Arlington Garden Club's Member of the Year Award

This prestigious award is given once a year to an AGC member who has gone above and beyond for the good of the club and community, demonstrating leadership and participation in extra activities.

Background about the Roberta Lothian Award:

The  award is named in honor of Roberta Lothian (1924 to 2009), a former president and long-term member of the Arlington Garden Club. She was renowned for being an active member of several garden club associations, both at the national and local level.

Her civic accomplishment included serving as the former president of the Washington State Federation of Garden Clubs (1991 to 1993). She was also active in the Mount Wheeler Grange and served on the board of the Arlington Library for a number of years.

• Born in Roundup, Montana, in 1924, Roberta graduated from Billings Senior High School in 1941 and Billings Business School in 1942. She later moved to Kirkland, Wash., and took a job in the accounting department at Puget Sound Power and Light.
• During this time, she met her husband Leslie Lothian, a sailor from Mount Vernon, Wash, who was involved with the seaplane tender that was under construction in the Lake Washington Shipyards. The couple, known for their love of dancing to big bands and ballroom music, were married and had two children.
• They lived in Bellingham for years, where Roberta earned a degree in education from Western Washington University. They later moved to Arlington, where she taught elementary school at Arlington and Oslo.

After her husband passed away in 1980, Roberts, who was known as a talented floral arranger, became even more active in the Federation of Garden Clubs, serving as an Advisory Council member, Awards Chairman, Master Flower Show judge, Recording Secretary and Treasure.