The Hoover Award

The Hoover Award is given to members who have made an exceptional contribution to the local chapter, and is selected by a committee of past awardees. Our 2019 recipient is John Doyle.

John has been spreading native plant enthusiasm and assisting CNPS since 2011, making significant contributions to the chapter’s horticultural program. He has chaired the chapter’s horticultural committee since 2016. John contributed to our chapter’s initial seed collection and packaging effort with Marti Rutherford in 2013, while also encouraging others in the chapter to collect and distribute seed for the subsequent seed exchange program. He participated in the short-lived CNPS propagation group, and then went on to be an important voice in our chapter for promoting the use of natives. John has made presentations to the UC Master Gardeners of SLO County. He also participated in public radio station KCBX “Issues and Ideas” program, entitled “Fall Landscaping and Gardening Tips from a Central Coast Panel of Experts” (link). He gave advice in the production of our “Landscaping with Natives” brochure, organized and facilitated the “CNPS-SLO Landscape with Natives” workshop in October 2019 with Mindy Trask, and is working on more of the same.

For several years John presented an annual talk at SLO’s Farm Supply Co. regarding planting natives, and has also sat behind the CNPS information table at several events. John has contributed to our annual plant sale by bringing Growing Grounds Farm offerings to improve our selection, in addition to his own stash of collected native seed and plants, and regularly assists customers with his practical knowledge of using natives in landscapes. When Chimineas Ecological Reserve requested that CNPS help install a native plant garden, John volunteered. He has worked with Bill Waycott on the restoration of native vegetation along the creek banks at the SLO Mission and at the Rodriguez Adobe. John has also co-led a couple of field trips and has been a participant in many chapter activities.

We thank John for his great contributions.

Melissa Mooney was recognized with the 2018 Hoover Award at our January Banquet, an honor that highlights her commitment to CNPS’ mission of understanding and documenting California’s flora, focused specifically on rare plants and plant communities. 

Our chapter has been the lucky recipient of Melissa’s time, skill, and enthusiasm since her recent retirement as the Santa Barbara County Biologist. Melissa’s involvement with CNPS-SLO actually dates back to 1993 when she served for several years as our rare plant coordinator, a position shared with Lynne Dee Althouse. Since returning to a more active role in our chapter in 2015, Melissa has served as Secretary; she’s known for her thorough Board Meeting minutes and their (much-appreciated) prompt circulation to keep everyone in the loop.

Melissa has also taken the lead in reviewing and updating our Chapter bylaws and guidelines, and is part of a concerted effort with Bill Waycott to ‘develop’ new leaders in the organization. Melissa has ably served as the SLO Chapter Council Representative, connecting us to what is happening at the State level, and she is a reliable volunteer at our local events as well as at the State Conferences.

However, Melissa’s most important recent contribution has been her valuable and successful work as the CNPS-SLO Plant Communities Chair. She has instigated the effort to sample the 30 rare natural plant communities known to occur in San LuisObispo County, as defined by the Manual of California Vegetation. Sampling is conducted by using Rapid Assessment techniques, and areas already sampled include the Morro Dunes Ecological Reserve in Los Osos, as well as in Laguna Lake Open Space and South Hills Open Space in San Luis Obispo. The State’s annual Rapid Assessment training class occurred in Morro Bay last year following the efforts of Melissa and her sampling team. Coincidence? We think she has put our chapter on the map as an area with an enthusiastic team of CNPS members that want to document our County’s beautiful open space.

We congratulate Melissa for her important contributions to our chapter and to native plants, and we wish her well in her new role as our Vice President!

The Hoover Committee selected Marti Rutherford as the 2017 Honoree for the significant contributions she has made to our chapter. She has volunteered in many ways to promote the education and conservation of native flora in our county. Marti is an observant person with a true curiosity about plants and plant communities. Her interest in better knowing native plants inspires her passion for collecting seed and experimenting with propagation. The plants she grows bring her enjoyment, which she happily shares with our chapter and the larger community.

One of her important contributions is conceiving and orchestrating a successful native seed exchange at the October general meetings for the last two years. Marti assembled the Seed Collecting and Seed Saving Guidelines, available on our chapter website – anyone can participate in the native seed exchange. For many years, she has organized and provided seed for the annual Plant Sale, including preparation of leftover donated seed from the exchange. You can find her at the Sale, ready to address customers’ seed-related questions.

When a specific need arises, Marti regularly steps up to offer help. With careful attention to detail, she is responsible for the much-needed updating of our native plant list handouts, originally created in the early 1980s on a typewriter. She also updated the list of plants available at our Plant Sale to account for name changes and supplied new signage photographs. Marti’s interest in planting natives goes beyond her own garden. She’s a conscientious participant on field projects, such as the Chimineas Ranch planting conducted several years ago. George Butterworth notes that the goldenbush and  ceanothus installed by Marti have always looked great . “They are the best out there,” he says, because of her careful work. Since 2015, Marti has also actively served as one of the core leaders in restoration efforts along Mission Creek in downtown SLO. Some of the very plants that Marti has propagated herself are now installed along the Creek!

