Flower Show: Thank You, Volunteers, Donors, Patrons

by Nancy Brennick, flower show chair

The success of the CHS flower show exhibit would not have been possible without our volunteer crew. On behalf of the Board of Directors and CHS members, I thank committee members for their hours of toil and their commitment when the weather forced scheduling changes and family matters and jobs required juggling. 

Thanks to Joan Stubenrauch, our able guardian of forcing, plants, plant-list maker and sale organizer; Kevin Wilcox, horticulturist of Farmington Valley Nursery in Avon, who constantly shows us yet another thing he can do; Cathy Testa, “commando” of the CHS show hosts and speaker facilitators; Nancy Shipman, a mentor in the true spirit of CHS; Bob Shipman, who can wear any hat we toss on him; designer Deb Kent, who saw what needed to be done and did it; Alice Willard, who offered encouragement and plant plotting; Elaine Widmer for her signage, feedback and brainstorming; Lynn Cavo, who said, “I can do more and I have a big station wagon!”;  Donna Eriksen, our go-to helper in Litchfield; Faith and Bill Geist, who transported plants; Keri Milne and Pat Murawski, who were a breath of fresh air; horticulturalist Elizabeth Morin, who keeps us connected to Cheshire growers; Fairlee Latawic, our meals-on-wheels chef; and Alli Schubert, my niece who came from Boston to put the polish on our props.

Also, Steve Silk for his design vision and hours of consult and whose efforts on behalf of CHS we respect tremendously; David Smith, who with broken ribs managed his usual magical bulb display, and Cheryl Whalen of White Flower Farm, who became our “garden angel” in the WFF greenhouses; David Hayes for the loan of his sculpture "Screen," which completed the perspective of our display; Bonnie McLachlan, CHS office administrator extraordinaire; spouses, including Ken Stubenrauch, Dick Kuzmak, John Bergeron and Tom Widmer; the 75 volunteer hosts and speaker facilitators, whose congeniality represented CHS well; the many other members and friends who gave their time to make our show display a winner; and the following donors and partners.

Donors

Cedar Mountain Stone & Mulch, Newington

Kevin Wilcox, Farmington Valley Nursery, Avon

TK & Brown's Flowers, Bloomfield and Rocky Hill

Moore’s Sawmill, Bloomfield

White Flower Farm, Morris

Glastonbury High School VOAG

Richard P. Kuzmak, Esq.

Partners

Broken Arrow Nursery, Hamden

The Plant Group, Franklin

Prides Corner Farm, Lebanon

PC Richard & Son

T&D Growers, Cheshire