Submitted by Nancy Howell
Fran Scheidt, who completed the master gardener program in 1997, received the Virginia Raskin Award posthumously. Scheidt died in 2024 at the age of 96. She was a retired teacher at West High School before becoming a master gardener, but had a significant lifetime impact on horticulture, teaching, writing, photography and mentoring future gardeners. She was a former editor of the Holly Society Journal, propagating three holly cultivars. A regular volunteer at the University of Tennessee Gardens, Scheidt also was involved with the UT Arboretum and the East Tennessee Hosta Society. The Virginia Raskin Award was named for a long-time master gardener, who died in 2009.
Receiving the KCMG Meritorious Awards were Amy Haun and Caesar Stair. The award is given to KCMG volunteers who have made significant contributions to the KCMG mission.
Haun oversees the Ask a Master Gardener program, a resource at several area farmers markets. Her expertise includes plant diseases, diagnostics and seed starting. She has won numerous state and international master gardener awards and hosts Gardening Tips Live! On the KCMG Facebook site each Saturday. Haun, who completed the KCMG program in 2015, is a past treasurer and has served on board of directors of KCMG. Among her volunteer areas is UT Gardens.
Stair is an avid gardener whose home has been featured in the annual Dogwood Arts Festival. He is past president of KCMG and active in the Concord Community Garden and the Knox County Community Gardens and Growers Alliance, which works with communities to increase access to fresh vegetables and food. Stair enjoys growing hydrangeas and has been featured in the master gardener “Prune Like a Pro” series with tips on hydrangea pruning. He completed the master gardener program in 2017 and is a retired Knoxville attorney.
