By Lei Rowan
ESPERANCE – On Sunday, Landis Arboretum hosted its annual volunteer appreciation luncheon from 12-2pm in the Nicholas J. Juried Meeting House. With a good turnout, the Arboretum dedicated the first hour to lunch with bread, soups, salads, cookies, cider donuts, seltzers, and ciders offered.
The Arboretum is a non-for-profit organization run by the committee’s president Jim Paley alongside executive director Fred Breglia and volunteer coordinator Susan Strangia. They, along with many volunteers, excel at Landis to preserve native flora and benefit the local ecosystem. They also host weddings on weekends at the pavilion.
At 1pm, Jim Paley began speaking. “We’re so lucky to have a great base of volunteers,” he stated. Paley's portion was brief before turning it over to Fred Breglia, who has been at the Arboretum for roughly 28 years. Breglia expressed how grateful he is that people come to volunteer and don’t expect monetary payment. Susan Stranglia also came to express her gratitude for all the volunteers.
The first award given was the Volunteer of the Year award. This was given to Jodi Gregory for going above and beyond, as well as coming to volunteer almost every weekend at Landis. The Barne and Nobles book store grew a lot with Gregory’s help and dedication.
The Great Oak Award was chosen based on long term service. Shawn and Ann Bevins both received this award for years of volunteering at the Arboretum. Breglia stated these two had been there longer than him. “The whole family believes in service,” Stranglia stated.
A new award category was created this year; the Youth Award was given to Freddy and Micheal Breglia, who both started coming to Landis and kept more to themselves before starting to explore more and volunteer. There’s hopes for the category to grow with young volunteers. “We want to see more youth welcomed into the Arboretum,” Fred Breglia said.
The last award given out was the Fred Lape Award for Excellence in Buildings and Grounds. Jim Paley received it, who was initially hesitant to accept, wanting the award to go to a volunteer. But Fred Breglia insisted Paley get the Fred Lape Award. Paley has always checked in on others and dedicated himself to the betterment of Landis, he spoke about building the deck, installing solar panels to get the electricity bill to zero, replacement of the plywood floor of the Nicholas Juried Meeting House, replacement roofs on several buildings, and how appreciative he is of volunteers. “It wasn’t all done by myself, I had help,” Paley told attendees. He also talked about working with Nicholas Juried for funding of Landis and the Juried Meeting House. Once they contacted them with estimated costs, the projects “really took off.”
Paley is also very grateful to Vijaya Luxmi for kick starting several projects. Luxmi has a dedicated tree at Landis as well. She spoke after Paley finished, “It started looking like the Indian village I grew up in … it belongs to all of us.” Luxmi gave a scarf to Paley and Breglia and shared a bit about her culture.
Stranglia, Paley, and Breglia gave another huge “thank you” to all the volunteers. “Thank you for all the work in the past, and the work in the recent and future,” Stranglia concluded. Volunteers were invited to take the flower centerpieces home.
Paley did a brief Q&A. Gus Polli, volunteer and ambassador along with his wife Louise Polli, used the opportunity to give his own thank you and encourage people to keep volunteering and making change. “The more people we can get here… it’s a hidden gem.”
Landis has a bi-annual plant sale, the weekend after Mothers Day and the weekend after Labor Day. They also rent out buildings for weddings, memorials, celebrations, and corporate functions. There are informational native plant trails, sculptures, and a book store on the beautiful 40-acre property. Upcoming events the Arboretum is hosting are all posted on their website.
For more information, contact the Landis Arboretum at info@landisarboretum.org, call (518) 875-6935, or visit https://landisarboretum.org.
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