Plant Parent Day I. What a Day!
40th Anniversary Celebrated
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Show Past
Celebrations Event
Flyer
May 10, 2003 was a pleasant and important
day. This was the day that volunteers and civic leaders
celebrated the 40th anniversary of the
Desert Foothills
Scenic
Drive. More than 50 volunteers were on-hand along with Mayor Mary Manross
and members of the City Council Cynthia Lukas and Wayne Ecton. Assistant
City Manager, Ed Gawf, also attended "as a resident."
Looking to the Future
Importantly, the day also market the kickoff of Friends' Plant Parent program, which enables residents and businesses to support our efforts by adopting a Scenic Drive plant exhibit [Read More]. We believe that this annual program can become an important vehicle for building support for the Scenic Drive and "membership" in Friends of the Scenic Drive.
The celebration also showcased the vitality of our efforts to preserve and enhance the Desert Foothills Scenic Drive and marked the completion of:.
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The landscaping of the northern entry sign. This need for this project has existed since Terravita was built and utility infrastructure was buried under the area and the surface never re-vegetated [Read More].
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The facelift of all Scenic Drive exhibits. It was time to update the Scenic Drive and paint the
rocks surrounding a more subdued color rather than the white color that had
been maintained since 1963. While we were at it, it was decided to re-paint
(and where necessary replace) all exhibit signs and posts. With 60 exhibit
signs this is a major job, which took volunteers a month to complete. Edie
& B.J. Shannon triggered this effort when they refurbished their adopted
exhibit, "Octavio", pictured at right. -
Friends litter pickup program for the season. Volunteers cleanup the Scenic Drive every six weeks from September through May. Saturdays, effort which preceded the celebration was the last before our summer break.
Mayor Speaks, Plaques Unveiled
After finishing the litter pickup and putting finishing touches on refurbished exhibits, volunteers gathered at the Scenic Drive Exhibit area for snacks and a brief program.
Les Conklin began the program by thanking volunteers and introducing the members of the Friends' Board of Directors. Les then introduced Edie Shannon and Carl Schneider. Edie initiated and organized the effort to refurbish Scenic Drive exhibits and Carl organized volunteers to work on the landscaping project.
After thanking volunteers for their hard work, Edie introduce Mayor Mary Manross. Manross commended volunteers for their efforts and remarked that the longevity of the effort was truly remarkable. Scottsdale City Council members Wayne Ecton and Cynthia Lukas also thanked volunteers and emphasized the importance of preserving the traditions and natural beauty of our area. The three then had to make a hurried departure to attend the unveiling of former mayor, Herb Drinker. Incidentally, Herb was an enthusiastic supporter of our initial efforts to restore the Scenic Drive. [Read More]
Edie
then described the Plant Parent program. Barbara Copeland, president of the
Greater Pinnacle Peak Association, presented a donation of $500 to the Plant
Parent program to Friends' Howard Myers and Horst Berkner. Edie unveiled a
plaque (pictured left) listing the inaugural contributors to the program. The plaque will be
installed at the Scenic Drive Exhibit area. Enrollment for the 2003-2004 program
ends on September 30, 2003.
Carl Schneider then described the
successful completion of the landscaping project and unveiled a plaque
thanking
the project's major contributors. The plaque will be installed at the northern
Scenic Drive entry sign. Carl also announced the winner of the "Most
Unique Litter Found" contest. The most interesting item as a golf
ball.
After the ceremony, volunteers visited and enjoyed snacks.
These pictures taken by Horst Berkner and Les Conklin capture scenes from the day's activities. [View Slide Show ]
May 10, 2003 was an important day in the history of the Scenic Drive. Other important gatherings were:
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1998 - Exhibit Completion Celebration [Read More]
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1997 - Announcement of Scenic Drive Enhancement Celebration [Read More]
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1995 - Scenic Drive Restoration Celebration [Read More]
You can download and print a flyer describing the day's actitivies. The files is in PDF format*.
.* The flyer is in PDF format and requires Adobe Acrobat Reader to view. If you are unable to view this document, for your convenience, we have provided you the following link to download a free version of Adobe Acrobat Reader http://www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/readstep.html.
