With a very generous gift from Jeff Shimonski, the Paul Drummond Fund has been established at Montgomery Botanical Center (MBC). The Fund honors the life and work of Paul Drummond, past president of the International Palm Society and lifelong palm enthusiast. MBC’s Paul Drummond Fund will be used to advance the conservation of palms through expeditions to collect palm germplasm.

Mr. Drummond was born in 1924 and raised in New York City. He first admired a palm as a young boy at the New York World’s Fair of 1939 and 1940; at the Fair’s Florida exhibit he saw the Sabal palmetto. His love of the tropics and palms led to his moving to Miami in 1948.

Paul Drummond passed away on September 15, 2007. The palms he generously distributed as seeds and seedlings from his vast collection remain a lasting tribute. With the Paul Drummond Fund, Montgomery Botanical Center will continue to honor Mr. Drummond through dedicated fieldwork for palm conservation.