Every year, All-America Selections (AAS) hosts an awards ceremony to honor two individuals who have given significantly to AAS. One award is the prestigious AAS Medallion of Honor, an award designed to recognize someone with a lifelong dedication to advancement in the field of horticulture. Another equally prestigious award is the Breeder’s Cup which was established in 2004 to recognize a breeder who has dramatically influenced horticulture by his or her work in bringing significant improvements to specific flower or vegetable classes.
AAS Medallion of Honor
The prestigious AAS Medallion of Honor is typically presented to one individual who has given a career of dedication to the advancement of horticulture and contribution to raising the visibility of All-America Selections and the varieties that become AAS Winners.
All-America Selections is pleased to announce that the 2023 Medallion of Honor was awarded to Mr. Hiroshi Sakata.
Joe Cimino, Senior Director – Ornamental & Solutions Business Groups, Sakata America, and Dave Armstrong, President & CEO, Sakata America, introduced Mr. Sakata at the Summer Summit banquet. The two men detailed Mr. Sakata’s achievements as well as Sakata Seed Corporations’ contributions to AAS and the horticulture industry over the years.
Born in 1952 in Kamakura City, Japan, Mr. Sakata graduated from Keio University in 1974, specializing in economics. Upon graduation, he joined the Dai-Ichi Kangyo Bank, Ltd. (now Mizuho Bank, Ltd.). After a seven-year stint in the world of finance, he joined the family business in 1981. Mr. Sakata held various positions throughout the company, rising to the rank of president in 2007. He’s also an advisor and former chairman of the Japan Seed Trade Association, President of the Kanagawa Seed Cooperative Association, and chairman of the Japan Home Garden Association.
The first Sakata variety to win an AAS award, in 1934, was the Victorious Mix petunia, the world’s first all-double petunia. The corporation has gone on to win 52 AAS Awards including seven just for the Profusion line of zinnias, four of which are AAS Gold Medal Winners.
In a unique occurrence, Mr. Sakata is the third recipient of the Medallion of Honor from the Sakata Corporation. Founder Takeo Sakata (grandfather of Hiroshi Sakata) won the award in 1965 and was the first foreign winner of the award. In 2005, former Senior Managing Director Shunichiro Suda was bestowed the award.
All-America Selections, the breeders, judges, board of directors and all the companies they represent, proudly salute this industry achiever who has done so much for the industry in general and for All-America Selections specifically.
Previous AAS Medallion of Honor Recipients
| Winner | Year |
|---|---|
| James H. Franklin, Ph.D. | 1936 |
| Lester C. Morse | unknown |
| Elizabeth Bodger | unknown |
| Carl Cropp | unknown |
| David Burpee | 1945 |
| Glenn M. Smith, Ph.D. | 1945 |
| Earl E. Wilde, Ph.D. | 1949 |
| Frank G. Cuthbertson | 1952* |
| Paul Work, Ph. D. | 1953 |
| Schuyler Arnold | 1954 |
| James H. Burdett | 1956 |
| Charles L. Weddle | 1958 |
| Harm Drewes | 1958 |
| W. Ray Hastings | 1959 |
| Fred Statt | 1959 |
| Raymond H. Coulter | 1961 |
| Victor H. Boswell, Ph.D. | 1961 |
| Robert P. Meahl, Ph.D. | 1963 |
| James F. Harrington, Ph.D. | 1964* |
| Carl L. Warren | 1964 |
| Holmes Bloomer | 1964 |
| Takeo Sakata | 1965 |
| Henry A. Jones, Ph.D. | 1965 |
| Winner | Year |
|---|---|
| Elmer Twedt | 1966* |
| Frank Reinelt | 1967 |
| Ian Sinclair | 1968 |
| George B. Park | 1968 |
| Ernst Benary | 1968 |
| Claude Hope | 1968 |
| John Mondry | 1969 |
| L.W. Corbett | 1970 |
| W. Atlee Burpee III | 1971 |
| Isabel Zucker | 1972 |
| Bruce Johnstone | 1974 |
| Al Kempf | 1974 |
| Jisaburo Takii | 1974 |
| Darrell Walker, Ph.D. | 1974 |
| Lyman White | 1975 |
| Harry Joy | 1975 |
| Henry M. Munger, Ph.D. | 1976 |
| Carl Dietz | 1976 |
| Howard Bodger | 1977 |
| John Holden | 1977 |
| Joseph Harris | 1978 |
| John McCabe | 1978 |
| Glenn A. Goldsmith | 1979 |
