2019 American Daylily Society
Regional Service Award Winner
Leon & Paula Payne
Nomination Letter by Debbie Pike

    I would like to nominate Leon and Paula Payne for the Region Service Award for 2019. I have watched them over the past seven years, take people under their wings to encourage them to be much more involved than people thought they ever would, or could. I know, this happened to me when I joined the Society. Leon and Paula are a wealth of information and are more than willing to pass the information along and follow up to make sure you understand what was discussed. We have a person in our organization that takes new members to the Payne’s Daylily Farm to introduce them to daylilies. When the new members are exposed to the Payne’s enthusiasm, the new member is ALL in for daylilies.

    I know the Payne’s have been involved with Daylilies for many years and know they held some local and Regional Offices. It was not until I started doing some research that I realized how involved they have been. The Payne’s involvement began in 1995. They were members of a couple of daylily clubs. Then, in January 1996, with several other founding members, they formed the Lone Star Daylily Society. Paula was the President 1996-97, and Leon was the Horticulture Chair. While Paula led the meetings and other activities of the club, Leon trained everyone on chemicals used to enhance daylily growth and beauty. Leon and Paula work with the Flower Show Chair every year as needed to ensure a hugely successful Show. They always lead the Placement Committee for the Flower Shows. Their experience and input are invaluable.

    Leon and Paula enter and win many, many categories in the Flower Shows. This experience has been great to see and heartwarming to watch the Payne’s take time to train and encourage others to enter Flower Shows. We have many people in our Society that would not have had the courage to enter the Flower Shows without the support of the Payne’s.

Leon and Paula are both Senior Exhibition Judges and Garden Judges. They remain active and judge anytime they are asked. Their experience has been shared to encourage others to become involved in judging.

    The Payne’s own and operate Payne’s in the Grass Daylily Farm in Pearland, Texas. Their love of daylilies is only exceeded by their generosity. They have donated daylilies to the Society, Regional Meetings and the National Convention for bus plants and auctions to raise money for these organizations. Their donations have enabled the Lone Star Daylily Society to hold many fundraising events. The success of these events ensured the success of the 2015 Regional Meeting, hosted by Lone Star Daylily Society. The fundraising events allowed the Society to pass the savings on to attendees of the Regional Meeting, making it the most attended Regional Meeting ever. The Payne’s open their garden to the public and area Garden Clubs to host tours and training events on growing and hybridizing daylilies. Many of the Society’s members have come from these events held by the Payne’s, and our Society continues to grow. Paula teaches a class on exhibiting daylilies for a “Best in Show” outcome.

    In 2012, the Lone Star Daylily Yearbook was dedicated to Leon and Paula for their dedicated service to the Lone Star Daylily Society.

    Over the years, Leon and Paula’s participation:

        AHS Members since 1995
        Paula was the Region Publicity Director for Region 6 2000-01
        Leon has been the Lone Star Daylily Society’s Horticulture Reporter for many years
        The Payne’s garden has been a tour garden for 2 Regional Meetings and a National Convention
        Donated daylilies for auctions to support Regional Meetings and National Conventions
        Donated daylily Bus Plants for 2 Regional Meetings and a National Convention
        Past AHS Display Garden

    The Payne’s daylilies won:

        Annie T. Giles Award in 2000, 2003, and 2008
        Edna Lankart Award in 2002, 2004 - Hemerocallis ‘Line Dancer’ (Payne, 2004), 2006, 2009, 2010, and 2019

    The Payne’s cultivars have won JC’s and Honorable Mentions. H. ‘Halloween Masquerade’ (Payne, 2003), and H. ‘Lone Star Wagon Wheel’ (Payne, 2004) and many more have been nominated to be on the Popularity Poll for Region 6.

Thank you,

Debbie Pike

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