ANNA MAUDE LUTE
Seed analyst, agrostologist, taxonomist,
mentor, teacher, researcher, author, braille expert...
A brief biography:
1876 *Born on September 1 in Julesburg, Colorado. Educated in Nebraska schools.
1902-1906 *Attended University of Nebraska and received A.B. and B.S degrees in German and General Science.
1907-1910 *Held a fellowship in educational psychology and then received an assistantship in botany under the guidance
of Dr. F. E. Clements, Dr. C. E. Bessey and Dr. John M. Coulter. Dr. Bessey encouraged Anna Maude Lute to make seed
analysis her life's work.
1910 *Joined the staff of the USDA Division of Seed Investigations in Maryland.
1911-1916 *Served as seed analyst in the co-operative USDA seed laboratory at Berkeley, California.
1917-1919 *Supervisor of the co-operative USDA seed laboratory at Purdue, West Lafayette, Indiana.
1920-1941 *Chief seed analyst in charge of the seed laboratory of the Agricultural Experiment Station in Fort Collins, Colorado.
*Published many papers about seeds.
*Taught agrostology and systematic botany for the botany department at Colorado Agricultural College (now CSU)
*Served as AOSA president in 1925.
*Invited to Europe twice (attended once in 1935) as an ISTA delegate.
*Became first president of the American Association of University Women.
*Held membership in many scholarly and scientific associations including: Phi Kappa Phi, Sigma Xi, Association
for the Advancement of Science, Botanical Society of America, Colorado-Wyoming Academy of Science.
1941 *Retired from her duties at the Colorado Seed Laboratory.
1941-1958 *Worked with a braille organization and served as treasurer of the women's organization of her church (in Denver.)
1958 *Died July 28, 1958 of complications from cancer.
Anna Maude Lute was a dedicated and highly motivated professional. Her research encompassed diverse interests such as hard seeds, longevity,
dormancy-breaking methods, causes of low germination, native grass seed quality, seed identification, and standardization of methods. Her
agrostology course at CSU was widely acclaimed and she was friends with Agnes Chase, the famous illustrator for A. S. Hitchcock's Manual of the
Grasses of the United States.
"She was my mentor and my friend," said Mildred Thornton, predecessor of Dr. Arnold Larsen at the Colorado
Seed Laboratory. "Everyone who knew her called her 'Anna Maude'. Her opinion was tops with colleagues nationally and internationally. She
treated her students like family." Accounts of her retirement mention her "sparkling humor," "brilliant mind," "exceptional efficiency,"
and her "enviable reputation for accuracy and dependability."
These excerpts from her 1925 AOSA President's Address clearly illustrate her clarity of purpose for the seed analysis profession.
"Understanding can only be gained by that familiarity which is born of long contact with a problem. It seems to me then, that one of our
greatest immediate needs is to make of the seed laboratory a fit place for minds to live in, not to sleep or die in."
"My plea then is that we may make of seed laboratories better environment for seed analysts... We constantly have thrust upon us
the attitude of others that we spend our days counting seeds. ... The general attitude of these students (who stop by from the University) is
'don't you ever tire of counting seeds?' This attitude is not confined to students alone, it is very general among professors and people at large. As seed analysts, we occupy a position of peculiar isolation because our field is outside of the usual lines of education, people know so little of it
that they do not comprehend its fascination .... unless we single them out and give them an idea as to what we really do... "
"I speak as one who enjoys every phase of the seed work, as one who resents being called upon to give up any phase of the seed work in order to help out in other phases of botany. If I am inclined to identification problems I would rather work out the identity of an unknown seed than of an unknown flower; if I feel like making a botanical key I should very much rather speculate on the taxonomic values in seeds than in flowers; if I am in a mood of pathological interest I had very much rather think of seed borne diseases and of seed treatment than of diseases that live over in the soil, and of spraying the leaves. When I feel in a physiological mood I had rather work on dormant seeds than on dormant branches, on storage seeds than on storage roots, on respiration of seeds than respiration of leaves. In fact, I speak as one who enjoys every phase of the work on seeds but who also loves the poetry."
These passages seem to speak to us as eloquently today as they did to analysts so many years ago. Anna Maude left a legacy of devotion to her work and to those people who shared her fascination with seed science.
