On October 4, the Landis community gathered in the Meeting House for its annual Volunteer Recognition luncheon, honoring the people whose work and dedication help sustain the Arboretum. Once again, Board members provided a buffet of soups, stews, salads, and desserts before presenting awards to volunteers who have contributed to Landis in especially meaningful ways.
Landis Director Fred Breglia gave a presentation entitled “Landis Arboretum: 75 Years and Still Growing.” Throughphotos of Arboretum landmarks and milestones, he traced Landis’s evolution from Oak Nose Farm to the Arboretum we know today. That remarkable growth, Fred noted, has been due in large part to the dedication of volunteers, many of whom appeared in both vintage and contemporary photos.
Ken Jones, president of the Esperance Historical Society and Museum, spoke about the Lape family’s deep roots in the community and the Landis Arboretum.
Fred and Landis Board President Jim Paley then presented awards to three volunteers whose service has made a lasting contribution to the Arboretum.
The “Volunteer of the Year” award was given to Sam McClary. Jim observed that “no plant sale would be the same without him.” Volunteers and visitors have surely witnessed Sam’s eye-catching displays, mastery of botanical Latin, and seemingly boundless energy.
Wilma Jozwiak, a Landis Board member for more than a dozen years and vice president for several terms, received the prestigious “Great Oak Award.” Her more than 20 years of service have left a lasting imprint on the Arboretum, and although she has recently retired from the Board, she will continue to lend her expertise and informed guidance as a Board advisor. As Jim noted, Wilma was instrumental in bringing the Arboretum into the Internet Age: the Landis website, social media presence, and digital newsletter are all part of the legacyshe helped build.
The “Fred Lape Award” honors volunteers who contribute to Landis through their own areas of expertise. I was honored to receive that award this year for communications. After 34 years as a teacher of English and as current co-chair of the Arboretum’s Communication Committee, I found myself, unexpectedly, at a loss for words. I could only echo Fred’s insistence that volunteers are the “lifeblood” of the Arboretum and say how grateful I am - as one of those volunteers - to play a small part in helping tell the Landis story.
What was true over the first 75 years of the Arboretum’s history is no less true today. I have no doubt that Landis volunteers will help carry the Arboretum into its next 75 years,still growing and vital.