AGC announces its Scholarships Recipients. Congrats to these amazing winners! Click.

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    • Home
    • About Us
      • Meetings and Activities
      • Calendar
      • Member of the Year
      • Membership
      • History
    • Events
      • Plant Sale
      • Holiday Garden
    • Community Service
      • Overview
      • Scholarships
      • Potting Day
    • Digging Deeper
      • Garden Tips for the Month
      • Member Gardens and More
      • Potpourri
      • Community Connections
put our logo here
  • Home
  • About Us
    • Meetings and Activities
    • Calendar
    • Member of the Year
    • Membership
    • History
  • Events
    • Plant Sale
    • Holiday Garden
  • Community Service
    • Overview
    • Scholarships
    • Potting Day
  • Digging Deeper
    • Garden Tips for the Month
    • Member Gardens and More
    • Potpourri
    • Community Connections

Arlington Garden Club's Member of the Year Award

Roberta Lothian Award Honors AGC Members Who Have Gone Above and Beyond

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.


2025 Member of the Year: Wilma Potter


Congratulations to Wilma Potter, this year's winner of the Roberta Lothian Member of the Year Award! Wilma helps lead AGC's Activities and Events Committee, which organizes special events such as the members only garden tours and the field trips to local nurseries and other places. She also plans and often hosts craft days and many of the work parties that create items to sell at our fundraising events, the annual Plant Sale and the Holiday Art & Crafts event. She is always the person who comes early and stays late.


Well-deserved! Thanks, Wilma for being such a hard-working and gracious member of the Arlington Garden Club.


The Member of the Year Award is announced at our June Fling luncheon. 

2025 winner Wilma Potter (right) is presented the award from Bea Randall, the previous winner.

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.

Member of the Year Award winners:


The Roberta Lothian Member of the Year Award was first given in 2010.


Scroll down to view a list of other past recipients.


Our heartfelt thanks to all of these previous winners for their many contributions to the Arlington Garden Club.


And many thanks to all of our wonderful AGC members, who work so hard to support the club and its social and community service activities.


Our Gratitude to the List of Previous Members of the Year

Roberta Lothian Award Winners:

2024:  Bea Randall

2023:  Barbara Lindberg

2022:  Tam Conrad

2021: Connie Gronning

2019:  Karen Ricketts

2018:  Carol Jacques

2017:  Kitty Fitch

2016:  Jack and Joyce Lybyer

2015:  Judy Headrick

2014:  Barb Woodward

2014:  Mike Conner

2013:  Judy Ness

2012:  Tina Wilson

2011:  Meg Jacobsen

2010:  Jean Olson

"Roberta's history with our organization at the state, district, and hometown Arlington level is one of deep involvement that helped guide the club and keep it on a productive path of service for year." - Bea Randall, AGC president at the time, in Roberta Lothian's obituary.


Copyright © 2025 Arlington Garden Club

Arlington, Washington - All Rights Reserved.

Contact us at: moreinfoAGC@gmail.com.


Our purpose: Promote an interest in gardening. Increase members' knowledge of plants, gardening and the environment. Aid in the protection of good environmental practices. Encourage and participate in beautification of our community.


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