Anna Lute Award
Past Anna Lute Award winners:
1996 Sharon Davidson, 1997 Marie Greeniaus, 1998 Deborah Meyer, 1999 Susan Maxon, 2000 Nancy Vivrette, 2001 Annette Miller,
2002 Jim Effenberger, 2003 Tim Gutormson, 2004 Marilyn Milhous, 2005 Sandra Hegna, 2006 Aleta Meyr, 2007 Barbara Atkins,
2008 Pat Brownfield, 2009 Brent Turnipseed, 2010 Jim Bruce, 2011 Barbara Cleave
(No awards were given in 2012 or 2013. In 2013, Administration of the award was transferred from the FRSA to the SCST.)
2011 Anna Lute Award Winner: Barbara Cleave
Barbara Cleave has a passion for seed analysis and a no-nonsense, focused approach that would have made Anna Lute proud. She has a national reputation for excellence and thoroughness earned from over 20 years of seed testing and participation on many committees and workshops. She reaches out with special efforts to help not only other seed analysts but people in other departments at her workplace. Teaching and training is her forte. She follows Anna Lute's encouragement to make the seed laboratory a better environment for seed analysts. She is a wealth of knowledge and is inclined to dig deep looking for answers to students' questions She has a warmth and helpfulness that make her the go-to person on the top of anyone's list of supremely competent seed analysts.
2010 Anna Lute Award Winner: Jim Bruce
Jim Bruce is the 2010 Anna Lute Award winner. For over 30 years he has been an advocate and practitioner of the intensive hands-on
and interactive kind of training it takes to educate a skilled seed analyst. He began his career at the Iowa State Seed Laboratory. In the 1980's he created and taught this country's most comprehensive seed analyst training program at the Larimer County Voc-Tech in Fort Collins, Colorado. The program included more hands-on lab time than any other program. After that program was discontinued, he again worked full time as an analyst and devoted additional weekends and nights to creating a new distance education program for seed analysts through Colorado State University. This included work on the widely used seedimages.com website reference. Though he is no longer an instructor for that program, his materials and efforts still influence the quality of the program today. Currently he is a full time seed analyst at the
USDA/ARS National Center for Genetic Resources Preservation (formerly known as the National Seed Storage Laboratory). Jim has trained too many analysts to count including at least two previous Anna Lute Award winners.
2009 Anna Lute Award Winner: Dr. Brent Turnipseed
The Front Range Seed Analysts are proud to award this year's Anna Lute Award to Dr. Brent Turnipseed! We seed analysts can't say the
name without a broad smile and a sense of pride that such an aptly named person is a seed analyst. But far more important is the pride we derive from his efforts to make the world better for seed analysts. As the nominator stated "Dr. Turnipseed is a seed analyst you can count on for assistance, guidance, and sound technical advice whatever your question may be. He is dedicated to upholding the highest standards of the SCST and AOSA and promoting professionalism and proficiency in the laboratory". Brent teaches several courses at South Dakota State University that feature hands-on seed analysis and he does perform seed analyses as part of his lab manager duties.
2008 Anna Lute Award Winner: Pat Brownfield
Anna Lute was described as having a brilliant mind, exceptional efficiency and an enviable reputation for accuracy and dependability. This year’s winner has these qualities in spades. Pat is a tireless and eloquent champion of seed analysts to the seed industry; being active locally, regionally, nationally and internationally. These activities have included teaching and training many RST’s, organizing many workshops,
contributing countless hours to SCST administration and chairing several committees as well as contributing to the regional seed analyst’s group. The nominator concluded his remarks about her by saying “The best thing we can say is that she is remarkably generous with her time and energy. She can provide inspiration or a swift kick to the seat of your pants if that is what you need. Her experience with vegetable seeds is second to none.”
