President’s Corner

It is a new year with many opportunities and new beginnings for all of us.  I hope that you had a relaxing time with family and friends over the holidays.  It is always good to take time to rejuvenate and enjoy the company of loved ones.

JCMGA has had a successful 2024! In the December Garden Beet I talked about some of our accomplishments during this past year.  Below are a few more JCMGA accomplishments:

• The Fundraising Working Group was busy with many projects including selling our Garden Guides at community events.

• As a way of getting JCMGA and gardening topics out to the public, we were part of many community events this year. At these events we had an information table/booth with several of volunteers to answer questions and provide gardening information.  These events included: Josephine County Home Builder Show; Blue Heron Park Event; JCMGA Spring Garden Fair; Medford Open Streets Project; Fall Festival; and One Sanctuary Event.

• The Community Outreach Working Group has also been actively working on getting more community gardens involved with JCMGA. They also provide school grants for gardening projects.  What a great resource!

• We started a new project – the Friends of the Gardens. “Friends” are interested in working in our gardens and learning more about gardening without becoming Master Gardeners.

• The Class of 2024 Clothing Committee developed a gardening shirt logo – created by Adrienne Cheng.

• The JCMGA Native Plant Nursery is booming! A big thank you to Lynn Kunstman and all the volunteers for their hard work in making it a success. Cody Maple, a Class of 2024 student, created the new Native Plant Nursery logo and Nicole Smith created a new Native Plant page on our website.

• The Marketing & Technology Working Group worked on publicity for JCMGA and kept our technology up to date.

• The Member Services Working Group distributed the JCMGA Chapter (Membership) 2024 Directory to our members. They also planned and implemented the following events: Class of 2024 Master Gardener First Day Lunch; JCMGA Annual Picnic; and Class of 2024 Master Gardener Graduation Celebration.

• Plans are being developed for the 2025 JCMGA vision and what we want for our new tool shed, lathe house, and practicum classroom.

People in our working groups are committed to working together to accomplish their goals.  I encourage you to join us.  Contact the chair of a working group that you are interested in to find out more about what they accomplish.

Our working groups and their chairs are:

Community Outreach                            Michael Hornbeek

Fundraising                                               Jane Moyer

Gardens                                                      Janine Slavatti

Marketing & Technology                     Keltie Nelson and Lucy Pylkki

Member Services                                    Barbara Low and Linda Millus

Program Support                                   Grace Florjancic

Spring Garden Fair                                Marcie Katz and Lucy Pylkki

Winter Dreams/Summer Gardens     Colet Allen, Susan Koenig, and Barbara Low

This year is full of new beginnings and continuing what we started in 2024!  We are a very active organization which provides gardening expertise – whether hands-on or via classes – to our members and community.

It takes all of us working together to accomplish our goals. Thank you to all those who have helped with our projects in 2024.  Everyone should be proud of what we have accomplished as we move forward in 2025.