Perennial Plant Association announces 2024 Special Recognition Awards recipients

The Perennial Plant Association recognized four perennial professional individuals and one group for their exceptional contributions to the industry with the 2024 Special Recognition Awards.

Started in 1985, the Special Recognition Awards program recognizes individuals or groups in unique perennial industry categories for their distinguished work. This year's awards were given July 31 at the 2024 PPA National Symposium in Asheville, North Carolina.

New in 2024, PPA announced a revised awards program designed to reflect the changes in the perennial plant industry, particularly the maturity of the sector overall, while recognizing the contributions individuals and companies make in industry.

This year’s recipients are:

• David McKinney, The Emerging Perennial Professional Award (given to a PPA member who is a newcomer to the perennial plant industry): McKinney earned two undergraduate degrees in horticulture and a master’s degree from Colorado State University. He worked for the Denver Zoological Foundation as a horticulture specialist and is currently curator of collections and grounds at the Iowa Arboretum and Gardens. He serves on the local planning committee for PPA’s 2025 National Symposium and was a Perennial Plant Foundation scholar in 2018.
• Patty Steinhauser, The Perennial Service Award (acknowledges a PPA member for service to the association): A PPA member for decades, Steinhauser promotes PPA to potential members, and the association benefited greatly from her six years of board service. As co-owner of Stonehouse Nursery in Berrien Springs, Michigan, she's actively participated in symposia and the trade show, supporting PPA and offering to help with logistics. She also continues to serve on the foundation board and support the foundation.
• Paul Pilon, The Perennial Outreach and Education Award (recognizes an individual or organization who has distinguished themselves by advancing perennial plants and the industry through education, advocacy, awareness, outreach or promotion): Pilon is director of growing at Opel Growers in Hudsonville, Michigan, and editor-at-large of the Perennial Pulse e-newsletter. He's been instrumental in helping raise the bar in perennial plant production through his consulting, speaking and writing, including regular columns in Grower Talks and as a speaker at industry events.
• Jeff Epping, The Perennial Excellence Award (recognizes an individual or organization who has distinguished themselves through their contributions, skills and efforts related to herbaceous perennial plants and the perennial plant industry): Epping is a longtime advocate and promoter of perennials through his garden designs and lectures. Over his 28 years at Olbrich Botanical Gardens in Madison, Wisconsin, Epping developed several significant gravel gardens, which focus on perennial plants and promote an environmental and sustainable message.
• The Founders of the Perennial Plant Association, The Directors Award (recognizes an individual or group who go above and beyond in their support of the PPA and the broader perennial industry): In the summer of 1983, Steven Still, a young horticulture professor at The Ohio State University, saw a need for more information regarding perennials. A conference held in Columbus hosted 250 attendees. An ad hoc committee of growers — including Aine Busse (Busse Gardens, Cokato, Minnesota), Jim Kyle (Spring Hill Nursery, Tipp City, Ohio), Jim Beam (Sunbeam Farms, Westlake, Ohio) and Pierre Bennerup (Sunny Border Nurseries, Kensington, Connecticut ) — donated money and cobbled together the PPA., which officially became a nonprofit in 1984. Since then, PPA's contributions to the industry, thanks to its founders, include:
  —Countless horticulture professionals gaining knowledge, colleagues and friends through PPA’s National Symposia and other events.
  —Thirty-five perennial plants receiving widespread recognition as Perennial Plants of the Year, furthering the industry’s and public’s knowledge of perennial plants.
  —Future horticulture leaders have been introduced to and inspired by perennial plants thanks to the Perennial Plant Foundation’s scholarship program.
  —Industry leaders from around the world have been celebrated through the association’s annual awards.

To learn more about the recipients and the awards program, visit  perennialplant.org/page/2024SpecialRecognitionWinners.