President’s Corner

The holidays are with us, and the end of the year is fast approaching. I hope that you had a wonderful time with your family and friends during Thanksgiving. For me, Thanksgiving is a time to focus on what we are thankful for – no matter how small it may seem – and to start looking forward to the new year and new beginnings.

JCMGA has had a successful year!

Below are a few of our accomplishments:

• In the OSU Master Gardener Class of 2024, there are 40 students who graduated! Twenty-two of those students attended the Class of 2024 Graduation Celebration on November 9th. Congratulations to all graduates!

Thank you, Grace, for your leadership with this class!

• Students and mentors of the Practicum for the class of 2024 met with great success. We grew the plants that were sold at the Spring Garden Fair. Because 2024 SGF expanded to a two-day event, we nearly doubled the number of plants we grew. The Practicum was led by Virginia Brown and Jane Moyer. Thank you!
• Our Demonstration GEMs (Garden Education Mentors) did a terrific job in working with Master Gardener students and Friends of the Gardens to revitalize our Demonstration Gardens at SOREC. The gardens were absolutely stunning this year. The gardens have been put to bed now, with dreams of what’s to come in the spring. Thank you for all your hard work and creativity.
• So many people participated in the Plant A Row project that we donated over 800 pounds of fresh produce to Medford Access to help families in our community who are in need of food.
• Many thanks to our Gardens Working Group for their creativity in creating a new compost area and painting the beautiful murals!
• Grace implemented the Cultivating Companions Grant which was focused on senior citizens in rural areas. Many of our members – including students – participated in working with the seniors. It was a great success!
• The JCMGA Fall Festival was a great one-day event held on the SOREC grounds, with a huge number of native plants being sold. Thank you to Marcie Katz and Lucy Pylkki for heading this event.
• Our annual Spring Garden Fair was well-attended, despite torrents of rain that turned our parking field into a mud bath! Many thanks to Marcie Katz and Lucy Pylkki who managed this event. Great job! The 2025 SGF will be held at Jackson County Expo on May 3-4, 2025. Mark your calendars.
• We have had more people wanting to get involved with our working groups, events, and the Board.

Next month I will highlight what the other working groups have accomplished this year.

We are a very active organization which provides gardening expertise – whether hands-on or via classes – to our members and community.  This year we have had more people step forward to help with projects, contribute to our discussions, listen to each other, brainstorm, compromise, and move forward with creativity and respect.  Thank you.

It takes all of us working together to accomplish our goals. Thank you to all those who have helped with our projects this year. We should be proud of what we have accomplished and continue to move forward next year.

Wishing you all the best during the upcoming holiday season!