Three Manawatū rosarians – Peter Elliott, John Ford, and Heather Macdonell – have been honored with awards for their services to rose-growing in New Zealand.
New Zealand Rose Society president Hayden Foulds said the trio had given many years of service to the rose and to rose enthusiasts. Elliott was presented with the TA Stewart Memorial Award for service to the rose in Australia or New Zealand. He has had significant involvement with roses at the local, national, and international levels. Locally, he has served three terms as president of the Manawatū Rose Society and is its secretary/treasurer. He is a past president of the New Zealand Rose Society and has been a chief judge and chairman of the International Rose Trial Grounds Committee in Palmerston North.
Elliott served three terms representing Australasia on the World Federation of Rose Societies, which presented him with its silver medal in 2015. He convened the organizing committee for the world federation's regional convention in Palmerston North in 2013. Ford was presented with the New Zealand Rose Award for services to the rose in New Zealand. A past president and life member of the Manawatū Rose Society, Ford has served on the New Zealand Rose Society Council and is the chairman of the New Zealand International Rose Trials Committee in Palmerston North. For many years, Ford ran a small rose nursery supplying rose plants around the country and is involved in breeding new varieties.
Macdonell was presented with the first-ever New Zealand Rose Society Lifetime Service Award to recognize her 42 years of “outstanding contribution” as the national society’s secretary/treasurer. Foulds said the society had been fortunate to have her knowledge, skills, and experience to guide it over the years she had served in various positions, often behind the scenes.
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