2023: Julie Samuels
Our Garden Angel for this year has been a steadfast supporter of sustainability and social justice for as long as most of us can remember. These two passions have come together in her advocacy of community gardens. In 2014, when the City reduced support for these critically important contributors to the health of communities and people, she co-founded the Chicago Community Gardeners association. When approached about a fledgling organization to recognize Chicago’s urban gardeners, she jumped in to help form Chicago Excellence in Gardening Awards. With her experience, skills, and unswerving commitment to sustainability, she has enriched our organization and our lives.
2022: Ron Wolford
CEGA is proud to honor our friend retired extension educator Ron Wolford, who used his knowledge, experience and many skills to help launch CEGA in 2017. He has long had the vision to see the value of urban gardens and gardeners as agents of beauty and neighborhood improvement and warriors in the fight against species decline and climate change. He also saw the importance of recognizing Chicago’s urban gardeners, lending his unflagging support, and that of the University of Illinois Extension, Cook County Master Gardeners, to the new organization. He has continued to support its mission in a multitude of ways, from recruiting entrants to the Awards program to maintaining the CEGA Facebook page almost singlehandedly.
Ron spent more than 35 years as University of Illinois Extension Urban Horticulture Educator in Chicago, overseeing the Master Gardener program in Cook County, and still works tirelessly on many horticultural projects. During his time at Extension, he had boots on the ground, working with community gardens and others, but he also took to the Internet Age like a monarch to milkweed. His social media activity has importantly expanded online coverage of horticultural activity and information, especially with regard to urban gardening.
We salute Ron and thank him for his contributions.