Category: State NPSOT

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— by Beth Erwin
NPSOT has named Randy Pensabene as the recipient of the Benny J. Simpson Fellows Award for 2021. This award is presented by the Society to a member for work that enriches the Society at the state or chapter level. It  recognizes service to the Society and embodies “grass roots” recognition of an awardee by their fellow NPSOT members.

Randy has been a NPSOT member since 2006. She works tirelessly behind the scenes, organizing and improving our chapter projects. She faithfully records our successes and failures, giving us invaluable information to plan better projects with more effective outreach. She has developed our semi-annual plant sales into high volume educational outreach ventures. Randy has developed a strong core of volunteers eager to help with chapter projects. Volunteers know when they show up, the project will be well organized, and they will come away with a sense of accomplishment. She constantly seeks more ways to promote the use of Texas native plants. Randy’s contributions to our chapter have greatly enriched many of the ways that NPSOT-Wilco engages with the public.

Chapter member Sue Wiseman summarized the nomination perfectly.

“Randy is not self-promoting. She is that member that stands in the wings and makes things go smoothly. Something that is very hard to quantify. However, without her we would not have been able to do all the work we have accomplished over the past fifteen years. We are blessed to have someone like her in our organization.”

Congratulations, Randy, from all of us!

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— by Randy Pensabene
Congratulations to our own Charles Newsom for winning the State NPSOT Nancy Benedict Memorial Award.  The awards ceremony will be held online on October 24 at 7 pm, when Charles and the recipients of other State awards will be honored.  See all the awardees in this State announcement.

We welcome our members and the public to attend this presentation and to reach out and personally thank these fine folks for their work and passion. You must register in advance.  After registration you will receive an email with instructions.  You can register at this link: Register here

Nancy Benedict Memorial

The Nancy Benedict Memorial Award is given to a person for an act of conservation or public service in the field of Texas native plants. This year’s recipient is Charles Newsom for leading and organizing volunteer efforts to remove invasive plants from the Berry Springs Park and Preserve in Georgetown. This ongoing effort, which has spanned several years, has increased the native plant diversity, improved wildlife habitat, and greatly improved the aesthetic beauty of Berry Springs Park and Preserve for our human eyes.

Congratulations, Charles!

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