Sandy Hammond

Sandy Hansen is a proud JCMGA graduate of the class of 2017. Her husband graduated in 2016 and convinced her it was a great “club” to join. Apparently, she agreed with him because she soon accepted the role of helping Linda Holder with the tremendous responsibility of organizing vendors for the Spring Garden Fairs in 2018 and 2019. Back then we had over 100 vendors at the Expo. Sandy learned her job well and developed great rapport with the vendors. This year, with the new experiment of holding the 2023 Spring Garden Fair at the SOU Extension, Sandy successfully acquired wonderful vendors. She followed through with them from the initial contact to the ending farewell, making sure they all had a satisfactory experience.

Sandy also assumed the role of Communications Work Group Chair (now called the Marketing and Technology Work Group), which she held for several years. She once again stepped up to the plate with efficiency and competence. She was a “calmer downer” for me, which I needed a lot. She is a friend and very good at handling tense situations.

Now Sandy is concluding her vendor and communications responsibilities. For all that she has accomplished, we give Sandy Hanson our gratitude and respect.  She has been a real asset to our group, and we are lucky to have her.

Sandy Hammond

Chair of the Spring Garden Fair

The 2023 Spring Garden Fair was an experiment that succeeded! We did not know how many people would attend or how the vendors would react to having the fair at this year’s location.   Fortunately, we were able to use the 20 acres adjacent to the extension grounds for parking, making for easy public access.

The great news is IT WORKED! The plants were exceptional this year, thanks to the 2023 Practicum students and mentors. The Native Plant Nursery also provided some outstanding plants for the sale.

The revenue from our sales was over $14,000. Not bad for a 6-hour fair.

The vendors were signed up and organized by Sandy Hansen. The site was organized by Lucy Pylkki. Both women did a terrific job. The radios we purchased for communicating during the fair proved invaluable in making things run smoothly.

The parking folks also did a great job wrangling thousands of cars. A special thanks to Brian Smith (husband of Nicole Smith, 2023 student). His experience was critical in getting a parking system up and running.

There were so many valuable volunteers – and by golly – they sure are appreciated.

Give yourselves a big pat on the back!

We learned what to do and what not to do for next year. It just proves that Master Gardeners are about more than just plants; they are people who can succeed in keeping our association thriving and growing as well.