2007 Anna Lute Award Winner: Barbara Ann Atkins
Barbara Atkins is really a lot like Anna Lute—no nonsense, but willing to share information, is exuberant about seed testing, and cares deeply about her customers. She has drawn on her rural Colorado upbringing and her academic training in Denver (B.S. degree) and at New York's Cornell (M.S. Degree). She worked at laboratories in Nebraska and Colorado (Applewood Seed Company) before running her own Laboratory in Denver (B.A. Atkins Seed Testing) in the 1980's. Since 1989, she has worked at STA Laboratories in Longmont, Colorado. Her approach has always been balanced between seed analysis and seedsmen. She has always been well respected in the industry. People send seed to STA Labs because they want her to test it. When she owned her own seed testing business she once accepted samples on Christmas eve. She attends all the functions in her state seed industry, all the regional events, and many national events. She once remarked, “Once I didn’t attend an AOSA
meeting and I was lost for three years.” She has been on SCST board, and active on numerous committees. She made significant contributions to the TZ Handbook, Handbook 25 and multiple rule proposals over the years. Barbara received her RST almost 30 years ago. She received a very high score—people wondered if she wrote the test.. Barbara loves to share what she knows. She trained several RSTs. Her expectations of trainees are very high. She gives her RST trainees an encyclopedia of references to study. Though they discover later that just a
fraction of the information would prove to be on the test, they come to appreciate Barbara’s thoroughness as a mentor and teacher.
She doesn't just help her RST trainees pass the test, she helps them excel as well-rounded analysts.
In Memory: Barbara Ann Atkins 1946 - 2012
2006 Anna Lute Award Winner: Aleta Meyr
Aleta Meyr has seed analysis in her genes. She has carried on her mother Betty Ransom Atwater's legacy as the director of the Ransom Seed Lab. Some of the quotes on her website and brochure are so in tune with the Anna Lute vibe that it seems there must be some relation there too. Here is one: " The lab was always a part of my life. I grew up hanging out at the lab after school, playing with seeds and carefully replanting discarded seedlings out in my garden to watch them grow." --And this: "I enjoy my days at the lab, always full of challenges and invigorating projects." Most of us know her as the tireless contributor and participant in countless projects, referees and committee work. The fact that her employees also have a high level of dedication and commitment also sustained over many years is a testament to her effectiveness as a lab director. She clearly demonstrates the Anna Lute value of making the lab a fit place for minds to live.
2005 Anna Lute Award Winner: Sandra Hegna
Sandra Hegna is a long time RST and CSA. In her 33 years of seed testing, she has always been enthused about training other analysts.
Her students have caught her energy and in turn have “paid it forward” so that there is hardly a region of this country that has not been
touched by her students or their students. One student remarked: “She taught me that seed identification is an art and not just a science.” Her interactions with customers go above and beyond the typical report of analysis. She strives to understand special needs and to ensure that the customers have a complete understanding of the results with additional follow up communications. One colleague recalls that she was “always
early and always stayed late.” Her nominators say she has raised the bar with her numerous contributions. Sandra currently works at the Iowa State Seed Science Center in Ames, Iowa.
2004 Anna Lute Award Winner: Marilyn Milhous
Marilyn Milhous, long time seed analyst (CSA and RST) with the Colorado Seed Laboratory is the 2004 Anna Lute Award winner. Nominators cited her dedication to the improvement of seed analysis and the laboratory environment. Marilyn has continued the Anna Lute tradition of educating the public, seed industry, and students about seed testing. Over the decades, she provided crucial guidance to many undergraduate and graduate students. She provided displays and educational materials and interacted with the seed industry in ways that inspired confidence in her seed testing talents. One grower remarked: "If I send samples to Marilyn, I can sleep at night." She has helped develop new methods, assisted in the improvement of the AOSA Rules, is a charter member of the FRSA, and is always quick to volunteer on referee and workshop projects. Her "giddy" enthusiasm for interesting seed samples is infectious in the lab. She strives to bring an awareness of cultural diversity in the lab by sharing her extensive travel experiences. Marilyn's serious side comes out in her concern for safety, ergonomics and concern about accuracy and test method improvement. We think Marilyn is a fine analyst in the Anna Lute tradition.
