fall 2016 15 Few people have translated the Garden’s mission to others with the same conviction, the same earnestness and passion. Arlene headed the volunteer department for three decades. She was a fierce advocate for volunteers, whom she rallied year after year, sharing her love of the Garden and inspiring them to give tens of thousands of hours of service annually. “When you meet Arlene, you immediately sense her warmth, enthusiasm and vitality,” said Carl Bauer, who chairs the volunteers’ Friends of Fairchild group. “For 30 years, she met, interviewed and placed thousands of happy volunteers with equally happy Fairchild Garden staff.” Before she joined the Garden, Ferris toured the world after college and then worked in a variety of non-profit and hospitality jobs. When she moved to Florida, she explored, as she likes to say, “the real Florida” and its diverse habitats through the state parks. In 1986, while studying to become a paralegal, she decided to face her fear of public speaking and became a Fairchild tram tour guide. It was Dr. John Popenoe, then Fairchild’s director, who saw Ferris’ passion for plants and her ability to lead and asked her to head up a volunteer department the next year. She spent her ensuing time with the Garden meeting, greeting, assigning, coordinating, listening and giving. She created such a model department that she turned the hows and whys of her work into a book chapter for the American Public Gardens Association and petitioned, along with other volunteer directors, for the development of an APGA Volunteer Engagement Committee. In her personal and professional life, Ferris has championed the conservation of the natural environment, truly internalizing Fairchild’s mission. The Garden became a second home to her, where she knew each volunteer’s name and understood the value of the personal touch. She took care of her ever-increasing corps of volunteers both at the Garden and by writing notes, making calls and visiting the sick. Colleagues, too, know the empathy she possesses; she has been a sounding board for any crisis, idea, sadness or happiness. As the face of Fairchild’s Volunteer Program, Ferris has touched countless lives both inside and outside the Garden’s gates, driven by a deep belief about the powerful role of botanic gardens in communities. At her farewell party, her message to volunteers and staff captured the essential Arlene Ferris. “Each of us got to Fairchild by a different road, but what’s so amazing is we formed a community and it is really a magical thing—a magical mystery tour,” she said. “What kept us here and built our community are the things we have in common: a deep appreciation for the beauty of the natural world and the knowledge that we have to be proactive in protecting it.” Previous page At Fairchild’s longest running festival, The Ramble, Arlene especially enjoyed the tradition of the exhibit of Dr. William Murphy’s Dutch Waterpoorter and its intricately carved figures and melodic sounds. ABOVE (L-R) The 2016 Friends of Fairchild Board recently presented Arlene with a commemorative brick, placed outside the Garden’s Jean M. Sheehan Visitor Center, in honor of her steadfast service to the volunteers. (L -R) Harriet Frillarte, Caryl Chassman, Yonna Levine, Suzanne Steinberg, George Gates, Bobbe Dooley, Arlene Ferris, Carl Bauer, Stephanie Thorman, Sondra Galperin) (not pictured: Judith Futerfas) At her Farewell party on August 4, Arlene was recognized by Garden Director, Dr. Carl Lewis, for her years of dedicated service to the Garden and championing the Fairchild’s mission within the South Florida community.
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