American Rhododendron Society 2004 Grant Award
Bill Mangels
Baltimore, Maryland
The American Rhododendron Society (ARS) awarded a grant to the Tacoma Chapter. At the May 2004 meeting of the Society's Board of Directors in King of Prussia, Pennsylvania, action was taken to provide a grant to a project that will support the Society's mission to educate and provide interest in the culture of the genus
Rhododendron
.
The award of $4,600 is made to the Tacoma Chapter for the continued refurbishment of the chapter's display garden in the city of Tacoma's Pt. Defiance Park. The six-acre garden contains over 300 mature hybrid and species rhododendrons. The chapter will be carrying out landscape recommendations for the garden's upgrade and inclusion of deciduous azaleas. The chapter's goal is to have an ARS certified Rhododendron Design Garden within two years. Last year the Tacoma Chapter received an award of $1,800 towards the initial phase of refurbishment.
The funds for these grants are from income derived from the Society's Endowment Fund. While the Endowment Fund has been in existence a number of years, it has only recently reached a size where it is capable of producing income to sustain a grant program.