Special Recognition
Duane Reynolds
The MSHS State Awards Committee recently lost a valued member, when Duane Reynolds retired from the committee this year. Duane was always a wealth of information about the history of the Horticultural Society and members of the gardening community at large. 

Duane Reynolds, New Hope with wife Patty

Bronze Award
Gary Schaben
Gary became enamored with daylilies in the 1980s. He liked their vigor and hardiness, and began hybridizing his own. Gary is active in the Hemerocallis Society of Minnesota and the American Hemerocallis Society (AHS). Over the years, Gary and his wife Rita have generously contributed many daylilies and extensive time to local and regional AHS events. Gary has received Honorable Mentions for several of his cultivars. His introductions have also earned top ranking in the AHS Region One Popularity Poll. 

Gary Schaben, Monticello

Outstanding Youth Award
Candice Lipinski
In her 9th grade Agricultural Exploration class, Candice’s interest in horticulture grew as she worked with plants in the greenhouse. When she worked on a Supervised Agricultural Experience, she began her ASE by building two planter boxes. Candice has won a local proficiency award for landscape design along with placing second in the Region V Landscape Management Proficiency Award. During the summer Ag program, Candice volunteers to care for the flower beds at the two elementary schools in town.  She is currently vice-president of the Montevideo FFA. 

Candice Lipinski, Watson

Bruce Bersford Educator’s Award
Louise Worm
As an educator, her accomplishments in agriculture and horticultural education are unsurpassed. She has been instructing high school students for over twenty years, and shares with them her passion for lifelong learning, a determined work ethic and a strong background in horticulture, floriculture and nursery landscape.  Fifty-one FFA Career Development Event teams that Louise coached to National competitions placed in the top ten. She has received state and national recognition for her work in developing a pit greenhouse, her innovative curriculum developed in Horticultural Science and for her accomplishments as an Agriculture teacher. 

Louise Worm, Vadnais Heights

Bob Churilla Golden Rose Volunteer Recognition Award
Jerry & Lee Shannon
This year’s volunteer award goes to two volunteers. Jerry and Lee Shannon have been around the Horticultural Society since the late 1960s.  What you can be sure of, is that they will help out if they can. They volunteer for the Home and Garden Show, the Home and Patio Show and the State Fair. They are both on the volunteer committee, and they worked on the Mission 125 to buy a building for the organization. They were among the volunteers who started making the now famous “Seven Bean Soup” that we sell. Jerry was on the board of directors. He was president from 1991 to 1992. He has been back on the board twice since, as the need appeared. They have made their garden available for tours numerous times over the years, and have hosted numerous travel tours sponsored by MSHS.

The quality that stands out for this year’s winners is their resilience. Despite all of the changes that the organization has gone through, Jerry and Lee continue to pitch in to do what is best for the organization. 

Lee and Jerry Shannon, St. Paul

Garden Club Member of the Year
Linda Helgeland
This year’s recipient has been an active Master Gardener since 1999 and a Moccasin Garden Club member for 5 years. She was recognized with the 13th District Gardener of the Year Award in 2006, and has earned many Grand Champion ribbons. Linda Helgeland’s design expertise and hands-on teaching of volunteers at the local Pioneer Village has been invaluable to the community. She took on the task of identifying and labeling all of the plants at this historic Village. Linda has shared her considerable horticultural knowledge be presenting many programs for garden clubs and women’s groups. She has a gift for working with youth, both in teaching planting fundamentals and flower arranging. 

Linda Helgeland, Thief River Falls

Garden Club of the Year
St. Anthony Park Garden Club
A relatively young garden club (10 years old). St. Anthony Park Garden Club dedicates its plant sale proceeds for community projects. It is for their dedication to the garden at the Horticulture Building at the State Fairgrounds that has brought this garden club to the forefront. Ron Dufault has taken major responsibility for the planning and maintenance of the garden. Brett Davis created the design for the garden and coordinates plant donations from Hermes Floral. Several members of the garden club assist on a weekly basis throughout the summer with planting and weeding. Mary Maguire Lerman was instrumental in procuring plants from her contacts at Bailey Nurseries and Rush Creek Growers. Many others spent numerous hours maintaining this garden including: Ardys Moen, Ruth and John Bentley, Judy Probst, Carol and Roger Upham, Brett Davies, Kim Bung, Ann and Wayne Sisel, Bill Lerman and Diane Norris. We hope they will continue to work with us as we expand the garden!

