of service.

Planning for the outdoor dinner and program was handled by Master Gardeners Anne Gibson, Kim Carey, Lucy Cramer, and Ann Rozelle who shared the responsibility as members of the Master Gardener training class of 2020. They decorated the picnic pavilion with strings of lights and placed arrangements of dried hydrangeas on the tables in addition to scheduling a speaker and planning the menu.