D E VELO PMEN T
Left to right top row: Beth Whipple, Ann RzepkaBudziak, Caroline Tait. Bottom row: Mike Logsdon, Jill Koski, Dave Logsdon.
Heath Pond Renamed Logsdon Pond With Gratitude to our Donors
D
avid “Dave” Logsdon and J. Michael “Mike” Logsdon have some things in common. Both are long-time members of Holden Forests & Gardens. They are first cousins. Both wanted to make a gift to honor their late partners who died from cancer within months of each other. And both wanted to carry on the Logsdon family legacy while directly impacting Holden Forests & Gardens.
When Dave and Mike approached the Development department during the spring of 2020, they had an interest in naming a tree or garden bed at the Holden Arboretum in memory of Janice Logsdon (Dave’s wife) and Pamela Tanner (Mike’s partner). Both women had recently passed away. Dave, chairman of Wayne Homes and retired president and CEO, regularly visited the Cleveland Botanical Garden and Holden Arboretum with Jan and their three children. Mike had managed capital projects in ten states for Weston Inc. until he retired in 2008, when he was inspired by Eliot Paine, former CEO of the Holden Arboretum, and immediately began volunteering. He was later tapped to run the
24 FORESTS & GARDENS
By Deborah Miller, Vice President of Development
Cleveland Botanical Garden’s facility operations when it affiliated with the Holden Arboretum and did so for three years until he retired a second time.
an endowment designed to always engage those younger than us, so we expanded our memorial gift to include the annual hiring of an intern.”
During an early summer day, several members of the Development and Horticulture and Collections teams toured the Logsdons to various locations at the Arboretum for potential naming. One opportunity stood out — Heath Pond. The pond area was slated for renovation in the long-range plans. Caroline Tait, vice president of horticulture and collections; Annie Rzepka Budziak, director of arboretum horticulture; and Beth Whipple, horticulturist, shared the details of plans they had for the area. However, funding was not available to execute those plans. In addition, Horticulture and Collections had a need to grow the department and help train the next generation of horticulturists.
Conversations over the next couple of hours led to a significant interest by the Logsdon cousins to not only impact the immediate renovation of the pond but help ensure its long-term maintenance and encourage interest in the horticulture field. Together, they decided to make a significant gift that would impact both the present and future of Holden Forests & Gardens. “We have always been cognizant of providing opportunities to engage our youth to nature, and as we encountered the interest and excitement of the interns while touring the Arboretum, we simply decided, almost on the spot, to propose an endowment specifically for an intern,” states Mike.
“We know the importance of sharing knowledge and preserving nature, that’s why we’ve been long-time supporters of HF&G,” Dave reflects. “Mike suggested that we create
A portion of the gift is being used directly toward renovation costs for the pond area, while most of the gift has established The Logsdon Family Intern and Horticulture Fund.
