Garden Column for the Salisbury Post Darrell Blackwelder February 3, 2005 Master Gardener volunteers meet early in the year to assess last year's programs compile data for a mandated annual report. This chore takes Master Gardener Coordinator, Carole Massey almost a month to complete.  However the results are always worth the wait. Below are some interesting statistics from 2004 that may be of interest to those that have contributed to the program and to those interested in Cooperative Extension's Master Gardener Volunteer Program. o       Of 167 Master Gardener volunteers trained since 1993, 56 were active in 2004. o       Total number of volunteer hours by Master Gardeners-2525 hours o       Total number of volunteer hours in training & travel-1444 o       Number of hours by a single volunteer--200 o       Total number of miles traveled for projects-25559 o       Newspaper/garden columns-27 o       Number of personal contacts to public-560 o       Number of school programs, public and private -21 o       Youth reached with Master Gardener Programs-2000 o       Demonstration gardens for the public-22 o       People viewing static/manned displays-14,200 o       Plants diagnosed-25 o       Advisory committee/speakers-6 o       Grants, donations and funds received $15,500 o       Value of mileage at $.35/mile-$8945.00 o       Total value of volunteer hours/$15.00 hour-$59,535.00 o       *Master Gardener Projects for 2004: West End Demonstration Gardens, Turf Demonstration Garden, Enabling Garden, Xeriscaping Garden at Rowan Public Library, Arbor Day for all 3rd grade students (public and private schools), Writer' Forum, Plant Swap and Sale, Plant Propagation class, Heirloom tomato trial, 4-H Junior Master Gardener Club, Junior Master Gardener Class, Earth Day with the City of Salisbury, Rowan County Fair and United Way Day of Caring. As you may conclude from these statistics, the Rowan County Master Gardener Volunteer Program is active providing viable educational programs for the citizens of Rowan County. Special thanks to the following that have financially supported Cooperative Extension's Master Gardener Program. They are The Blanche and Julian Robertson Family Foundation, City of Salisbury, Rowan County, Rowan Public Library, and the Hurley Family. These few Master Gardener Volunteers contribute much more than a dollar amount to the citizens of Rowan County, their positive, educational impact and enthusiasm to the youth and citizens of our community cannot be measured.