The 2023 Pin Party
By Laurie Tham, Master Gardener
The Rutgers Master Gardeners of Union County held its 35th annual Recognition Party for volunteer Master Gardeners on October 1, 2023. Over 70 Master Gardeners gathered at the Westfield Presbyterian Church. County Commissioner Bette Jane Kowalski was in attendance to thank the many Master Gardeners that were recognized for their service.
Madeline Flahive DiNardo, County Agent, first presented certificates to 12 newly certified Master Gardeners, each having completed the comprehensive Master Gardener training program and 60 hours of volunteer work. The Aurum Insigne awards were presented to 4 Master Gardeners who have contributed 1000 volunteer hours. Among the areas the volunteers have contributed tirelessly on are the county’s Herb Garden, Sharing Garden and Annex, and the Garden Helpline.
Master Gardener Honorees were presented to twelve Master Gardeners for 10 years of years of service, six for 20 years, and one for over 30 years of service. Special recognition certificates were presented to four Master Gardeners who contributed lifetime volunteer hours of 500, 3,000, and 12,500!!
The Presidential Volunteer Service Awards presented by the United States president were awarded to ten Master Gardeners who had contributed 100 to 249 hours in the 2022 calendar year. Among the many accomplishments of these Master Gardener leaders in 2022: the Trex recycling initiative kept 438 pounds of plastic out of the waste stream, and over 2400 pounds of produce were donated to 12 local food pantries! Master Gardeners’ contributions also included: speaking about pollinators, writing for the MG newsletter, renovating the Cut Flower garden and the Plant Architecture garden at the Demo Garden, and initiating the Lorax pruning team for the garden. In addition, the Master Gardeners contributed to community programs and events such as the Beautification Project at Cranford’s Lincoln Park, the Chatfield Garden project in Warinanco Park, Wild Earth Sunday, Gardening with Children, and the popular Spring Garden Fair and Plant Sale.
The Master Gardeners program in its 35th year welcomed 19 graduates from the 2023 Master Gardener training program.
A long-standing tradition of the State Master Gardener Association is for each county to annually present two Awards for Excellence to a deserving individual or master gardener team for outstanding volunteer service. Master Gardeners submitted nominees for these awards to our county MG Executive Board, who in turn select awardees for the year. This year, the Union County Award for Excellence are Michael Girouard and the Sharing Garden & Annex Team. Michael had a tremendous impact on the comeback and beautification of the many areas at the Demonstration Garden post-Covid. The Sharing Garden & Annex Team led by Terry Moore, Karen Mulvihill, and Arlene Rosen produced and donated over 14,000 pounds of produce from 2014 to June 2023 to twelve different nonprofit entities.
Last, but not least, was the presentation of the Wesley Philo Award for Volunteer Excellence to Dean Talcott. The award was presented to his wife, Linda, as Dean passed away this August. Dean, a graduate of the 2011 class with over 800 volunteer hours, had contributed for many years to the MG Spring Garden Fair, Wild Earth Festival, and Harvest Festival at Trailside. In addition to being a Master Gardener Volunteer, Dean was an active founding member of the Master Tree Stewards. Among many of his accomplishments, Dean had educated 2400 students about the value that trees contribute to the environment, and he had worked tirelessly to nominate over 100 trees throughout Union County for their inclusion in the Big Trees program to the NJ State Nominal Forestry Service.
Congratulations to all of our Master Gardeners!