St. Anthony Park Garden Club, St. Paul

Community Garden Award
The Friends of Horton Park
The Hamline Midway Environmental Group
The Hamline Midway Tree Team
The Midway Greenspirit Community Garden
True to the spirit of community and collaboration and stewardship, volunteer gardeners in the Hamline Midway neighborhood have made a positive impact on their community. The Hamline Midway Environmental Group converted the often neglected Snelling Avenue planters into a community supported series of container gardens. The Friends of Horton Park and the Hamline Midway Tree Team worked side-by-side on projects to improve the green environment of Horton Park in the Midway area of St. Paul. The Midway Greenspirit Community Garden has learned to organize, manage resources, expand, attract new gardeners, and perhaps most important, the group has developed a sense of community around urban gardening and food security. 

The Friend of Horton Park/Hamline Midway Tree Team, St. Paul
The Hamline Midway Environmental Group
The Midway Greenspirit Community Garden

MN Recreation and Parks Association Award
Grand Marais Harbor Park
Six years ago, grassroots efforts began that culminated in the beautiful new Harbor Park in Grand Marais. After an extensive public process, an exciting park design was approved. The budget of $500,000 was the only hurdle to the creation of a park for the community and many visitors to enjoy. The landscape design included ten separate garden beds, teak benches, eighteen-inch concrete walls, wrought iron fencing, a concrete central plaza, a boulder wall along the lakefront. The fundraising began. With the help of community volunteers, donations from local businesses and nine Master Gardener volunteers Harbor Park is now a reality!

Grand Marais Harbor Park

St. Paul Garden Club Award
Cornercopia Student Organic Farm
In 2005, in the first student organic farm planning course at the U of MN, students laid out the guiding principles and a mission statement for a student organic farm that includes research, education, outreach, community building as well as providing food under student management. Cornercopia Student Organic Farm exemplifies experimentation and creative land use. As a partnership firmly rooted in community, Cornercopia is a collaboration among the Minnesota Institute of Sustainable Agriculture, the College of Food, Agriculture and Natural Resource Sciences, and Extension. 

Cornercopia Student Organic Farm, St. Paul

K.E.E.Y. Award (Kids, Education, the Environment & You)
Kimball Elementary Youth Garden
That children learn best through engagement and active exploration of the world around them was the guiding philosophy for creating the Kimball Elementary Youth Garden. In the spring of 2002, with the collaboration of four of Kimball’s’ teachers, the encouragement of the elementary principal and the guidance of retired teacher and Master Gardener Carl Hoffman, the Youth Garden was spearheaded by elementary teacher Deb Schmidt. The curriculum was designed to include students in planning and design, choosing plants, and tending the garden. Deb structured a science and nature curriculum for her after-school and summer classes. The garden won first place in the Kimball Area Beautification Contest. K-3rd graders use the garden tools, supplies and the shed for planting projects, 4th graders use the garden for their study of Honey Bees, and 6th graders use the garden for their Monarch study and held their graduation at the garden. 

Kimball Elementary Youth Garden

Minnesota State Horticultural Society President’s Award
GardenWorks
GardenWorks is a new community garden program which compliments MSHS’ Minnesota Green program by helping organize community gardeners. GardenWorks has developed relationships with community gardeners across the Twin Cities metro area facilitating cooperation and support between community gardeners and raising public awareness. GardenWorks has developed a directory of community gardens, collecting data on 160 community gardens in the Twin Cities metro area. The staff moderates an email listserv that connects community gardeners and supporters from across the metro. GardenWorks coordinates a Parade of Community Gardens, raising public awareness of community gardens. GardenWorks and MSHS’ Minnesota Green program collaborated on the Community Garden Spring Resource Fair. 

GardenWorks, Twin Cities

Soni Forsman, Eagan

Marge Hols, St. Paul

The Kestrel Design Group for the Minneapolis Public Library’s Green Rooftop

O.W.L.S. Garden Shares, Minneapolis  

Susan Wilkins, Eloise Butler Wildflower Garden, Minneapolis