2006 - The Pennsylvania Horticulture Society
The Pennsylvania Horticulture Society has a deep history, especially in the city of Philadelphia. PHS was founded in 1827 but its goals have remained unchanged, to strengthen the bonds between people and plants. PHS is an extremely diverse organization, educating the public through the Philadelphia Flower Show, the Gold Medal Plant Award Program, Philadelphia Green, publications and online resources.
The Pennsylvania Horticulture Society and the city of Philadelphia have a strong and important relationship. What better way to ensure your organization’s future than to ensure the future of Philadelphia. This shines through in the connection between the Philadelphia Flower Show, the Philadelphia Green project and the city of Philadelphia. The Philadelphia Flower Show has an economic impact on the city of around $30 million. In addition to this economic impact, a large part of the profits from the Philadelphia Flower Show goes towards the Philadelphia Green project, which focuses on improving the city through vacant lot reclamation, park restoration and community gardening initiatives.
The future and sustainability of PHS appeared to be an organization-wide theme this year. Fellow Grace Chapman elucidates, "Each person with whom we spoke was enthusiastic about his/her role in PHS and very optimistic about the organization’s future." Ms. Jane Pepper, PHS Director, and the board of directors focused on developing a strategic plan for the next four years. One of PHS’s goals is to attract and engage a younger audience. Their Development staff and PHS publications are already on the right track with student memberships and increasing Web-based resources.
