Tommie Airhart was a Galveston County Master Gardener when she arrived here in Kerrville in late 2001 without a local chapter to transfer into. It didn’t take her long to team up with John Coleman and together they founded the Hill Country chapter of the Texas Master Gardeners in 2002.
To ensure that the new chapter would be successful, Tommie assumed the responsibility for volunteer recruitment of all group projects and students to be trained. She performed in this role from 2002 to 2007.
Since no one could say “no” to Tommie, she was a natural choice to organize volunteers needed for the massive effort of hosting the 2007 Texas Master Gardeners Conference State Conference. She managed to get 69 out of our 85 members to actively participate in the conference held in Kerrville and the surrounding Hill Country.
Not only did Tommie excel in “people skills”, but she was also a true gardener and loved working with plants. She was a regular volunteer in our greenhouses and at our Market Days plant sale at the Kerrville Courthouse Square.
In addition, Tommie served as the first chairman of our mentor program for interns in our Texas Master Gardener training program. She matched trainees with certified Master Gardeners who would help guide and advise the newcomers. Tommie continued in this role until 2020.
It is with sincere appreciation that we award Tommie Airhart the status of Emerita Texas Master Gardener for her years of dedication to the organization she co-founded 20 years ago.