Jan 17th, 2015

Volunteers Who Give, and Give…..

volunteer Gary McNutt taking down Dominion GardenFest of Lights decorations.

Volunteer Gary McNutt taking down Dominion GardenFest of Lights decorations in the Robins Room.

We’d like to announce Gary McNutt as the January Volunteer of the Month. Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden has over 600 volunteers and each month we take time out to recognize one. The Volunteer of the Month gets the honor of parking in a special space in our parking lot, a gift certificate to the Garden Shop, and gratitude from all of the staff here at the Garden. Stopping to recognize their hard work and say thanks is the very least we could do. Dean Dietrich, horticulturist, works with McNutt each week and nominated him:

 “Gary McNutt has been a major help to me since I have arrived at the Garden. Being new to Lewis Ginter, I have not known Gary long but, working alongside him on invasive species removal and plant rejuvenation projects I have found he is always happy to do whatever I have in store for the day. Working in the front entrance is not always glamorous and the projects can be hard work so having a positive energy is important and Gary has a lot of positive energy to go around. Gary is a dedicated, hardworking and reliable volunteer and would be an excellent choice for Volunteer of the Month.”

 Karen Clowers, Horticulture Manager, had this to add:

“Gary comes in with our staff at 7 a.m. ready to work.  He doesn’t care what the task at hand is or what the weather conditions are, he’s here; he’s ready to go, ready to work hard.  Gary is the type of person that you can count on and feel confident that no matter what project he is working on, he is going to give it his all.  Gary signs up for just about, if not all of our monthly Horticulture Group Work Days.

On top of Gary’s dedication to the Horticulture department, he also offers his time to during Dominion GardenFest of Lights.  He volunteers his time for the full duration of the exhibit.  He signs up for almost all the different locations volunteers are needed.  He once again is willing to do whatever is needed of him.  He often times offered me as the Manager on Duty to stay and cover the second shift if needed.

I truly appreciate all the hard work, dedication and hours he has contributed in order to help us grow and improve our garden.  I feel grateful and honored that Gary is part of our volunteer team and I look forward to continuing to grow our working relationship in the years to come.”

Thank you Gary!

Taking down GardenFest decorations

Taking down GardenFest decorations

Jonah Holland is Digital Content Manager at Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden, where she has worked for 14 years overseeing social media, the blog, and the website. She is also a mom, yogi, open water swimmer, gardener, and seeker. She's been known to go for a walk in the Garden and come back with hundreds of plant photos, completely inspired to write her next blog post.

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