A Beacon of Joy in Athens
December 24, 2025 
PanAmerican Seed presents its 2025 Beacon charity check to Extra Special People (ESP), supporting programs for children and families. | Dr. Allan Armitage
Whenever I sit down to write this column, I draw on personal experiences with people — they may be people in the industry, my daughters, or my neighbors. I often look back and wonder if anyone reads or cares about a random conversation, my interaction with moths, or what my dental hygienist said. But I make no apologies. People are what make our world of plants go around — people who care.
I’ve always been a cheerleader for many things, but one that stands out is a remarkable real-world program called Extra Special People (ESP), based in Athens, GA. ESP is dedicated to supporting people with disabilities and their families. It’s impossible to describe, in this small space, the full impact this organization has on the children and families it serves; it literally changes lives. Families have even moved to Athens from all over to be part of such a unique community.
I was also a vocal supporter of the introduction of downy mildew-resistant Impatiens. The market for bedding impatiens had all but disappeared, but six years ago, Imara XDR from Syngenta Flowers and the Beacon series from PanAmerican Seed were introduced, and they were game changers. These new varieties revived interest in impatiens, and a ton of seeds have been sold since. However, this is old news.
But what happens when a miracle seed meets a miracle organization? Pure joy — that’s what!
Sean Valk and friends at ESP. | Dr. Allan Armitage
I met Sean Valk and his colleagues from PanAmerican Seed many years ago, and as thrilled as I was about the Beacon impatiens, I was even more excited to learn that sales of Beacon seed were helping support charities, one in North America and another overseas.
ESP may be a little-known organization, but I quickly realized how wonderful it could be if these two extraordinary groups came together. I introduced ESP to PanAmerican Seed and, after several conversations, Sean and his colleagues sat me down and told me they had selected ESP as their North American charity for 2025.
Sean and his family visited ESP in late October, after the Beacon seed sales had been tallied, although no one yet knew how much money had been raised. I had cautioned the folks at ESP not to expect too much; after all, how much money can be raised from a flower seed that costs a penny? They didn’t mind. Every penny matters.
When he finally revealed the amount, jaws dropped, and joy absolutely erupted! It was enough to see programs completed and to continue supporting families and their children.
It is impossible to describe “joy”, but you certainly know it when you see it.
Moments like this make you wish you had a tail to wag.
To the people at PanAmerican and Ball Horticultural who made this possible — thank you. And this is not simply a thank you from ESP and from me, but from our entire industry and from everyone who loves our product.
Most of us enjoy what we do, but there are days when we’re up to our eyeballs in benches of uncooperative plants, tanks of ineffective fertilizer, or frustrations with unpleasant people. In those moments, take a moment and remember the happiness our plants bring to people every single day, and the joy that programs like Beacon can create.
I am proud to be associated with this thing called horticulture.
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