Volunteers help winners load their azaleas at the culmination of the 2009 WRAL Azalea Celebration on Saturday, October 3rd.

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On Saturday October 3, 2009, CBC held the 24th annual Azalea Celebration at the WRAL transmitter site.   CBC’s Corporate Property Management staff, along with volunteers from NC Beautiful and the Boy Scouts, started the distribution of plants at around 7:30am and finished up at 1:00pm. 

A total of 123 groups from all areas of the state of North Carolina came to pick up their plants. Groups came from as far away as the mountains to acquire their azaleas.

“It was a beautiful day and we had many excited people coming to pick up their plants,” said Corporate Property Management Manager Tim Grissom.  “Everything went very smoothly with a lot of happy people as they left the transmitter site.

This year CBC distributed 5000 azaleas.  Groups were eligible to receive up to 50 plants.  Every group also received as a bonus 10 Encore azaleas. 

“This is always such a fun and exciting day to be able to meet and help so many different groups from across the state of North Carolina,” said Grissom.  “This program has had a great impact on the beautification of the state.”

This year marked 235,000 azaleas that CBC has distributed during the 24 years of the program.

The 2009 A.J. Fletcher Award Winners

1st Place - Clark United Methodist Church (New Bern, NC)

2nd Place - Sharon Baptist Church (Smithfield, NC)

3rd Place - Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Church (Raleigh, NC)

Three non-profits were especially happy about the WRAL Azalea Celebration this year.  Each year CBC awards three groups for their use and maintenance of the plants they received through the program three years ago.  The A.J. Fletcher Award winners are:

• 1st Place  - Clark United Methodist Church from New Bern, NC
  received 100 more azaleas $500 and an engraved plaque
• 2nd Place  - Sharon Baptist Church from Smithfield, NC
  received 50 more azaleas $250 and an engraved plaque
• 3rd Place – Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Church from Raleigh, NC
  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 24th 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 Corporate's Tim Grissom for these capcom photos.