2003 Anna Lute Award Winner: Dr. Tim Gutormson
Dr. Tim Gutormson, President of Mid-West Seed Services is the 2003 recipient of the Anna Lute Award. Anna Lute would appreciate Tim's attention to his employees and making the lab a "fit place for minds to live." This attention shows in the enthusiasm of the analysts who work for Tim. His encouragement and dedication to analyst certification, and participation in a wide range of research activities has been tireless. He spearheaded the SCST's efforts to produce a Training Manual. Mid-West Seed Services' ongoing workshops and courses for seed analysts have provided continuing education opportunities in a time when college and government sponsored courses have been cut back. His dedication to all phases of seed analysis and seed analysts is truly in the Anna Lute spirit.
2002 Anna Lute Award Winner: Jim Effenberger
The exuberant style of this year's recipient clearly marks him as an Anna Lute kind of analyst. The nominators called him a master at giving a helping hand to assure that others' projects are successful. On the phone, in the classroom, or in the many AOSA committees on which he serves, he goes the extra mile to communicate clearly, gather opinions, and resolve problems. All of this is done with humor and high energy. His rapid, yet intelligible and intelligent speech inspires awe. Students marvel at his unique teaching methods. Especially memorable was the use of a hairnet to demonstrate Brassica reticulum. His deep passion for the seed analysis profession is typified by Anna Lute's comments 76 years ago when she said: "We constantly have thrust upon us the attitude of others that we spend our days counting
seeds....people know so little of our profession that they do not comprehend its fascination.... We must give them an idea of what we really do..." For 32 years Jim Effenberger, seed analyst at the California State Seed Laboratory, has been trying to give people an idea of what seed analysts do and he has been making of the lab, as Anna Lute put it, "a fit place for minds to live."
2001 Anna Lute Award Winner: Annette Miller
Annette Miller works at the USDA/ARS National Center for Genetic Resources Preservation. She served in several capacities for the Front Range Seed Analysts and is the current chair of the AOSA/SCST Tetrazolium Testing Committee. She has a deep admiration for all that Anna Lute represented and tries to share that enthusiasm with others. She credits her success to her teachers Dr. Arnold Larsen, Jim Bruce and Barbara Atkins who also cared about making the lab a vital place for seed analysts and a place for excellence in seed testing.
2000 Anna Lute Award Winner: Dr. Nancy Vivrette
Nancy Vivrette, seed analyst with Ransom Seed Lab of Carpenteria, California, is the 2000 Anna Lute Award winner. She has
worked in seed testing for over 15 years. After the Anna Lute model, she is passionate about "every phase of seed work." Her special interests are in dormancy research and she has authored and coauthored many publications on seed testing throughout the years. She is generous with her time and expertise, helping younger seed analysts and leading many workshops about identification, purity, germination and tetrazolium testing. Since attaining her RST in 1985 she has served on numerous SCST and AOSA committees. She was the "Bookshelf" editor for the Seed Technologist News. As did Anna Lute, Nancy also participates in ISTA activities and is recognized internationally for the breadth of her expertise.
1999 Anna Lute Award Winner: Susan Maxon
Susan R. Maxon, Seed Analyst with the Seed Regulatory and Testing Branch of the USDA in Beltsville, Maryland, is the 1999 Anna Lute Award
winner. She has worked in seed testing for 22 years. Her nominator praised her excellent knowledge of purity and testing procedures and her
identification skills. Many around the country have benefited from her instruction at federal seed schools and workshop presentations. Her
efficient and conscientious service on the AOSA Rules Committee, editorial committee, and other technical committees, has benefited everyone in seed testing. She is also active in ISTA technical committees. State, seed company, and independent laboratories seek
her advice and assistance to help solve a variety of difficult seed testing problems and seed identification questions. Susan Maxon also works
to educate the general public, students, and teachers about seed testing.
1998 Anna Lute Award Winner: Dr. Deborah J. Meyer
Deborah J. Meyer, Associate Seed Botanist at the California Plant Pest Diagnostic Center, California Department of Food and Agriculture, is the 1998 Anna Lute Award winner. The voluminous materials provided by her nominator can’t all be reprinted here. But the quality of her writing and seed art is truly impressive. True to the Anna Lute spirit, she is wholeheartedly involved in education of the public and seed analysts. She works with master gardener groups, county agricultural agents, and has conducted at least nine seed testing workshops. The original art and study materials she created for these workshops is among the best new educational materials produced for seed analysts in decades. Her service as AOSA President from 1994-1996 and her participation in many AOSA committees over the past two decades has provided crucial improvements in the AOSA Rules for Testing Seeds. She continues to address new problems that come with the appearance of new species in the seed trade.
