The botanical garden’s longtime leader reflects on 27 years of metamorphosis, from fixing the garden’s finances to spending $100 million on improvements.
That’s because Mary Brinegar, president and CEO of the Dallas Arboretum and Botanical Garden Society Inc., has spent 27 years raising more than $100 million to transform it from just another bucolic picnic spot into a world-class horticultural destination.
Brinegar says she’s not Type A competitive, but she is deadline oriented. “I know how much I have to bring in by a certain date. I know what I have to do to meet the deadline. I mean, I’m on it,” she said. “But I’m motivated by fear of not making the goal.” Her yardman, Ruben Cardoza, kept her Preston Hollow lawn and flower beds tidy but certainly not Home & Garden worthy. “When I came home after I learned that I’d gotten the job, I said, ‘Ruben, we’re in trouble.’"
Mary went to Dallas public schools, graduating from Woodrow Wilson High School in East Dallas in 1965, and received her degree in elementary education from SMU four years later. On Brinegar’s first day on the job, she called her cousin and told him she never wanted to be treated differently from any other employee.His top priority?A receptionist handled all incoming calls, and when she was overwhelmed or needed a break, she simply turned off the phone lines.Neither Thornton nor Brinegar remembers what her second and third quick hits were.
This year’s upcoming Dallas Blooms is expected to bring in about 6% of the $28 million the arboretum will spend in 2023.The rest will come from expanded venues, additional summer, fall and holiday festivals, five public events, education classes, photography, rentals and group sales. It has also sold the naming rights for just about everything she could think of but restrooms and parking lots.
Karen Reardon, a longtime friend who has worked for Brinegar for almost 20 years, agrees. “Mary is very calm and demands 100% of employees with velvet gloves and a soft voice. She can go to lunch with a donor and come back to the office with a check for a million dollars. She knows everyone in Dallas, and they all love her.”Three former employees have pending complaints with the city of Dallas and the U.S.
On more than one occasion, raccoons raided trash bags, got drunk on the alcohol leftovers from parties and wandered around the grounds in a stupor.There was also the case of the screeching peacocks. “Mary’s leadership is a beacon of inspiration and influence for our profession,” he said, adding aspiring botanical leaders from around the world will undoubtedly apply to replace her as CEO.
Above all else, those interviewed agreed, her successor must share her passion for the arboretum and its mission.
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