As we celebrate 30 years of growing community connections, it’s worth remembering how it all began. Long before plant collections, exhibits, and light shows, there was a bold vision — and a group of determined volunteers willing to nurture its roots.

The Garden’s founders and volunteers had a dream of establishing a botanical garden in Green Bay — but there was a problem. We had the dream, but no money, no members, and no land. Of course, we had many skeptics too.

One advantage our group had was diverse backgrounds and expertise, along with excellent contacts with the media to help promote the idea. Glenn Spevacek came up with the idea of offering annual Garden Symposiums. Again, many said nobody would show up.

Good news — the first one was a sellout, and they quickly became an annual event. Thanks to Glenn, he was able to bring in nationally known garden experts. The first Symposium was in 1985. The speakers were chosen to appeal not only to local homeowners but also to local horticultural owners and their employees. We knew that if the Garden was going to be successful, we needed their support.

We were fortunate to have the support of UW Horticulture Professor Dr. Edward Hasselkus, who also had a national reputation in the horticulture profession. His contacts helped us convince these speakers to come to Green Bay and help sow the seed of a botanical garden in Green Bay. Glenn, Paul Hartman, and I all had Dr. Hasselkus as a professor, and he was a great mentor and motivator.

One of our first speakers was Kurt Bluemel, the “King of Grasses.” The feedback was fantastic. The crowds kept growing, and one symposium was held at the Weidner Center. After every symposium, we received positive feedback on how the talks helped attendees.

As a previous business owner, I would like to share how one of the symposiums directly helped me. Glenn brought in a speaker from Iowa State — Professor Griffith Buck. He was a nationally known rose breeder specializing in rose disease resistance and hardiness. He had just released the rose ‘Carefree Beauty’.

He convinced me to buy some, and the rest is history. It is still a wonderful rose and remains in my collection, doing better every year. Thanks to Glenn’s insight — and after hearing from many customers who were tired of roses not surviving the winter — I finally had some answers. Before his passing, Dr. Buck released over 100 rose varieties!

After the amazing success of the symposiums, the Garden introduced two other impactful events that helped promote the need for a botanical garden: the Garden Walk and Garden Fair, both introduced in 1989.

Looking back, it’s remarkable how much grew from those early efforts. What began as a symposium experiment became momentum. What started as skepticism became belief. The seeds planted in those early years, and when the Garden officially opened in 1996, are still growing today.

I hope you’ll join me as we continue exploring the stories that shaped the Garden this year.