1997 Anna Lute Award Winner: Marie T. Greeniaus
The 1997 Anna Lute winner has made many contributions to the Seed Industry over the years. She is at her 20th AOSA/SCST meeting this year. She earned her RST in 1976. Her career began in Palmerston North, New Zealand in 1966 at the Government Seed Testing Station. She worked for Yates Seed Company in Sydney, Australia, and also at the seed Testing Station in Tasmania until 1971. In 1971 she accepted a position with A-E. McKenzie in Brandon, Manitoba. In 1985 she established Accu-Test Seed Lab in Brandon.
Marie's contributions are too numerous to list. Some highlights to mention here are: she was instrumental in writing the CSAAC Constitution and Bylaws; has been a Seed Show Judge at Royal Manitoba Winter Fair, in conjunction with the Manitoba Seed Industry Days she has conducted grading workshops; seasonally is on radio with phone-in interviews concerning seed and disease problems in Manitoba; has served as CSAAC
President two terms; hosted CSAAC and SAM workshops while giving presentations at many more workshops; was the first woman named as Fratemalist of the Year in 1994 by United Commercial Travelers International; was SCST Historian 1984-86; SCST Secretary Treasurer 1986-93; Canadian Referee Chairperson 1978-80; and recipient of the SCST 1993 Meritorious Award.
In Memory: Marie Greeniaus 1950-2005. Marie's giant heart and professional legacy left a lasting impression on all of us.
1996 Anna Lute Award Winner: Sharon Davidson
Sharon Davidson, RST and owner of Agri-Seed Testing, Inc., in Salem, Oregon has won the inaugural Anna Lute Award. Her laboratory is
indeed a place "fit for minds to live in... " and her skill as an analyst is highly regarded, particularly in the turf grass sector. Though she is a business owner, she does spend more than 50% of her time testing seedsand is an effective "hands on" manager. She has taught numerous seed workshops. Also noted by the selection committee was her effort to fight falsified reports in the seed trade.
1996 Sharon Davidson, 1997 Marie Greeniaus, 1998 Deborah Meyer, 1999 Susan Maxon, 2000 Nancy Vivrette, 2001 Annette Miller,
2002 Jim Effenberger, 2003 Tim Gutormson, 2004 Marilyn Milhous, 2005 Sandra Hegna, 2006 Aleta Meyr, 2007 Barbara Atkins,
2008 Pat Brownfield, 2009 Brent Turnipseed, 2010 Jim Bruce, 2011 Barbara Cleave
(No awards were given in 2012 or 2013. In 2013, Administration of the award was transferred from the FRSA to the SCST.)
2011 Anna Lute Award Winner: Barbara Cleave
Barbara Cleave has a passion for seed analysis and a no-nonsense, focused approach that would have made Anna Lute proud. She has a national reputation for excellence and thoroughness earned from over 20 years of seed testing and participation on many committees and workshops. She reaches out with special efforts to help not only other seed analysts but people in other departments at her workplace. Teaching and training is her forte. She follows Anna Lute's encouragement to make the seed laboratory a better environment for seed analysts. She is a wealth of knowledge and is inclined to dig deep looking for answers to students' questions She has a warmth and helpfulness that make her the go-to person on the top of anyone's list of supremely competent seed analysts.
2010 Anna Lute Award Winner: Jim Bruce
Jim Bruce is the 2010 Anna Lute Award winner. For over 30 years he has been an advocate and practitioner of the intensive hands-on
and interactive kind of training it takes to educate a skilled seed analyst. He began his career at the Iowa State Seed Laboratory. In the 1980's he created and taught this country's most comprehensive seed analyst training program at the Larimer County Voc-Tech in Fort Collins, Colorado. The program included more hands-on lab time than any other program. After that program was discontinued, he again worked full time as an analyst and devoted additional weekends and nights to creating a new distance education program for seed analysts through Colorado State University. This included work on the widely used seedimages.com website reference. Though he is no longer an instructor for that program, his materials and efforts still influence the quality of the program today. Currently he is a full time seed analyst at the
USDA/ARS National Center for Genetic Resources Preservation (formerly known as the National Seed Storage Laboratory). Jim has trained too many analysts to count including at least two previous Anna Lute Award winners.
