Holliston Meets with National Executives, Judges, as Symposium Finale Approaches
Today, Holliston in Bloom representatives met with top officials from America in Bloom ahead of tonight’s final award ceremony. The meeting focused on the logistics of hosting and financing the organization’s national symposium in 2017, which will take place in Holliston.
The half hour meeting succeeded in sketching a broad outline of what will need to be done ahead of the October 2017 conference. This includes recruiting guest speakers, deciding on a symposium theme, and organizing a walking tour of downtown. Future meetings will likely take place between Holliston in Bloom and the national organization over the next several months.
Shortly afterwards, Holliston in Bloom met with America in Bloom judges and other towns in its 14,000 to 20,000 population bracket to showcase their respective beautification projects and share ideas. Those present represented towns from Illinois, Kentucky, and Ohio and will be in direct competition for the Population Category Award later this evening.
Meanwhile, the last of America in Bloom’s ten Surprise Awards were announced today. The awards were introduced Thursday evening in honor to celebrate the milestone of 15 national symposiums that was reached this year.
The awards honored very specific achievements such as Most Striking Use of Murals in a City and Best Heritage Tree Program and were spread out over three days. Unfortunately, Holliston was not nominated for any of the awards.
However, the town will have two shots at recognition tonight when the Population Category Awards and Community Champion Award recipients are announced. Either will elevate the town to elite Circle of Champion Status, marking it as among the most successful participating communities in the whole country.