By Karen L. Snover-Clift
After years of being in denial of Dawn Dailey O’Brien’s impending retirement date, and selfishly unwilling to envision daily life in her absence, COVID-19’s arrival stole what remained of my precious time with Dawn, and it prevented her Cornell University colleagues from sending her off with fanfare and a stroll down memory lane. To recognize and thank Dawn for her contributions to NPDN, I invite you to join me on that stroll now as I review her career and some of her greatest accomplishments.
After graduating SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry (ESF) in Syracuse, Dawn began her career at Birchcrest Tree and Landscape in Rochester, NY. Coincidentally, Dr. George Hudler (esteemed professor emeritus of Cornell University PPPMB and former NEPDN regional director) was creating an IPM newsletter for professional landscapers and arborists that focused on pathogens and pests of woody ornamentals. He named this publication Branching Out, and Dawn volunteered to be his assistant. Shortly thereafter, George hired Dawn as the editor of Branching Out, a position that she held until her retirement 25 years later.
Dawn’s official title at Cornell was Extension Support Specialist, which does not do justice to the many different roles she filled throughout her career. She was writer, editor, layout designer, webmaster, videographer, financial manager, and book publisher. A believer in lifelong learning, Dawn felt she could improve the newsletter by advancing both her knowledge of publication production and her awareness of new pest/pathogen problems. Attending the Crossnore-Kanuga Ornamental workshops, beginning in 1998, was her favorite way to accomplish the latter. In the years to follow, she never missed a workshop and often told me that spending five days in the woods with 120 or so diagnosticians and researchers that were so open to sharing their knowledge was one of her greatest inspirations. She enthusiastically shared the wealth of information that she gleaned with the Branching Out audience.
Subscribers to Branching Out appreciated Dawn’s commitment to their education and her willingness to go the extra mile on their behalf. “Are you really the Dawn Dailey O’Brien? The editor of Branching Out?” were frequent questions posed to us as we shared a booth at Extension outreach events. Subscribers shared stories about how Branching Out accompanied them everywhere, and they required their staff to read every edition as soon as it arrived. Dawn and George were awarded an Excellence in IPM Award by the New York State IPM program in recognition of their valuable and high-quality production. The New York State Arborists bestowed their top honor of Distinguished Arborist on Dawn in 2020 in recognition of her years of dedicated service to the green industry.
Dawn meets challenges with enthusiasm and excitement and derived her greatest satisfaction from helping others succeed. These qualities made her the go-to person in the department when faculty and staff learned that she had mad skills. On their behalf, she recorded and formatted video presentations, improved the department’s website, created annual alumni newsletters, worked magic with Photoshop, and much more. Dawn was a fixture at departmental social events and would dole out “just a taste” of fermented beverages to the over 500 students participating in the Magical Mushrooms, Mischievous Molds end-of-course feast.
Most of you reading this newsletter met Dawn through the NPDN STAR-D project. When George and I volunteered to lead the STAR-D accreditation effort in 2010, we knew we would need help, and Dawn was the obvious choice. Despite none of us having a background in accreditation and a significant commitment to learning quality management, Dawn joined our team and once again brought her enthusiasm and willingness to share what she had learned to build a successful program. Respectful of the time constraints of NPDN members, Dawn developed trainings to teach quality management concepts and created tools to facilitate the implementation of quality systems. What was intended to be a short project became a 10-year endeavor, during which Dawn coordinated the delivery of 19 STAR-D workshops to 377 participants. She also coordinated seven accreditation audits and their associated board member reviews. In response to NPDN membership requests, Dawn spent over three years developing STAR-D specific trainings that included lectures, activities, and a mock laboratory that included all of the supporting documentation and review sessions. As I write this, I realize that the activities around building an accreditation program seem a bit repetitive and boring, but thinking about the people involved brings a huge smile to my face. Dawn is the source of joy in my experiences and I know for many of you as well. She respected and admired each of you.
Dawn’s retirement became official Dec. 1, 2020, and her husband’s retirement was official a month later. They plan to travel and enjoy time in the great outdoors. A hike across Ireland has been postponed by the pandemic, but they plan to reschedule as soon as possible.
Dawn, we will miss your input to the NPDN Accreditation Program, your extraordinary planning and organizational skills, your ability to manipulate images, the way you always make everyone feel like the most important person in the room, and your ever-smiling face and positive attitude. Best of luck with your new adventures!
