NOVEMBER 12TH, 1998 – SFA MAST ARBORETUM DEDICATION
DAVE CREECH
What a glorious day for the Garden . . . we're here to honor Pat and Adlai with the promise of just how special this garden is going to be. Jerry asked that I reflect a bit on just where the Arboretum has come from, where it is and where it's going - a vision kind of thing - and he said I had a minute and thirty seconds to do it. Basically, you can sum up the Arboretum’s past by saying we went from zero to Texas Highways in twelve years - and that's a feather in all of our Nacogdoches caps. How did we get here? This garden has prospered because of some great past and present students. Many are here today and deserve a big bravo: Barb - our incredibly organized coordinator of the Azalea garden; Dawn - who essentially runs the Arboretum; Cheryl - who led over a thousand school-age kids through a wonderful gardening program this past week. Then, there's JC and Mark, our Azalea garden warriors - and, of course, there's Greg Grant, our latest faculty addition - who's every bit the color and teaching genius in SFA Horticulture. There's the Arboretum Volunteers and Master Gardeners - many are here today - they help pull off our two annual events and keep the garden going. There's great support from James and John and Vic over in the Physical plant – sure, they may wince when they see me coming - but they are a make-it-happen bunch all of the time. Gary Williams and Mark Holl in Grounds, Director and Assistant Director in Grounds, both SFA trained - well, they are just great, making positive changes all over campus and always there when we need help. Hats off to the city for recognizing the potential of an 8-acre easily accessed world-class Azalea Garden as an A+ tourist attraction in our city. Their support has been critical as well as all the help from the CVB and Chamber folks. Let's not forget the nursery industry, who know the value of this place, with folks like Ray Bond here with us today and with such great donations from the big nurseries in the south. We have arrived in the nursery world. And then there's the administration - leading the charge in our 75th year and making an amazing number of great things happen here at SFA. It's not an easy chore for the third floor - they have to read what I write and listen to what we want and we are just one part of a whole bunch of folks doing the same. Dale Perritt, my chair and Tom Franks, the Dean, carry the Arboretum's message up the hill with vim and vigor. Dan Angel, Janelle Ashley, Jerry Holbert, Baker Patillo, Rowland Smith - and the Board of Regents - and others at the top have to decide on what paths SFA takes to the future. This dedication is proof positive that the Arboretum is one of them. We always wanted to be a traffic stopper and it's happening now. It's a big team and "together-everyone-achieves-more" takes on special meaning here. This garden is not just plants - it's people.
What about the future? The SFA Mast Arboretum is a great jump forward. It guarantees perpetuity. We won't be a parking lot. We will always be home to dynamic horticulture. We'll always graduate some fine students who know the meaning of work and learning and play. With this side of the creek conquered, the SFA Mast Arboretum will be an exciting garden making a bigger mark in the nursery and landscape industry world than ever before. In five years, with the Azalea Garden addition, there will be 50 to 100,000 visitors making their way through the Arboretum every year. Nacogdoches will be better place to study, work and live in. Pat and Adlai, for that we are joyous. An SFA Mast Arboretum raises the bar - and for that we are grateful. We gladly accept the challenge. You have all of our thanks for having the vision to make it happen.