| Winner | Year |
|---|---|
| Ralph Gould | 1979 |
| David S. Denholm | 1979 |
| John Waller | 1979 |
| Joseph Steinke | 1980 |
| Friedrich Benary | 1980 |
| Clinton E. Peterson, Ph.D. | 1981 |
| R. T. "Ronnie" German | 1981 |
| Fred A. Rath | 1982 |
| Warren H. Gabelman, Ph.D. | 1983 |
| Theodore C. Torrey | 1983 |
| Paul Thomas | 1984 |
| David Lemon | 1985 |
| John Scarchuk | 1986 |
| William John Park | 1987 |
| Paul Ledig | 1988 |
| Charles Kindsvater | 1988 |
| Lowell Ewart, Ph.D. | 1989 |
| G. Carl Ball | 1991 |
| Oved Shifriss, Ph.D. | 1992 |
| Yosh Arimitsu | 1993 |
| David Colegrave | 1993 |
| Rudolf Benary | 1994 |
| William Scott | 1995 |
| Winner | Year |
|---|---|
| Klaus Neubner | 1995 |
| Jeannette Lowe | 1996 |
| John Gale | 1997 |
| Colen Wyatt, Ph.D. | 1998 |
| Mathillde Holtrop | 1999 |
| Corinne W. Willard | 2000 |
| Pieter van Zanten | 2001 |
| Jim Waltrip | 2002 |
| Al Gerace | 2003 |
| Jim W. Wilson | 2004 |
| Shunichiro Suda | 2005 |
| Anna Ball | 2006 |
| Heather Will-Browne | 2007 |
| Bernard F. Walraven, Sr. | 2009 |
| Nona Wolfram Koivula | 2010 |
| Kenneth Bodger | 2011 |
| Dr. Jim Alston | 2012 |
| Joel Goldsmith | 2013 |
| Allan Armitage | 2014 |
| Dr. Elisabeth Sahin | 2015 |
| Jim Nau | 2016 |
| Vicky Rupley | 2017 | Doug and Karen Jimerson | 2019 | Barry Ruta | 2021 |
AAS Breeder’s Cup
The All-America Selections Breeders Cup was established in 2004 to recognize a plant breeder who dramatically influenced horticulture by breeding new cultivars that brought significant improvements to those classes.
All-America Selections is very proud to announce that the 2022 Breeder’s Cup Award recipient is Patty Buskirk of Seeds By Design and Terra Organics.
Patty Buskirk is the managing partner for Seeds by Design, Terra Organics, and Aurora Seed. She oversees the day-to-day administration, research, development, marketing, and production activities. Patty started in the seed industry in 1981 as a squash breeder assistant with Steenseed in Chico, CA. After college, she accepted a job with Northrup King in Gilroy, CA, as an assistant brassica breeder. In 1987, she moved back home to Northern California to work for NPI/Western Hybrid Seed. With her partners, she started Seeds by Design in 1994. Terra Organics was established in 1999 with the goal to offer a variety of organic seed. Patty loves the everyday challenges and ever-changing world of seed. Just a few of the AAS Winners that have come from Patty are the Chef’s Choice series of tomatoes, Blue Prince pumpkin, Mama Mia Giallo pepper, Black Hawk ornamental pepper, Pepitas pumpkin, Warrior onion, Super Moon pumpkin, Mexican Sunrise and Mexican Sunset peppers and more.
“I was surprised, honored, and humbled to be presented with the 2022 AAS Breeders Cup award. Receiving this award for my plant breeding efforts from my peers just validates that I work in the most wonderful industry filled with esteemed colleagues and lifelong friends that feel like family. I encourage all plant breeders to follow their hearts and create new varieties in any species/group they choose, creativity has no limit.” stated Patty.
Previous AAS Breeders’ Cup Recipients
| Year | Name | Company | Flower or Vegetable |
| 2004 | Daigaku Takeshita | Kirin Brewery Co., Ltd. | Flower |
| 2005 | Dr. Calvin Lamborn | Magic Seed, Inc. | Vegetable |
| 2006 | David Lemon | Ecke Ranch | Flower |
| 2008 | Dr. Masao Bessho | Sakata Seed Corporation | Flower |
| 2009 | Dr. J. Brent Loy | University of New Hampshire | Vegetable |
| 2010 | Todd Perkins | Syngenta Flowers | Flower |
| 2011 | Yosh Arimitsu | Bodger | Flower |
| 2012 | Dr. Paul Thomas | Petoseed Co. | Vegetable |
| 2013 | Robert L. Johnston, Jr. | Johnny's Selected Seeds | Vegetable |
| 2014 | Dr. Ellen Leue | PanAmerican Seed Co. | Flower |
| 2015 | Dr. Randy Gardner | NCSU | Vegetable |
| 2016 | Janika J. Eckert | Johnny's Selected Seeds | Vegetable |
| 2018 | Douglas Holden | Ernst Benary | Flowers |
| 2020 | Dr. Jianping (Ping) Ren | PanAmerican Seed | Flowers |
AAS Winners