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President’s Corner

Barbara Low
Latest posts by Barbara Low (see all)

The new year brings 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 highlighted some of our accomplishments during the past year.  Below are more of JCMGA’s 2024 accomplishments:

  • The Fundraising Working Group has been 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 participated in many community events. We had an information table/booth with several of our volunteers who answered questions and provided 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 worked actively 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. Its members are interested in working in our gardens and learning more about gardening without becoming a Master Gardener.

  • 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 continued to create publicity for JCMGA, while keeping our technology up-to-date.

  • The Member Services Working Group designed and 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.

  • The Board has been developing the JCMGA vision and determining what is needed make our new tool shed, lathe house, and practicum classroom.

Our working groups are made up of wonderful people 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

Program Support                                   Grace Florjancic

Spring Garden Fair                                Marcie Katz and Lucy Pylkki

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

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 2024 projects. We should be proud of what we have accomplished! We look forward to moving forward in 2025.