\u201cNan pushes the bounds with inclusive community engagement, volunteer development and growing beautiful, healthy food to support the local\u00a0community each year,\u201d said Vanessa Venturini, state coordinator of the Master Gardener Program.\u00a0\u201cShe is a true educator in every sense of the word.\u201d<\/p>\n The award is named for Rosanne Sherry, the former Master Gardener coordinator who passed away in 2019.<\/p>\n The 2020 Outstanding Master Gardener Award winner is John Twomey of East Providence<\/strong>, a Master Gardener for five years who led an effort to replace the greenhouse at the Rhode Island Veterans Home in Bristol<\/strong>, where Master Gardeners have tended a garden for many years. He sought the approvals from the Rhode Island Office of Veterans Services for the 1,500-square-foot greenhouse \u2013 the largest and most ambitious community project ever organized by the Master Gardeners — coordinated multiple teams of volunteers, and spearheaded a fundraising campaign to pay for it. He also serves as a volunteer soil tester for East Bay residents seeking to learn more about the soil in their yard.<\/p>\n \u201cJohn\u2019s accomplishments on behalf of the veterans of our state have not gone unnoticed,\u201d said Venturini. \u201cHis exuberant passion, strong leadership, team building abilities, and will-to-succeed have allowed us to create a beautiful space for learning and wellness at the Veteran’s Home.\u201d<\/p>\n The 2020 Master Gardener Rookie of the Year award recipient is Alan Newton of East Greenwich<\/strong>, who completed the Master Gardener training course last spring and immediately established a technology support team to help the Master Gardener program deliver remote gardening education activities during the pandemic. He sets up webinars, orients presenters to new technology, troubleshoots and produces videos. He also became a school garden mentor at Stone Hill Elementary School in Cranston, answers gardening questions sent to the gardening hotline, and serves as a member of the Master Gardener Leadership Development Team.<\/p>\n \u201cThe Master Gardener program owes the success of its entire pilot run of the Learn at Home webinar series to Alan,\u201d Venturini said. \u201cWith an utter sense of competence, professionalism and attention to detail, he played an essential administrative role and mentored many presenters through the use of technology.\u00a0He continues to provide capacity building with our technology team, establishing new procedures for engaging the public and our volunteers in this brave new world of remote learning.\u201d<\/p>\n![\"John](\"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news-draft\/wp-content\/uploads\/news\/sites\/16\/2021\/05\/Twomey.jpg\")
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