After years of being in denial of Dawn Dailey O’Brien’s impending retirement date, and selfishly unwilling to envision daily life in her absence, COVID-19’s arrival stole what remained of my precious time with Dawn, and it prevented her Cornell University colleagues from sending her off with fanfare and a stroll down memory lane. To recognize and thank Dawn for her contributions to NPDN, I invite you to join me on that stroll now as I review her career and some of her greatest accomplishments.
After graduating SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry (ESF) in Syracuse, Dawn began her career at Birchcrest Tree and Landscape in Rochester, NY. Coincidentally, Dr. George Hudler (esteemed professor emeritus of Cornell University PPPMB and former NEPDN regional director) was creating an IPM newsletter for professional landscapers and arborists that focused on pathogens and pests of woody ornamentals. He named this publication Branching Out, and Dawn volunteered to be his assistant. Shortly thereafter, George hired Dawn as the editor of Branching Out, a position that she held until her retirement 25 years later.
Dawn’s official title at Cornell was Extension Support Specialist, which does not do justice to the many different roles she filled throughout her career. She was writer, editor, layout designer, webmaster, videographer, financial manager, and book publisher. A believer in lifelong learning, Dawn felt she could improve the newsletter by advancing both her knowledge of publication production and her awareness of new pest/pathogen problems. Attending the Crossnore-Kanuga Ornamental workshops, beginning in 1998, was her favorite way to accomplish the latter. In the years to follow, she never missed a workshop and often told me that spending five days in the woods with 120 or so diagnosticians and researchers that were so open to sharing their knowledge was one of her greatest inspirations. She enthusiastically shared the wealth of information that she gleaned with the Branching Out audience.
Subscribers to Branching Out appreciated Dawn’s commitment to their education and her willingness to go the extra mile on their behalf. “Are you really the Dawn Dailey O’Brien? The editor of Branching Out?” were frequent questions posed to us as we shared a booth at Extension outreach events. Subscribers shared stories about how Branching Out accompanied them everywhere, and they required their staff to read every edition as soon as it arrived. Dawn and George were awarded an Excellence in IPM Award by the New York State IPM program in recognition of their valuable and high-quality production. The New York State Arborists bestowed their top honor of Distinguished Arborist on Dawn in 2020 in recognition of her years of dedicated service to the green industry.
Dawn meets challenges with enthusiasm and excitement and derived her greatest satisfaction from helping others succeed. These qualities made her the go-to person in the department when faculty and staff learned that she had mad skills. On their behalf, she recorded and formatted video presentations, improved the department’s website, created annual alumni newsletters, worked magic with Photoshop, and much more. Dawn was a fixture at departmental social events and would dole out “just a taste” of fermented beverages to the over 500 students participating in the Magical Mushrooms, Mischievous Molds end-of-course feast.
Most of you reading this newsletter met Dawn through the NPDN STAR-D project. When George and I volunteered to lead the STAR-D accreditation effort in 2010, we knew we would need help, and Dawn was the obvious choice. Despite none of us having a background in accreditation and a significant commitment to learning quality management, Dawn joined our team and once again brought her enthusiasm and willingness to share what she had learned to build a successful program. Respectful of the time constraints of NPDN members, Dawn developed trainings to teach quality management concepts and created tools to facilitate the implementation of quality systems. What was intended to be a short project became a 10-year endeavor, during which Dawn coordinated the delivery of 19 STAR-D workshops to 377 participants. She also coordinated seven accreditation audits and their associated board member reviews. In response to NPDN membership requests, Dawn spent over three years developing STAR-D specific trainings that included lectures, activities, and a mock laboratory that included all of the supporting documentation and review sessions. As I write this, I realize that the activities around building an accreditation program seem a bit repetitive and boring, but thinking about the people involved brings a huge smile to my face. Dawn is the source of joy in my experiences and I know for many of you as well. She respected and admired each of you.
Dawn’s retirement became official Dec. 1, 2020, and her husband’s retirement was official a month later. They plan to travel and enjoy time in the great outdoors. A hike across Ireland has been postponed by the pandemic, but they plan to reschedule as soon as possible.
Dawn, we will miss your input to the NPDN Accreditation Program, your extraordinary planning and organizational skills, your ability to manipulate images, the way you always make everyone feel like the most important person in the room, and your ever-smiling face and positive attitude. Best of luck with your new adventures!
