Service Awards

The Azalean article awards

The Azalea Society appreciates the many contributions each of its members have made to the society and the world of azaleas. We recognize exceptional contributions with formal awards, as listed here. These awards typically take the form of a plaque presented at our annual conventions. Each award is documented in our quarterly journal The Azalean, referenced here by volume (number): page.

The Exceptional Service Award is given by the Azalea Society of America to recognize outstanding contributions to the society and the genus Rhododendron with special emphasis on the many species and hybrids of azaleas within the genus as well as service to the horticultural community beyond azaleas. The exceptional service to the society can take many forms. Administrative and technical contributions as well as azalea research projects are critical to the growth and development of membership and offering advanced research tools about the thousands of azaleas that novices and experts can grow.

Year	Award	Recipient	Reference
1979	Statement of Appreciation	Emile Deckert	1(2):2
1980	Vote of Appreciation	Frank White	2(3):5
1982	Letter of Appreciation	Bob Stewart	4(3):15
1983	Expression of Appreciation	John (Jack) Schaffer	5(2):33
1986	Distinguished Achievement Award	George W. Harding	8(3):63
1988	Special Award	Robert Pryor	10(3):41
1989	Distinguished Service Award Distinguished Service Award	Ryon Page Charles Evans	11(3):45
1992	Distinguished Achievement Award	Belinda Hobbs	14(3):58
1993	Distinguished Achievement Award Distinguished Achievement Award	Fred Galle Don Voss	15(3):53
1995	Distinguished Service Award	William C. Miller III	17(3):52
1999	Certificate of Recognition Exceptional Service Award	Barbara Bullock Bob and Bee Hobbs	21(2):32 21(3):56
2002	Distinguished Service Award	William C. Miller III	24(3):54-55
2005	Exceptional Service Award	Bob Stelloh	27(2):40
2006	Distinguished Service Award	Dr. John L. Creech	28(4):91
2007	Distinguished Service Award Distinguished Service Award	Ms. Margie Jenkins Joe Schild	29(3):68
2008	Exceptional Service Award Distinguished Service Award Distinguished Service Award	Robert “Buddy” Lee Joe & Donna Coleman Ed Collins	30(3):58
2009	Distinguished Service Award Distinguished Service Award Distinguished Service Award Distinguished Service Award	Donald Hyatt Phil and Francis Louer Jane Newman Bob Stewart	31(3):60-61
2010	Distinguished Service Award Distinguished Service Award	Dr. John Thornton Maarten van der Giessen	32(3):63
2011	Distinguished Service Award	John Brown	33(3):61
2013	Distinguished Service Award	Jim Thornton	35(3):60
2015	Exceptional Service Award Exceptional Service Award Friend of the Azalea Society	Barbara Stump Bart Bretcher Dr. David Creech	37(1&2):8
2016	Exceptional Service Award Exceptional Service Award	Carolyn and Paul Beck Dan Krabill	38(2):32
2017	Distinguished Service Award Distinguished Service Award Distinguished Service Award Distinguished Service Award Distinguished Service Award	Dr. Regina Bracy Dr. Allen Owings Dr. Larry and Mrs. Florence Brown Peggy Cox Jim Campbell	39(2):36-37
2018	Distinguished Service Award Distinguished Service Award Distinguished Service Award Distinguished Service Award	Janet Carson Jim Brant George McLellan J Jackson and Lindy Johnson	40(2):47 40(2):47 40(3):64 40(3):64
2019	Distinguished Service Award	Ernest Koone, III	41(2):43
2020	Distinguished Service Award Distinguished Service Award	Donna & Ronnie Palmer Robert Thau	42(2):38
2021	Distinguished Service Award Distinguished Service Award Distinguished Service Award Distinguished Service Award Exceptional Service Award	Hale Booth Barbara Stump Aaron Cook Pam Fitch Rick Bauer	43(2):37
2022	Distinguished Service Award	John Torbert	44(2):41
2023	Distinguished Service Award Exceptional Service Award	David & Leslie Nanney Maarten van der Giessen	45(3):58
2024	Distinguished Service Award Distinguished Service Award	Denise Richard Lanclos Patrick Thompson	46(3):56
2025	Exceptional Service Award Distinguished Service Award Distinguished Service Award	Charlie Andrews Michael Martin Mills Barbara Kirkwood

The Azalean best article awards

Service Awards

To encourage the continuing high quality of articles in The Azalean, the Azalea Society sponsors a monetary award for the author of the article judged best for the year by vote of our members. The award is in the form of a check presented at our annual conventions, with duplicate awards in the case of a tie.

