Master Gardener  1994 – 2014 (deceased)

Sue Adee was in the first Master Gardener class in 1994, and has been deeply involved with the organization from the beginning until the present. Sue led the creation of the Smith County Master Gardener Association in 1994 and was its first president for 2 terms from 1994 to 1996. She was the driving force behind creating the “Squirmy Worm Recycles” program in 1995, creating a classroom vermicomposting curriculum for teachers to use, and then worked to get it into local schools. The program eventually became a resource for many interested in vermicomposting, not only in Smith County but across the State.
Beginning in 1996, Sue played an integral and leadership role in planning and developing what eventually became the I.D.E.A. Garden, a multi-functional demonstration garden in the Tyler Rose Garden, which was dedicated in 1999, and expanded in 2001. This garden has received many awards, and Sue has continued to lead the overall development and maintenance of the garden as a co-chair. In 1999, Sue attended the International Master Gardener Conference where the I.D.E.A. Garden was awarded the Search for Excellence Award.

Sue was instrumental in the creation of an online data base to teach people about the plants in the I.D.E.A. Garden and how they performed in the garden. This led to the creation of a plant selector on the easttexasgardening.tamu.edu website. She headed up a team to develop the annual Fall Garden Conference which draws attendees from across east Texas, providing hundreds of people educational gardening information. She is also the inspiration for the upcoming regional Master Gardener conference in 2015. Sue has given educational programs all around Smith County and surrounding areas to diverse groups, sharing her vast knowledge of plants, about the I.D.E.A. Garden, and encouraging people to become Master Gardeners. She mentored every class of incoming Master Gardeners as they worked with her in the IDEA Garden and other projects. Sue has volunteered over 4000 hours with the Smith County Master Gardeners over the last 20 years.

Texas Master Gardener Association Awards: Individual Master Gardener of the Year – 1998; Project Award (IDEA Garden) – 2000; Visual Art (IDEA Garden Video) – 2000 Smith County Master Gardener Association Awards: Master Gardener of the Year in 1996 and 1997; Master Gardener with most hours in 2000; Lifetime Award – 2003; Golden Work Gloves Award – 2011; Sage Award – 2013