As a strong advocate for native plants and plant communities, Marti voices her concern on issues important to CNPS as part of the public process, such as testifying for the recently approved county oak protection ordinance. She is an influential native plant ambassador through her participation with groups such as the SLO Botanic Garden and the Master Gardeners Program. On a personal note, Marti and her husband Rob are proponents of good grassland stewardship through holistic management, protecting and promoting the growth of rangeland native grasses and forbs. You can rely on Marti’s assistance, be it at a CNPS booth or book sales table, general meetings or the annual banquet. She comes early for set-up and stays to help break down after events. The banquet flower arrangements have benefited from Marti’s artistic eye and the bounty of plant material she contributes from her garden. When a central place for our Board meeting arose, Marti found a good solution and seamlessly coordinated the room reservations. And finally, as Corresponding Secretary since early 2013, all general and banquet meeting speakers, as well as field trip leaders receive a thank you note from the chapter.

For all of these reasons, we honor our friend Marti Rutherford with the Hoover Award, and thank her for being an important part of our Chapter and promoting the protection, use, and enjoyment of native plants.

Bill Waycott was recognized with the 2016 Hoover Award for his contributions to appreciation and preservation of the San Luis Obispo native flora. The honor, named for Dr. Robert Hoover, was presented to Bill Waycott at the January banquet. Prior recipients meet yearly to select an honoree judged for their accomplishments in education, conservation and chapter support.

Teachers are supposed to inspire their students. I am sure they do. But sometimes students also inspire their teachers. As a Teaching Assistant at UC Santa Barbara in 1970, one of my students was Bill Waycott. Bill loved plants, loved the field trips, loved the plant ID. He became very enthusiastic about California flora and developed an abiding interest of it. In 1971 we went our separate ways, and seldom saw or heard from each other. But I always remembered his interest and enthusiasm.

In 1996 I became the Natural Resources Manager for the City of San Luis Obispo. Imagine my surprise and delight when my wife (who had also been one of my students) told me that she had met Bill at her work, that he lived in town and was married (to Diana, yet another of my students) with two daughters. We hooked up again.

Bill’s work had him traveling a lot, so he only belatedly got back into native plants; that old interest and enthusiasm was still there. Eventually, he became more and more active in the SLO Chapter of CNPS. In 2011, when the Field Trip board position became vacant, Bill saw an opportunity to participate more fully. He soon became the Field Trip Chair and continues in that capacity today. In addition to organizing our many field trips, he is often the trip leader. It is a position that lead to his interest in furthering CNPS outreach and building connections with other like minded groups. This includes co-sponsored field trips as well as opportunities to host educational tables at activities, such as with the Central Coast Concerned Mountain Bikers.

Bill has brought a new enthusiasm to the chapter. Along with long-time CNPS member John Chesnut, he brought the state Rare Plant Treasure Hunt, a citizen-science program, to San Luis Obispo county. He has participated in many rare plant hunts statewide, and was recognized for attending the most outings in 2014. In 2015, Bill was elected President of our local chapter. In that capacity, Bill continues to expand outreach opportunities for the chapter. Coordinating with the City of San Luis Obispo, CNPS has partnered to restore the native flora along San Luis Creek in Mission Plaza. During these drought years, he has arranged participation in KCBX radio programs to inform the public about drought tolerant native plants for the yard.

Like many of our members, he has a great interest in collecting seed and growing native plants. He has grown plants and provided them for the annual plant sale, and for use at our many booth opportunities during the years. He was unanimously reelected chapter President in 2016. Bill has also extended his interest and commitment to CNPS to the state organization. He was elected a Chapter Council representative to the State Board, and recently assumed the position of Vice President.

Yes, students can and do inspire their teachers. Bill has inspired all of us over the years. It is with great honor and pride that we recognize his services and accomplishments for us as our most recent winner of the Robert F. Hoover Award.

– Neil Havlik

We are pleased to announce that the Hoover Committee, composed of past recipients of the award, has selected Judi Young as the 2014 honoree.A California native, Judi grew up in a family that for generations has valued our unique environment and ecosystems.  Add to that a love of flowers and plants that was nurtured and encouraged during her growing up years; home gardens have always been an important part of her life. Judi moved to the Central Coast to be closer to her family, and we met Judi when she started to occasionally ‘hang out’ with her parents Heather and Jim Johnson at CNPS events.Judi’s talents are many and varied, with experience as a floral business owner, electronic communications, and a web design consultant.  In 2010, the local chapter board sought to improve our small and dated website.  With her internet experience, artistic eye and interest in native plants, Judi saw the possibilities of revamping the website and stepped up to the task at hand.  Today, our chapter has a beautiful, informative website that she designed and continuously updates.