2009 Anna Lute Award Winner: Dr. Brent Turnipseed
The Front Range Seed Analysts are proud to award this year's Anna Lute Award to Dr. Brent Turnipseed! We seed analysts can't say the
name without a broad smile and a sense of pride that such an aptly named person is a seed analyst. But far more important is the pride we derive from his efforts to make the world better for seed analysts. As the nominator stated "Dr. Turnipseed is a seed analyst you can count on for assistance, guidance, and sound technical advice whatever your question may be. He is dedicated to upholding the highest standards of the SCST and AOSA and promoting professionalism and proficiency in the laboratory". Brent teaches several courses at South Dakota State University that feature hands-on seed analysis and he does perform seed analyses as part of his lab manager duties.
2008 Anna Lute Award Winner: Pat Brownfield
Anna Lute was described as having a brilliant mind, exceptional efficiency and an enviable reputation for accuracy and dependability. This year’s winner has these qualities in spades. Pat is a tireless and eloquent champion of seed analysts to the seed industry; being active locally, regionally, nationally and internationally. These activities have included teaching and training many RST’s, organizing many workshops,
contributing countless hours to SCST administration and chairing several committees as well as contributing to the regional seed analyst’s group. The nominator concluded his remarks about her by saying “The best thing we can say is that she is remarkably generous with her time and energy. She can provide inspiration or a swift kick to the seat of your pants if that is what you need. Her experience with vegetable seeds is second to none.”
2007 Anna Lute Award Winner: Barbara Ann Atkins
Barbara Atkins is really a lot like Anna Lute—no nonsense, but willing to share information, is exuberant about seed testing, and cares deeply about her customers. She has drawn on her rural Colorado upbringing and her academic training in Denver (B.S. degree) and at New York's Cornell (M.S. Degree). She worked at laboratories in Nebraska and Colorado (Applewood Seed Company) before running her own Laboratory in Denver (B.A. Atkins Seed Testing) in the 1980's. Since 1989, she has worked at STA Laboratories in Longmont, Colorado. Her approach has always been balanced between seed analysis and seedsmen. She has always been well respected in the industry. People send seed to STA Labs because they want her to test it. When she owned her own seed testing business she once accepted samples on Christmas eve. She attends all the functions in her state seed industry, all the regional events, and many national events. She once remarked, “Once I didn’t attend an AOSA
meeting and I was lost for three years.” She has been on SCST board, and active on numerous committees. She made significant contributions to the TZ Handbook, Handbook 25 and multiple rule proposals over the years. Barbara received her RST almost 30 years ago. She received a very high score—people wondered if she wrote the test.. Barbara loves to share what she knows. She trained several RSTs. Her expectations of trainees are very high. She gives her RST trainees an encyclopedia of references to study. Though they discover later that just a
fraction of the information would prove to be on the test, they come to appreciate Barbara’s thoroughness as a mentor and teacher.
She doesn't just help her RST trainees pass the test, she helps them excel as well-rounded analysts.
In Memory: Barbara Ann Atkins 1946 - 2012
2006 Anna Lute Award Winner: Aleta Meyr
Aleta Meyr has seed analysis in her genes. She has carried on her mother Betty Ransom Atwater's legacy as the director of the Ransom Seed Lab. Some of the quotes on her website and brochure are so in tune with the Anna Lute vibe that it seems there must be some relation there too. Here is one: " The lab was always a part of my life. I grew up hanging out at the lab after school, playing with seeds and carefully replanting discarded seedlings out in my garden to watch them grow." --And this: "I enjoy my days at the lab, always full of challenges and invigorating projects." Most of us know her as the tireless contributor and participant in countless projects, referees and committee work. The fact that her employees also have a high level of dedication and commitment also sustained over many years is a testament to her effectiveness as a lab director. She clearly demonstrates the Anna Lute value of making the lab a fit place for minds to live.
2005 Anna Lute Award Winner: Sandra Hegna
Sandra Hegna is a long time RST and CSA. In her 33 years of seed testing, she has always been enthused about training other analysts.
