WASHINGTON — The Horticultural Research Institute (HRI) recently awarded several scholarships, including the 2012 Timothy S. and Palmer W. Bigelow, Jr. Scholarship of $3,000 to Renee LaGue. LaGue is a graduate student at the Conway School of Landscape Design and resident of Montague, Mass. LaGue is pursuing her Master of Science degree in Sustainable Landscape Design and Planning.
The Bigelow Scholarship was created in 1988 by the Palmer W. Bigelow family of Bigelow Nurseries in Northboro Mass., to aid students from New England who seek a career in horticulture. The scholarship is dedicated to one of the family's children, the late Timothy Bigelow, and to Palmer W. 'Bill' Bigelow, who died in 1997. The Bigelow family considers student scholarships the most important commitment that the horticultural industry can make to ensure the growth and development of the nursery and landscape industry.
HRI awarded the 2012 Spring Meadow Nursery Scholarship of $2,000 to Allison Jones of Michigan State University, graduate student. Jones graduated from college with Bachelor of Science degree in horticulture from the Michigan State University. Currently, she is studying to receive her Master of Science in horticulture with a focus on horticulture marketing.
Dale and Liz Deppe founders of Spring Meadow Nursery, Inc. located in Grand Haven, Mich. created The Spring Meadow Scholarship Fund within the HRI endowment in 1999. The fund is dedicated to helping aspiring students from across the country obtain a degree in horticulture.
Also, HRI awarded the 2012 Carville M. Akehurst Memorial Scholarships in the sum of $2,000 each to Leah Comerci and Stephanie Marino. Comerci from Beckley, W. Va. is a senior at the West Virginia University. She is majoring in landscape architecture. Marino from Severn, Md. is a junior at the University of Maryland. She is majoring in landscape architecture with minors in landscape management and sustainable studies.
The Carville M. Akehurst Memorial Scholarship was established in 2002 by HRI and the Mid-Atlantic Nursery Trade Show, Inc. (MANTS). This scholarship serves to memorialize Carville M. Akehurst who served the horticultural industry as one of the founders of MANTS. MANTS, an association formed from the state nursery and landscape associations of Maryland, Virginia, and West Virginia, together with HRI, have established this scholarship with the belief that the strength and future success of the horticulture industry lies in the solid education of today's students.
HRI also awarded the 2012 Muggets Scholarship of $2,500 to Justin Menke, a senior at the University of Kentucky majoring in landscape architecture. An informal group called the Mugget Growers of America (MGA) began in 1981 as a social, educational and fundraising group. Each year, MGA participants meet to discuss important plant issues while contributing to the Muggets Scholarship Fund. MGA members understood the importance of having qualified and quality professionals within the green industry.
HRI's mission is to direct, fund, promote and communicate horticultural research, which increases the quality and value of ornamental plants, improves the productivity and profitability of the nursery and landscape industry, and protects and enhances the environment. HRI is an IRS-recognized 501(c)(3) tax-exempt research and educational foundation. To learn more about HRI visit www.HRIResearch.org.
