Saturday, May 6 -- Day Two of the Tennessee Conference
Saturday began with breakfast at the Jaycees Building and a chance to finalize Silent Auction bids. The 106 conference attendees enabled the Silent Auction to raise $1,890 to benefit Montgomery County Master Gardeners Library Fund and 4-H Camp Scholarship programs. WOW!

Dr. Charles Norman, Dean of Agriculture at the University of Tennessee, spoke of the University's commitment to the Master Gardener program because of the impact Master Gardeners have across the state. In 1999, there were over 11,000 Master Gardeners in Tennessee. A total of 40,000 reported volunteer hours were spent helping in the communities by planning, planting, educating and speaking to garden clubs, communities and individuals.

Master Gardeners help the UT Agricultural Extension Service reach a different audience than the farmers and commercial growers with which an Extension agent usually deals -- the home gardener. This is especially important at a time when interest in home gardening is at an all time high and calls coming into the Extension office from the home gardener are increasing.

State Coordinator for the Master Gardener Program, Dr. David Sams, of the Extension Service, noted the immense contribution Master Gardeners make to the state and to the University. Master Gardeners answering the phones and manning hotlines at the Extension Service save agents a great deal of time.

Dr. Sams also noted the challenges the Master Gardener Program has met through the years. We started with 2 or 3 programs across the state and have grown to 23 - 25 programs with members representing 50-60 out of Tennessee's 95 counties. Printed material has become more organized and manageable since the first Master Gardener manual (which was 7 inches thick and weighed nearly 15 pounds). The lack of organization in the early years has given way to a more effective program. Currently, the trend is toward veteran Master Gardeners being trained to teach the new classes and surveys have shown satisfaction levels to be as high as with UT specialists. State Conferences have provided education, garden tours and fun. The success of the program is due to the increase in organization beyond what the local Extension agents can do.

Dr. Sams thanked the Master Gardener Program for forcing him to learn more about ornamentals and he thanked Dr. Norman because the most fun thing he does is work with Master Gardeners. He hopes to become a Master Gardener some day, when he has time.

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