Volunteers help distribute the 10,000 plants picked up by N.C. non-profits in WRAL's 23rd Annual Azalea Celebration.

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Non-profits across North Carolina recently picked up 10,000 azaleas from CBC as part of WRAL’s 23rd Annual Azalea Celebration. The distribution took place at the WRAL Transmitter site in Auburn, NC, on Saturday, October 4, 2008.
 
NC Beautiful lined up 15 volunteers to help load the plants with the help of the CBC Property Management staff.  They began loading at 7:30am and put the last plants on a truck at 2pm.  One-hundred and twenty groups received azaleas this year, coming from as far away as Asheville.

This year marks the distribution of 230,000 azaleas to non-profit groups across the state.

“This continues to be a great program that is very much appreciated by the many non-profit organizations that lack funding for landscape projects,” said Corporate Property Management Manager & Horticulturist Tim Grissom.  “I always enjoy meeting the people and see how excited they are to receive plant for the beautification of their grounds.”

The 2008 A.J. Fletcher Award Winners

1st Place - Penny Road Elementary School

2nd Place - A.B. Combs Leadership Magnet Elementary School

3rd Place - Cole Mill Church of Christ

As part of the Azalea Celebration, awards were presented to three non-profits for their use & maintenance of the plants they received through the program three years ago.  The A.J. Fletcher Award winners are:

• 1st Place  - Penny Road Elementary School
  received 100 more azaleas $500 and an engraved plaque
• 2nd Place  - A.B. Combs Leadership Magnet Elementary School
  received 50 more azaleas $250 and an engraved plaque
• 3rd Place - Cole Mill Church of Christ
  received 25 more azaleas $125 and an engraved plaque

WRAL-TV, MIX 101.5 WRAL-FM and ENCORE Azaleas worked with NC Beautiful to sponsor the 23rd Annual Azalea Celebration.

CBC begins accepting applications from non-profits for the azaleas each summer and contacts the winners in the early fall.  Distribution & pick-up day takes place each October.

To learn more about the WRAL Gardens, A.J. Fletcher’s history, and see many of the plants blooming during the different seasons of the year, check out the WRAL Gardens website.

Thanks to Corp’s Tim Grissom for these capcom photos.