Her students have caught her energy and in turn have “paid it forward” so that there is hardly a region of this country that has not been
touched by her students or their students. One student remarked: “She taught me that seed identification is an art and not just a science.” Her interactions with customers go above and beyond the typical report of analysis. She strives to understand special needs and to ensure that the customers have a complete understanding of the results with additional follow up communications. One colleague recalls that she was “always
early and always stayed late.” Her nominators say she has raised the bar with her numerous contributions. Sandra currently works at the Iowa State Seed Science Center in Ames, Iowa.
2004 Anna Lute Award Winner: Marilyn Milhous
Marilyn Milhous, long time seed analyst (CSA and RST) with the Colorado Seed Laboratory is the 2004 Anna Lute Award winner. Nominators cited her dedication to the improvement of seed analysis and the laboratory environment. Marilyn has continued the Anna Lute tradition of educating the public, seed industry, and students about seed testing. Over the decades, she provided crucial guidance to many undergraduate and graduate students. She provided displays and educational materials and interacted with the seed industry in ways that inspired confidence in her seed testing talents. One grower remarked: "If I send samples to Marilyn, I can sleep at night." She has helped develop new methods, assisted in the improvement of the AOSA Rules, is a charter member of the FRSA, and is always quick to volunteer on referee and workshop projects. Her "giddy" enthusiasm for interesting seed samples is infectious in the lab. She strives to bring an awareness of cultural diversity in the lab by sharing her extensive travel experiences. Marilyn's serious side comes out in her concern for safety, ergonomics and concern about accuracy and test method improvement. We think Marilyn is a fine analyst in the Anna Lute tradition.
2003 Anna Lute Award Winner: Dr. Tim Gutormson
Dr. Tim Gutormson, President of Mid-West Seed Services is the 2003 recipient of the Anna Lute Award. Anna Lute would appreciate Tim's attention to his employees and making the lab a "fit place for minds to live." This attention shows in the enthusiasm of the analysts who work for Tim. His encouragement and dedication to analyst certification, and participation in a wide range of research activities has been tireless. He spearheaded the SCST's efforts to produce a Training Manual. Mid-West Seed Services' ongoing workshops and courses for seed analysts have provided continuing education opportunities in a time when college and government sponsored courses have been cut back. His dedication to all phases of seed analysis and seed analysts is truly in the Anna Lute spirit.
2002 Anna Lute Award Winner: Jim Effenberger
The exuberant style of this year's recipient clearly marks him as an Anna Lute kind of analyst. The nominators called him a master at giving a helping hand to assure that others' projects are successful. On the phone, in the classroom, or in the many AOSA committees on which he serves, he goes the extra mile to communicate clearly, gather opinions, and resolve problems. All of this is done with humor and high energy. His rapid, yet intelligible and intelligent speech inspires awe. Students marvel at his unique teaching methods. Especially memorable was the use of a hairnet to demonstrate Brassica reticulum. His deep passion for the seed analysis profession is typified by Anna Lute's comments 76 years ago when she said: "We constantly have thrust upon us the attitude of others that we spend our days counting
seeds....people know so little of our profession that they do not comprehend its fascination.... We must give them an idea of what we really do..." For 32 years Jim Effenberger, seed analyst at the California State Seed Laboratory, has been trying to give people an idea of what seed analysts do and he has been making of the lab, as Anna Lute put it, "a fit place for minds to live."
2001 Anna Lute Award Winner: Annette Miller
Annette Miller works at the USDA/ARS National Center for Genetic Resources Preservation. She served in several capacities for the Front Range Seed Analysts and is the current chair of the AOSA/SCST Tetrazolium Testing Committee. She has a deep admiration for all that Anna Lute represented and tries to share that enthusiasm with others. She credits her success to her teachers Dr. Arnold Larsen, Jim Bruce and Barbara Atkins who also cared about making the lab a vital place for seed analysts and a place for excellence in seed testing.
