We are happy to present Jeff Phillips with the 2009 Purdue Master Gardener Coordinator of the Year Award! This is the 3rd year for soliciting nominations from Master Gardeners around the state to recognize their local county coordinator. The criteria for nomination included communication skills, enthusiasm, leadership, ability to delegate, sensitivity to diverse needs, […]

It is our pleasure to present Larry Caplan with the 2009 Purdue Master Gardener Coordinator of the Year Award! This is the 3rd year for soliciting nominations from Master Gardeners around the state to recognize their local county coordinator. The criteria for nomination included communication skills, enthusiasm, leadership, ability to delegate, sensitivity to diverse needs, […]

It is our pleasure to present John Orick with the 2008 Purdue Master Gardener Coordinator of the Year Award! Now in its fifth year, but just the 2nd year for soliciting nominations from Master Gardeners around the state to recognize their local county coordinator. The criteria for nomination included communication skills, enthusiasm, leadership, ability to […]

It is our pleasure to present Jeff Burbrink with the 2007 Purdue Master Gardener Coordinator of the Year Award! New this year, nominations were sought from Master Gardeners around the state to recognize their local county coordinator. The criteria for nomination included communication skills, enthusiasm, leadership, ability to delegate, sensitivity to diverse needs, and encouragement […]

Due to budget shortfalls, Purdue is losing its full-time Master Gardener State Coordinator position. Peggy Sellers will be embarking on a new career path with the Big Brothers/Big Sisters program. Peggy served as the Purdue State Master Gardener Program Coordinator from September 2002 – November 2006 and prior to that, was the Director of the […]

Ricky Kemery received the Purdue Master Gardener Coordinator of the Year Award at the Annual Purdue Master Gardener Conference in Merrillville on June 24, 2005. Ricky Kemery is the Allen County Horticulture Educator with the Purdue Cooperative Extension service. Ricky graduated from Purdue University with a B.S. in Landscape Horticulture and Design. He obtained his […]

The Community Garden Project in Kokomo has received a national award as an Exemplary Community Service Program from the National Council for Continuing Education and Training (NCCET). The Community Garden Project was recognized out of hundreds of programs that were being considered for the award. Purdue Master Gardeners Ed Baker and Dave Mason traveled to […]

Stan Sims, Extension Educator from Lake County, received the Educator of the Year Award from the Purdue Master Gardener Program during the annual conference on June 25, 2004. Stan Sims received his BS (1963) and MS (1974) degrees from Purdue University. He taught high school vocational agriculture in Wayne County for 16 years and was […]

Master Gardeners started in Indiana in 1978, and Lake County was one of four counties in the state that year to offer the program. Volunteer training sessions were conducted every other year in even numbered years through 1996. From 1997 to the present, classes have been conducted every year. Applications are received from over a […]

Walt Stirm loves to garden, loves to teach, and loves to share the bounty of those two labors of love. It’s not always easy to measure the effect of one person’s caring, but in Walt’s case it has weighed in at over 2500 pounds of produce for needy families during the 2001 and 2002 growing […]