The Fort Bend County Master Gardeners recently announced that Everett Blanton of Richmond will serve as president for 2026.
Certified as a Master Gardener in 2016, Blanton works with Youth Activities Committee programs as a plant science merit badge counselor instructing Boy Scouts about gardening. He is serving as vice president this year on the board of directors and will succeed Ben Welch to the top position.
Serving with Blanton in 2026 will be Steve Hicks as vice president, Kathy Hambleton as treasurer and Robyn Partridge as secretary.
Candidates were selected by a nominating committee headed by Carol Gaas of Richmond. They ran unopposed for office and were elected at the November membership meeting.
A Louisiana native, Blanton retired in 2016 to the Houston area to be close to family, The retired technology director worked for more than 30 years managing healthcare data centers and developing healthcare simulation technology with the Department of Engineering at the University of Pittsburgh. For more than four decades, he has volunteered with young people in scouting, gardening, social skills development and academics.
Hicks of Richmond has been a Master Gardener since 2020 and served as secretary in 2025 . The retired petroleum engineers grew up in Houston and has gardened most of his life starting on his grandmother’s farm.
Hambleton of Fulshear joined the Master Gardeners in 2021 and served as board treasurer in 2025. She retired after 30 years as an account controller in the oil and gas industry and serves on the board of directors of the Fort Bend County Fair.
New to the board of directors is Partridge, of Richmond. She became a Master Gardener in 2023. A graduate of the Baylor University School of Nursing, she spent nearly 30 years in Richmond caring for people with developmental and intellectual disabilities.
Master Gardeners are trained volunteers who assist Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service in promoting research-based horticultural practices to help residents be successful in creating and maintaining home gardens.
Learn more at https://fbmg.org/become-a-master-gardener.
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