David Kirchhoff
Helen Field Fischer Gold Medal

David Kirchhoff is the 2001 recipient of the Helen Field Fischer Gold Medal, the most prestigious personal award given by AHS for service to the society. David's home is in Sanford, Florida, where he has grown, hybridized, and sold daylilies to the public for many years.

It may be that this is the last award that AHS has to offer David that he has not already received. His cultivars have won prizes in many categories, including such significant awards as the President's Cup, the Lenington All-American Award, and the Stout Silver Medal. Attesting to his outstanding results in hybridizing is the Bertrand Farr Silver Medal, awarded to him in 1986.

It is obvious that he has not only provided support and assistance to AHS, but he has also been instrumental in enhancing the reputation and popularity of daylilies throughout the world. The names of some of his best known creations are recognized wherever daylilies are grown. Some well-known award winners are BETTY WOODS (80), AFTER THE FALL (81), ED KIRCHHOFF(81), CHORUS LINE (81), CABBAGE FLOWER (84), BETTY DAVIS EYES (82), ZINFANDEL (80), and BILL NORRIS (93).

Within the society, David's personal record of service is even more impressive than the award winning record of his cultivars. He has filled numerous official roles, from the club level, through regional offices, to his work on the AHS Board of Directors. Notable and important roles he has filled are Secretary, Vice-president, and President of the Sunbelt Chapter; Newsletter Editor, RPD, and RVP in Region 12; and AHS Director from Region 12 for two terms.

At the national level, David has chaired or served as a member of committees fro Awards and Honors, Ways and Means, Garden Judges, Monroe Endowment Fund, and Publications, as well as the Executive Committee of the Board and Slide Librarian. In addition to his work on the board and national committees David has served as a committee member for two national conventions and he edited the convention handbook for one of those meetings. He hosted a national tour garden at Daylily World for three AHS conventions. He has traveled widely, including such faraway venues as Australia, Switzerland, and Germany, to present judges workshops and clinics, often traveling at his own expense.

He continues to be a familiar personality as auctioneer at local, regional, and national meetings. Cultivars, from Daylily World, amounting to an overall value of several hundred thousand dollars have been his gift to auctions in support of the society at all levels.

Notwithstanding David's impressive list of official services performed on behalf of the society, his most significant and long-lasting contributions may be found in his personal, behind-the-scenes activities. He has provided encouragement for new clubs, he has shared his knowledge willingly, he has donated generously, he has presented a professional image in all his work, and he has welcomed thousands of people to the Daylily World.

David Kirchhoff ranks highly in the esteem of AHS members and it was a proud moment for all when the Helen Field Fischer Gold Medal was handed to David in Newton, Massachusetts, on July 21, 2001.