Members of Friends of Laurelwood Arboretum (FOLA) elected a new slate of officers for 2014-2016 at the November 17 annual meeting. They are: Alice Moskowitz, president; Jim McHugh, first vice president; Dawn Healey, second vice president; Carol Huber, recording secretary; and John Hegranes, treasurer. Elected to the Board of Directors were Alex Fadynich, Sara McHugh, Barbara Hegranes, Ruth Hayden, Margaret Kerstner, Bill Mains, Roland Reynolds, Ray Vanaria and Rick Wild.

President-elect Alice Moskowitz presented outgoing president, Jim McHugh, with a framed photograph of Laurelwood Arboretum and a patio paver for the Knippenberg Center for Education to commemorate all that he and his wife Sara have done to make the center a reality. She also presented outgoing treasurer Peter Lowry with a framed photograph of the arboretum.

A highlight of the meeting was a slide show spotlighting Laurelwood Arboretum’s beautiful plantings and in particular the rhododendrons at what was once the home of Dorothy Knippenberg. FOLA’s rhododendron identification committee has been reviewing and digitizing the extensive Knippenberg slide collection in the hopes of saving it before it deteriorates further.