Meet Cynthia Slayton from Browns Valley, California

Cynthia Slayton is a certified Master Gardener in Browns Valley, California. Besides running her family’s construction business and being a homemaker and mom, Cynthia is giving back to her community by sharing her skills with Junior Master Gardeners at Browns Valley Elementary School.

Cynthia teaches 3rd and 5th grade students all about plant science and gardening; air, water, and soil composition; the need to recycle, life skills, and the importance of being a contributing member of the community. Cynthia requested $1,000 for a series of raised container gardens, benches and tables, as well as soil, seeds, pots, gardening tools, Monarch butterfly rearing enclosures and botany models and posters to give her students indepth, hands on activities. Her husband is a general contractor and furniture maker, so Cynthia will save money by having him build the raised container gardens, benches and tables.

Cynthia is a certified Master Gardener through the University of California.

Diary Starts Here

October 26th, 2009
Cynthia is the bargain shopper of the year! Here's her account of how she got a fantastic bargain against all odds...

"After I put together a list of materials, I took it to the Yuba City Home Depot, along with the article from the local paper. After explaining to a couple of people what I wanted to do they finally gave me to Myron Gibson, a Contractor Services Sales Associate. Oh my goodness, this man did not give up on me. Home Depot sells the flip top bench component I need online but not in the store, but they wouldn’t give me a discounted price online. Myron was not daunted; he contacted the manufacturer and arranged to purchase from them directly. But within days their company was bought out and he had to start all over with the new owners. He then had to contact his corporate office to arrange the SKU numbers. He also arranged for 10% off the purchase as well as $50 in gift certificates. Unfortunately, the order still came to about $1200. Well, Myron didn’t stop there, he went back to management and explained my situation. We just spoke yesterday, and I’m excited to say, his perseverance has paid off. His Home Depot is no longer giving me 10% off and gift certificates, they are now donating all the lumber over $1000!!"

So the final quote from Home Depot was $997. 29. Great job, Cyntha, and our thanks to Myron at Home Depot. Also, construction has just started this week at the school site. "I was worried at first because the area I had hoped to utilize is smack dab in the middle of where they are," wrote Cynthia, "however, the school maintenance person, Jim McLain was thoughtful enough to make arrangements for me with the construction supervisor, Boone. We are going to have a meeting soon to pick a new spot out and he will be tapping into the site irrigation to provide me with a spigot for watering. With a few acres to choose from I’m not worried about finding an appropriate place. It’s so marvelous when you see so many people working together to accomplish a community project."

September 22nd, 2009
I called Cynthia today with the news of her grant and she was emotional, which didn't surprise me since she is passionate about what she's doing. School principal, Judi Hart, helped set up a "meeting" with Cynthia and all the teachers and staff in the library, but when Cynthia came in, I was already on the phone. "Congratulations," I said, "you are getting the grant you requested for the school." I could hear all the teachers applauding as Cynthia started to cry. But they were tears of joy because she said every teacher will benefit from the mobile garden which might eventually be a permanent one after the school's construction is completed. Cynthia's two children are in the 3rd and 5th grade classes that she is teaching.