MaryEllen OBrien

2016 Katharine Thomas Cary Medal

With profound gratitude for her passionate commitment to every component of floral design education and for her thoughtful, encouraging mentoring which has inspired incalculable blooms of creativity.

Proposed by: Lenox Garden Club, Zone I

MaryEllen O’Brien has extraordinary artistic talent and vision that she enthusiastically shares with others. MaryEllen’s resume gives an outline of her willingness to teach, give and lead. She is a GCA Floral Design Judge and a flower show schedule reader. She served as Editor of By Design, The Garden Club of America’s floral design magazine. MaryEllen was one of the groups that created FA 101 and FA 201, the flower arranging courses that have teach the art, the mechanics, and the joy of floral design. MaryEllen is first and foremost a teacher who thoroughly enjoys sharing resources and networks. She is happy to travel across the country and give a program or judge a show. MaryEllen has encouraged countless members to move beyond their perceived comfort zone and become the best that they can be.

The Katharine Thomas Cary Medal is awarded in recognition of outstanding achievement in the field of floral design education.

he Katharine Thomas Cary Medal was endowed by New Canaan Garden Club, Zone II, in memory of member Katherine Babcock Thomas Cary (Mrs. William Harris Cary:1874–1953). She served as a GCA director, floral design judge, and GCA librarian. The medal was designed in 1955 by Karl Gruppe and first awarded in 1956.

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