The 16th annual Herb and Scented Plant Sale has now come and gone, which is hard to believe after 10 months of planning and preparation. But what a wonderful sale! After all these years it’s clear that the Friends of the Oak Park Conservatory (FOPCON) have this event wonderfully well in hand. We had a great selection of stunning plants thanks to Henrietta Yardley and her volunteers as well as an exceptional turnout of customers. Such a win-win situation resulted in record sales and we thank you?#34;our customers, the herb sale growers, the 129 volunteers who worked at the sale, and the FOPCON board members who were all very supportive of this effort.
It’s also important to acknowledge the generous support FOPCON received from local businesses. The support of “the care of trees” and Forest Agency Inc. defrayed most of the publishing costs of our catalog which we could afford to print on recycled paper for the first time. Borders once again provided us with window space to advertise the sale, while Todd and Holland provided restorative cups of tea to shoppers and volunteers during the sale. We were overwhelmed by the coverage the sale received from both the Oak Leaves and WEDNESDAY JOURNAL. Clearly the Herb and Scented Plant Sale is important to the community at large. We appreciate the generosity of each of these businesses and hope you will patronize them.
What happens to the thousands of dollars that the Herb and Scented Plant Sale raises? The money is used to support ongoing programs for kids and adults at the conservatory, community events, scholarship awards and conservatory infrastructure. There is never a shortage of need in these important areas! So thanks again to everyone who supported this effort.
I would like to offer a sincere thank you to the Herb Sale Committee and our ad hoc members whose names are listed below. They were a pleasure to work with and each one of them offered a special expertise that contributed to our overall success; we owe them a debt of gratitude. And of course, our thanks to John Seaton and Mark Omi whose assistance was considerable before, during and after the sale!
Herb Sale Committee and ad hoc members: Henrietta Yardley, Hilda Birney, Rebecca Brislain, Judy Shepelak, Bob Haisman, Tami Coty, Michele Wheeler, Kevin Blasko, Lisa Nemec, Alice Tulley, Sandy Lentz, Marica Myers,Renee Ferguson, Debby Preiser, Marie Castaneda, Phil Heil
Susan Kelly
Herb Sale Chair, 2005