Year	Recipient	Title
1990	Dr. Ajit Thakur	The Enchanting Satsuki, Part 1. 11 (4): 64-68 The Enchanting Satsuki, Part 2. 12 (1): 4-7
1991	Jane Newman	In Praise of Greenwoods on the East Coast 13 (4): 64-67
1992	Richard West	Easy Propagation of Azaleas at Home 14 (4): 88
1993	Bob Stelloh	George Harding Azalea Garden—A Progress Report 14 (4): 87
1994	Steve Brainerd	Designing with Azaleas 16 (4): 73-74
1995	Richard T. West and William C. Miller III	The Ten Oaks Azaleas and the Glenn Dale Distribution Project 17 (3): 53-56
1996	James O. Thornton	An Azaleaphile Salute — Fred Galle 18 (2): 24-26
1997	Dr. Kathleen A. Kron	Identifying the Native Azaleas – Part II 19 (3): 48-50
1997	Alice Holland	How It All Began 35 (1): 10-11, 20
1998	August Kehr	In Memory — Fred Charles Galle 20 (4): 79-80
1999	Donald H. Voss	The Growth Cycle of Evergreen Azaleas 21 (4): 70
1999	Tom Dodd III	Breeding and Propagating Native Azaleas 21 (3): 46
2000	Joe Schild	Fire on the Mountain 22 (2): 30-32
2001	Don Hyatt	Best of the Best: In Search of Native Azaleas 23 (3): 52-57
2001	Roger Duvall	A Family Reunion – Joint ARS/ASA 2002 Convention Preview 23 (4): 76-77
2002	Marian Klenk	Along the Garden Path: Memories of My Grandfather, Frederic Paddock Lee, and His Azalea Garden 24 (2): 34-38
2003	Robert (Buddy) Lee	Azaleaphile Margie Jenkins 25 (4): 84-85, 97
2004	William C. Miller III	Ben Morrison and His Azaleas 26 (3): 54-57
2007	Bill Miller	The Search for the Real George Lindley Taber and the Orchid Azalea.   29 (4): 87-92
2008	Carolyn Beck Aaron Cook	The Garden and Hybridizing Program of Bob Stewart. 30 (4): 89-92 Why Timing Is Important in Rooting Native Azaleas—Part I. 30 (1): 15-16
2009	Don Hyatt	The Quest for the Yellow Evergreen Azalea. 31 (3): 56-57, 64
2010	Don Hyatt	A Winter To Forget: “(Snowmageddon 2.0)”—Part I. 32 (4): 89-92
2011	Don Hyatt	Evergreen Azaleas: Sorting out the Confusion. 33 (4): 76-81
2016	Carolyn Beck	The Klimavicz Hybridizing Project. 38 (1): 4-11
2018	Richard Bauer	The Legacy Project Update. 39 (4): 76-68
2019	Charles Andrews	American Azaleas.   40 (2): 40-45; Part II 40(3): 52-57
2020	Barbara Stump	In Memory—Margie Louise Yates Jenkins 1921–2020. 42 (1): 11–12
2021	William C. Miller III	Rose Ishbel Greely, a Pioneer in DC Landscape Architecture. 43 (4): 83–86
2022	Carolyn Beck & Dr. Ajit Thakur	The Kurume Azaleas Part 1. 44 (3): 55-63 The Kurume Azaleas Part 2. 44 (4): 81-91
2023	Linda Eirhart	Azaleas and Rhododendrons at Winterthur 45 (4): 80-83
2024	Ken Gohring	Dedication of the Earl Sommerville Legacy Garden at the Wright Environmental Education Center 46 (3): 62-66