In 2012, Judi also took on Publicity duties for our chapter, keeping the public updated on events and news through Community Calendar posts and the occasional Facebook ad. She also maintains our email newsletter list and sends Obispoensis directly to our inboxes.

Judi is very important to our chapter’s appeal to younger people who use social media to connect with causes and attend events. She constantly reminds us what is possible in the modern world of communication, and how it can benefit our outreach to existing and new members. To further increase our outreach presence, Judi has set up and maintains a Facebook page (along with Mardi Niles and Kristie Haydu and others) , a very effective venue for connecting with people who want to know more about native plants. In fact, just recently a group of home-schooling mothers contacted us via Facebook, requesting some assistance with tree identification on the Bob Jones trail in Avila Beach. We were able to provide the needed information, and we also attended a somewhat spontaneously organized fieldtrip with these mothers and their children out on the trail! This sort of connection with interested people, previously unaware of CNPS, was made possible by Judi’s successful efforts to move us into the modern age.

In addition to Judi’s importance to our digital communications, she is also a big help in many other aspects of the local chapter, including as a regular Plant Sale cashier.

Congratulations to Judi Young!

– Susi Bernstein & Linda Chipping

In the world of gardening with California native plants, one never knows when they will be captivated by its magic. It was in the late 1990’s, as Bill Shearer was walking his dog through Pismo State Beach, Oceano Campground’s Native Plant Garden, and meeting Jack and Grace Beigle, that he became aware of the possibilities of gardening with native plants. It started by Bill asking lots of questions. One thing let to another and Bill eventually joined the “Garden Gang” on Tuesday mornings and in Grace’s words, “He was enthusiastic!”

Bill has now contributed countless hours to the development of the garden. He has also worked on the removal of non-native invasive species and on restoration projects in the Oceano Campground and at the North Beach Monarch Butterfly Grove. Today his special project is the reforestation of the peninsula area in the Oceano lagoon and serving as Co-chair of the Garden Committee. By the way, Bill has just been awarded his 1,000 hour pin by the Central Coast State Parks Association for the work he has done in the state parks.

Bill’s enthusiasm for gardening with native plants was brought to a new level around 2002, when Bill signed up for a California native plant gardening class at the Dunes Center in Guadalupe. It was taught by Al Naydol, who was an active CNPS member, an expert “Cal Native” gardener and at that time was Chief Environmental Officer of Vandenberg Air Force Base. The spin off from those classes was a group of south county CNPS members called the “Native Rooters.”

Bill’s garden at his home in Arroyo Grande is a beautiful oak woodland in the middle of the city, where Bill’s knowledge of California native plants is evident everywhere and he has generously shared his garden on many CNPS Garden Tours.

Bill has also made additional contributions to our chapter by propagating, cultivating, and delivering native plants to our November Plant Sale and helping out at our monthly meetings, our annual pot luck banquet and at work parties through the county. Thank you for your contributions to the SLO chapter of CNPS.

In the world of gardening with California native plants, one never knows when they will be captivated by its magic. It was in the late 1990’s, as Bill Shearer was walking his dog through Pismo State Beach, Oceano Campground’s Native Plant Garden, and meeting Jack and Grace Beigle, that he became aware of the possibilities of gardening with native plants. It started by Bill asking lots of questions. One thing let to another and Bill eventually joined the “Garden Gang” on Tuesday mornings and in Grace’s words, “He was enthusiastic!”

Bill has now contributed countless hours to the development of the garden. He has also worked on the removal of non-native invasive species and on restoration projects in the Oceano Campground and at the North Beach Monarch Butterfly Grove. Today his special project is the reforestation of the peninsula area in the Oceano lagoon and serving as Co-chair of the Garden Committee. By the way, Bill has just been awarded his 1,000 hour pin by the Central Coast State Parks Association for the work he has done in the state parks.

Bill’s enthusiasm for gardening with native plants was brought to a new level around 2002, when Bill signed up for a California native plant gardening class at the Dunes Center in Guadalupe. It was taught by Al Naydol, who was an active CNPS member, an expert “Cal Native” gardener and at that time was Chief Environmental Officer of Vandenberg Air Force Base. The spin off from those classes was a group of south county CNPS members called the “Native Rooters.”

Bill’s garden at his home in Arroyo Grande is a beautiful oak woodland in the middle of the city, where Bill’s knowledge of California native plants is evident everywhere and he has generously shared his garden on many CNPS Garden Tours.

Bill has also made additional contributions to our chapter by propagating, cultivating, and delivering native plants to our November Plant Sale and helping out at our monthly meetings, our annual pot luck banquet and at work parties through the county. Thank you for your contributions to the SLO chapter of CNPS.

John Chesnut, this year’s recipient of the Hoover Award has made significant contributions in all three important functions of our statewide society: our scientific authority represented by our Rare Plant and Vegetation programs; our Conservation program, in which we fight for proconservation actions of government and the private sector and oppose destructive activities; and, our Education programs that involve public field trips, horticultural programs and other forms of public outreach.