Kujawski wins rare honor at Agriculture Day in Hub

By Wesley Blixt, special to the Chronicle

on Kujawski, veteran UMass Extension horticultural expert and helping-hand to thousands of home gardeners, was given the Massachusetts Agricultural Award at Agricultural Day ceremonies on April 1 at the State House.

     It is only the second time the award, normally reserved for legislators, has gone to an educator, according to Mark Sawyer of the Massachusetts Nursery and Landscape Association. The award is from the Massachusetts Agricultural Promotion Board, a consortium of 24 commodity producer groups.

     Sawyer said Kujawski received the award in recognition of a lifetime of achievement in reaching citizens of the Commonwealth with practical, necessary and timely gardening information. Ku-jawski, who lives in Great Barring-ton, retired recently after a 30-year career as an Extension educator but continues to work on a variety of Extension projects.

     He founded Extension's Master Gardener Program and was a driving force behind the first UMass Extension garden calendar. He serves on the Nursery and Landscape Association's education and research committee, and his gardening columns appear in a number of area newspapers whose readers often consult Kujawski's weekly advice before making a move in the garden.

     "This award was a complete surprise," he said. "My first thought was 'What the heck did I do to get this?'"

     Longtime colleague Kathleen Carroll said, "I can't think of a more well-deserved person to get this award."

     Also cited were Attorney General Tom Reilly, Reps. Anthony Verga (D-Gloucester) and Bradley Jones (R-N. Reading), and Sen. Therese Murray (D-Plymouth).