Judith's Corner: Mushy Stuff

    Many thank yous are in order, so I'm going to list achievements and say
nice things about everyone, so grit your teeth and read along.

   Torri Junge has turned herself inside out as she has scoured the world
for the ingredients for the GVRS Pruning kits. It has taken extensive research
and frustrating e-mails and phone calls to track down and secure all the items
the kits require--there wasn't a single-source we could turn to. She was able
to get the Simple Green people to donate some of our initial ingredients, and
she's worked with the True Value hardware at 12th and Orchard to keep us
re-supplied with several key components. Torri has fronted most of the costs of
this project.

    Janet Coleman got herself licensed as a dealer so that we could include
the sharpening files in the pruning kits at a reasonable price. She also
spotted the hottest item in town, the "cloud basin" humidifiers, secured them at a
ridiculously good price, and allowed GVRS to sell them to the public for a
reasonable profit while keeping prices low. You don't want to see her charge card
statement! A special thanks to Rick Coleman, who has graciously shared his
garage with stacks of cartons and GVRS chaos!

    Mary Mastin and Wanda Smith-Valencia took on the task of going
door-to-door to local businesses soliciting awards, prizes, trophies, and sponsorship
for our Rose Show. Anyone who's ever done fundraising knows what a pain it is to
go around and annoy people for good causes. They had many successes, but Mary
commented that med school was easier than fundraising.

    Wanda and Alex rode into town on the day of Roberta's pruning practice
and whipped through the pruning of all those roses in record time--they were
like a pruning machine! And then, they did it again at the Botanical Garden with
the public watching the blur of their tools. They're absolutely fearless! I
say it's time to organize a pruning rodeo--I think we have the team to beat!  

    Albert LaSalle, and his entire pit-crew, Terry LaSalle, just keeps
showing up and being fabulous. We've seen Albert do his tool-care workshop three
times this month, and he never misses a beat. These two are an amazing resource
for us, and for the entire gardening community. In the next year they've
committed to working on expanding their Year in the Rose Garden power-point
presentation for us, AND they have offered to let us have our next yard sale at their
beautiful home. Wow!

    Shari Daly-Miller raced down to KAFM and did a radio show about our
pruning demonstration, and she did that with almost no time to prepare, or anyone
to accompany her. Brava!

    And then there are Nancy Anderies and Roberta Forbes. Scout's
honor--without them, I simply could not function as President. They remember everything,
and they keep me on track. They produce printed materials, make calls, mail
alerts, keep track of calendars and schedules, run errands, and stay in
contact--they ask me good questions. If something comes up that I can't handle, I know
they'll take care of it. Roberta lets GVRS use her home like our own
clubhouse--Nancy and her husband Bill have been doing the folding, labeling, sealing,
stamping and mailing of the last few newsletters. Every time I thank Nancy and
Roberta, they brush it off and ask what needs to be done. In every way, they
are your co-presidents--put them into the life boats first!

Back to Judith's Corner                             This page last modified: June 02, 2004