The Winners of the 2020 Tom Wise Award
Jack and Rebecca Brock
Jack and Rebecca Brock
The Tom Wise Award recognizes those individuals who give of themselves unselfishly; perform service in support of both local and regional activities; and though never wavering in their dependability, they do whatever needs to be accomplished outside the limelight. Jack and Rebecca Brock from Milledgeville are the 2020 winners for this award. They are a couple who have been members of Region 5 ADS since 2009. At that time they joined the Dublin Area Daylily Society (DADS) and have made many donations to the DADS auctions during the last 11 years. Then in 2015 they were founding members of the Central Georgia Daylily Club (CGDC) based in Milledgeville which gave them two daylily clubs to be active in along with Region 5 activities. Rebecca has been President for 5 years with Jack doing any job needed for this new club’s success, especially with his efforts of auctioning plants that he has donated at every meeting. Jack is also a certified Exhibition Judge with the daylily society. This new club also has put on 3 accredited daylily shows so far with Jack being the show chair in each. On several occasions this club has met at their home and garden for an assortment of daylily related demonstrations. As members of these three local clubs, they are known to carry out their tasks of service with courtesy, with admiration for others, and with going the extra mile.
In a relative short period of time, Jack and Rebecca Brock have designed one of the prettiest and most efficient daylily gardens in Georgia and have a collection of daylilies that are great performers which include a very wide range of all forms and types. Their garden has some of the biggest daylily clumps that are breathtaking, heart-stopping, and sensationally gorgeous to find anywhere. About 50 of these clumps were donated by the Brocks to be utilized for various reasons for the Ogeechee Daylily Society (ODS) for the 2020 National Convention. Assuming the clumps averaged at least 25 or more fans, that is about a total of 1,250 fans or more, which is enough to start a daylily retail nursery. Jack Brock proudly stated he wanted all the attendees to take home some great Georgia daylilies. Since the convention was cancelled due to Covid-19, the ODS conducted a national auction of the Brock daylilies along with some others. Members of the ODS made 2 trips to the Brock Garden to get their donations, which brought in some needed funds to help the club financially. In summary, their plant donations to the DADS, CGDC, and the ODS along with the many little things they perform for the daylily organizations, echo those biblical sentiments of selflessness and commitment to a greater cause. In their short 11 years of ADS Region 5 membership, they have advanced from novice members to a couple that gladly assists new daylily growers in a range of successful daylily gardening components. They definitely represent the spirit of The Tom Wise Award, for indeed they have demonstrated that service isn’t about Either/Or, it is about creating YES!
In a relative short period of time, Jack and Rebecca Brock have designed one of the prettiest and most efficient daylily gardens in Georgia and have a collection of daylilies that are great performers which include a very wide range of all forms and types. Their garden has some of the biggest daylily clumps that are breathtaking, heart-stopping, and sensationally gorgeous to find anywhere. About 50 of these clumps were donated by the Brocks to be utilized for various reasons for the Ogeechee Daylily Society (ODS) for the 2020 National Convention. Assuming the clumps averaged at least 25 or more fans, that is about a total of 1,250 fans or more, which is enough to start a daylily retail nursery. Jack Brock proudly stated he wanted all the attendees to take home some great Georgia daylilies. Since the convention was cancelled due to Covid-19, the ODS conducted a national auction of the Brock daylilies along with some others. Members of the ODS made 2 trips to the Brock Garden to get their donations, which brought in some needed funds to help the club financially. In summary, their plant donations to the DADS, CGDC, and the ODS along with the many little things they perform for the daylily organizations, echo those biblical sentiments of selflessness and commitment to a greater cause. In their short 11 years of ADS Region 5 membership, they have advanced from novice members to a couple that gladly assists new daylily growers in a range of successful daylily gardening components. They definitely represent the spirit of The Tom Wise Award, for indeed they have demonstrated that service isn’t about Either/Or, it is about creating YES!