Thanks to All Who Helped Make 2008 Arbor Day Festival a Success

Thank you to all who volunteered your time and worked in cold, rainy weather to make this year’s Arbor Day as successful as it was. There would be no festival without you!

Jeannie Brodhead, my tireless co-organizer, deserves all of our gratitude. She most definitely has mine.

{sidebar id=1}The tree volunteers – Angret, Leah, Annett, Huub, Bill, George, Madeleine – plus Betsy & John at the Just Fruits table; Nona, Lee, & Kitty at the Native Nurseries table; & Kawika & colleague at the Forestry table – provided outstanding customer service and helpful information. I hope all involved realize how much community education about trees took place today. Special thanks to Jeannie & Angret for making the labels & photo/info sheets. Thanks also to the UF IFAS Extension Master Gardeners, the Sarracenia Chapter of the Florida Native Plant Society, and the Florida Division of Forestry for partnering in the education effort, providing informative handouts, and such.

The entry and exit volunteers – Christy, Carol, Monte, & Palmer – did an excellent job at their posts.

The raffle organizers & volunteers – Brandy, Jeannie, Ron, Betsey & John, Brickie, Dais, & others – collected a ton of black plastic pots and some useful funds. The 10 winners of our 3 raffles were thrilled with their prizes.

Children were wonderfully entertained by Wanda Murray and the 4-H Arts and Crafters, Lesa Ward with Camp Indian Springs, and Tamara Byrnes (IGC). The new gourd birdfeeders and stamp placemats were big hits.

The delicious free coffee and hot chocolate served by the Iris Garden Club hostesses helped to keep us warm. Preparing these beverages was no easy feat given the distant location of the water, the blown fuses inside the Pavilion, and having to tote heavy pots to and from a trailer with a generator. Fortunately, Chris overcame all obstacles and made it look easy. She, Lois, Norma, and the other hostesses were as gracious as they could have been. Thank you, June Ann, for the beautiful floral arrangement.

The music provide by City Limits was delightful. Pat Jackson & her team from People to People International kept hungry festival goers and volunteers well fed with a variety of food choices. Thank you for participating.

Teenager Warren Hess and his 2 friends worked hard for their community service hours. They cheerfully tackled every task they were assigned, from toting tables to hanging tire swings to picking up trash.

My hat is off to the few, diehard vendors & exhibitors who braved the elements to join us and set up their tents & tables outside in the cold wind & rain – Dallas, Sarah, Bruce, Christy, Cathy, Ron, TCC, & CCOW. I’m so sorry we couldn’t squeeze all of you inside the Pavilion.

Last but not least, tremendous gratitude is owed to the generous organizations & nurseries who provided our trees – The Iris Garden Club, Concerned Citizens of Wakulla (CCOW), Florida Division of Forestry, Just Fruits & Exotics, Purple Martin, Native Nurseries, & Tallahassee Nurseries. Thanks also to the many volunteers who helped to pot and/or transport trees to today’s event.

Thank you again to everyone involved in any way. Send me any suggestions you have for next year. Take care of your new trees. Please reserve January 17, 2009 in your calendar for next year’s Arbor Day celebration.

Thank you,

Lynn Artz

This letter originally published on January 23, 2008.

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