2000 Anna Lute Award Winner: Dr. Nancy Vivrette
Nancy Vivrette, seed analyst with Ransom Seed Lab of Carpenteria, California, is the 2000 Anna Lute Award winner. She has
worked in seed testing for over 15 years. After the Anna Lute model, she is passionate about "every phase of seed work." Her special interests are in dormancy research and she has authored and coauthored many publications on seed testing throughout the years. She is generous with her time and expertise, helping younger seed analysts and leading many workshops about identification, purity, germination and tetrazolium testing. Since attaining her RST in 1985 she has served on numerous SCST and AOSA committees. She was the "Bookshelf" editor for the Seed Technologist News. As did Anna Lute, Nancy also participates in ISTA activities and is recognized internationally for the breadth of her expertise.
1999 Anna Lute Award Winner: Susan Maxon
Susan R. Maxon, Seed Analyst with the Seed Regulatory and Testing Branch of the USDA in Beltsville, Maryland, is the 1999 Anna Lute Award
winner. She has worked in seed testing for 22 years. Her nominator praised her excellent knowledge of purity and testing procedures and her
identification skills. Many around the country have benefited from her instruction at federal seed schools and workshop presentations. Her
efficient and conscientious service on the AOSA Rules Committee, editorial committee, and other technical committees, has benefited everyone in seed testing. She is also active in ISTA technical committees. State, seed company, and independent laboratories seek
her advice and assistance to help solve a variety of difficult seed testing problems and seed identification questions. Susan Maxon also works
to educate the general public, students, and teachers about seed testing.
1998 Anna Lute Award Winner: Dr. Deborah J. Meyer
Deborah J. Meyer, Associate Seed Botanist at the California Plant Pest Diagnostic Center, California Department of Food and Agriculture, is the 1998 Anna Lute Award winner. The voluminous materials provided by her nominator can’t all be reprinted here. But the quality of her writing and seed art is truly impressive. True to the Anna Lute spirit, she is wholeheartedly involved in education of the public and seed analysts. She works with master gardener groups, county agricultural agents, and has conducted at least nine seed testing workshops. The original art and study materials she created for these workshops is among the best new educational materials produced for seed analysts in decades. Her service as AOSA President from 1994-1996 and her participation in many AOSA committees over the past two decades has provided crucial improvements in the AOSA Rules for Testing Seeds. She continues to address new problems that come with the appearance of new species in the seed trade.
1997 Anna Lute Award Winner: Marie T. Greeniaus
The 1997 Anna Lute winner has made many contributions to the Seed Industry over the years. She is at her 20th AOSA/SCST meeting this year. She earned her RST in 1976. Her career began in Palmerston North, New Zealand in 1966 at the Government Seed Testing Station. She worked for Yates Seed Company in Sydney, Australia, and also at the seed Testing Station in Tasmania until 1971. In 1971 she accepted a position with A-E. McKenzie in Brandon, Manitoba. In 1985 she established Accu-Test Seed Lab in Brandon.
Marie's contributions are too numerous to list. Some highlights to mention here are: she was instrumental in writing the CSAAC Constitution and Bylaws; has been a Seed Show Judge at Royal Manitoba Winter Fair, in conjunction with the Manitoba Seed Industry Days she has conducted grading workshops; seasonally is on radio with phone-in interviews concerning seed and disease problems in Manitoba; has served as CSAAC
President two terms; hosted CSAAC and SAM workshops while giving presentations at many more workshops; was the first woman named as Fratemalist of the Year in 1994 by United Commercial Travelers International; was SCST Historian 1984-86; SCST Secretary Treasurer 1986-93; Canadian Referee Chairperson 1978-80; and recipient of the SCST 1993 Meritorious Award.
In Memory: Marie Greeniaus 1950-2005. Marie's giant heart and professional legacy left a lasting impression on all of us.
1996 Anna Lute Award Winner: Sharon Davidson
Sharon Davidson, RST and owner of Agri-Seed Testing, Inc., in Salem, Oregon has won the inaugural Anna Lute Award. Her laboratory is
indeed a place "fit for minds to live in... " and her skill as an analyst is highly regarded, particularly in the turf grass sector. Though she is a business owner, she does spend more than 50% of her time testing seedsand is an effective "hands on" manager. She has taught numerous seed workshops. Also noted by the selection committee was her effort to fight falsified reports in the seed trade.