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2007 Annual Report
 Letter From the President
Jane G. Pepper
When I host visitors at PHS, I find they usually know us from one vantage point, as a fan of the Flower Show, for example, or as a participant in one of our community greening activities or education programs. Rarely is one person familiar with the full spectrum of PHS initiatives. And there lies a challenge. On the pages of this report, you’ll find news and information about the broad range of our programs. I invite each of you to deepen your knowledge of PHS and spread this knowledge to family, friends, and colleagues.
For a start, bring them to the 2008 Philadelphia Flower Show (March 2 – 9), or better still, invite them to volunteer with you. Our New Orleans-inspired theme is Jazz It Up!, and you can be sure design director Sam Lemheney and our incredible exhibitors have some entertaining exhibits in store for all of us.
If someone you know has a green thumb—or the slightest hint of one—encourage him or her to attend a PHS education program. Many are held at delightful locations such as Chanticleer and Meadowbrook Farm, where the ambience is worth the price of the program alone, not to mention the excellent instructors who work so hard to make these local garden gems the best of their kind in the country.
 Encourage your family and friends to become engaged with one of the facets of Philadelphia Green. They can volunteer with us at the Azalea Garden once a month, judge in the City Gardens Contest, help rehabilitate a park, plant a tree in their neighborhood, or learn from our exuberant staff how to start a community garden.
As you will see in the following pages, this has been another great year for PHS thanks to strong attendance at the Flower Show and generous support from donors. Staff and volunteers have embraced the goals of our five-year Strategic Plan, which we introduced to you in last year’s Annual Report. Some strategic plans sit on shelves, but not this one. Executive vice president Blaine Bonham is PHS’s chief in charge of planning, and he keeps us all moving toward our ambitious goals. You will find the results of the past year in this document.
PHS can only achieve its objectives with the help of our exhibitors, volunteers, donors, partners, and staff. Very special thanks to Harry Hill, PHS Council chair, who has not only boundless enthusiasm and energy, but also a wonderful supply of good advice that he generously shares with the entire PHS family. I am endlessly grateful to all who have offered their talents, energy, and financial resources to PHS in the past year. I do appreciate your enthusiasm for an organization I am passionate about. Together, I believe we can continue to make our region a better place to live, work, and play.
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