The Bluebonnet Master Gardener Association is pleased to announce that its 2018 Master Gardener Training Class graduated 23 new trained interns on April 24, 2018. Interns have one year from their training graduation date to complete 50 hours of volunteer service on BMGA approved projects to earn their Texas Master Gardener certification. One graduate, Marcella Asumus, not only successfully completed the course material, she also achieved the 50 hours of volunteer service by April 24 to simultaneously earn her Texas Master Gardener certification at graduation.

Congratulations to the 2018 BMGA Master Gardener Training Class Graduates:

Marcella Ausmus                            Lorna Mangus
Tom Ayres                                        Catherine McGraw
Lee Ann Bleyl                                  Keith McGraw
Shannon Conroy                            Karen Parinello
Carol Corlis                                     Kay Przyborski
Cathy Dannemiller                        Calvin Rashall
Patrick Dunne                                Brandon Silbernagl
Cathleen Dunne                             Debbie Skinner
Gerald DuPont                               Michael Tiller
Nicole Griffin                                 John Williamson
Fred Helinski                                 Lenore Williamson
Dolores Jozwiak

The Class Coordinator was Master Gardener Faye Beery who said,  “My 2018 Master Gardener Intern class was a pleasure to be involved with. Everyone was excited and enthusiastic and eager to absorb all the information they could possibly remember. They warmly welcomed all the speakers and had many questions of them all. They are going to be great members of the Master Gardener Association, and great friends.”

Ms. Beery became a Master Gardener in 2012.  Besides coordination for this year’s class, Ms Beery’s past service with BMGA includes chapter President in 2014 and she served as a garden project leader at the Sens Center Flower Beds and the Austin County Fairgrounds garden.  She also published the chapter newsletter and took BMGA into the digital age with its initial website.   Most importantly, Ms. Beery is a lifelong gardener with a passion for learning, sharing her knowledge about gardening and inspiring others to get their hands in the dirt out in the garden.

BMGA Master Gardeners who assisted Ms. Beery in class coordination were Paul McClendon, Sandy Rhodes and Cathi Pendergraft.

 

The Bluebonnet Master Gardener Association welcomes on-board its new AgriLife Extension Agent Sponsor, Haylee Wolfford.  Arriving in January 2018 as the Agriculture Extension Agent in Austin County, Haylee inherited sponsorship of our four-county BMGA program.  Haylee grew up in a small southeast Texas town showing livestock, raising show cattle and rodeo’n.  She earned her Bachelor of Animal Science degree with the emphasis on animal nutrition from Texas State University-San Marcos.  She went on to earn a Master’s of Science with an emphasis on animal nutrition from McNeese State University in Lake Charles, Louisiana.

Haylee first joined AgriLife as the sole Extension Agent in Hardin County, Texas in 2015. As the sole Agent, Haylee’s responsibilities included a wide spectrum of duties including the Agriculture, 4-H, Family Consumer Science and Horticulture programs. What that means is, she did it all! With this varied back ground, Haylee comes to Austin County and BMGA with knowledge across many different aspects of Texas A&M AgriLife, although her focus is still on beef cattle production and horses. She also gained considerable knowledge in forage production and brush control.  In her free time, Haylee enjoys roping and raising exotic and American cross show cattle.

As BMGA’s AgriLife Extension Sponsor, Haylee has attended several BMGA meetings this year.  Although preferring to work quietly in the background and let others take the stage, Haylee’s presence has already proved to be an asset for BMGA. We look forward to assisting her with our members’ knowledge and experience in horticulture. BMGA members, if you spot Haylee at a meeting hanging in the back of the room, don’t be shy; introduce yourself and say ”Howdy!”