<div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr" style="font-size:13px;font-family:"Helvetica Neue",Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif;margin-bottom:0in;line-height:normal"><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Helvetica,sans-serif;background-image:initial;background-position:initial;background-size:initial;background-repeat:initial;background-origin:initial;background-clip:initial"><img src="cid:ii_l532jn3h1" alt="467a70b1-f016-4637-9592-7b3fa3bd27bf.png" width="210" height="171" class="gmail-CToWUd gmail-a6T" tabindex="0" style="cursor: pointer; outline: 0px; margin-right: 0px;"><br></span></div><div dir="ltr" style="font-size:13px;font-family:"Helvetica Neue",Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif;margin-bottom:0in;line-height:normal"><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Helvetica,sans-serif;background-image:initial;background-position:initial;background-size:initial;background-repeat:initial;background-origin:initial;background-clip:initial"><b><font color="#38761d"><br></font></b></span></div><div dir="ltr" style="font-size:13px;font-family:"Helvetica Neue",Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif;margin-bottom:0in;line-height:normal"><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Helvetica,sans-serif;background-image:initial;background-position:initial;background-size:initial;background-repeat:initial;background-origin:initial;background-clip:initial"><b><font color="#38761d"><br></font></b></span></div><div dir="ltr" style="font-size:13px;font-family:"Helvetica Neue",Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif;margin-bottom:0in;line-height:normal"><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Helvetica,sans-serif;background-image:initial;background-position:initial;background-size:initial;background-repeat:initial;background-origin:initial;background-clip:initial"><b><font color="#38761d">DEADLINE EXTENDED to 7/7! Already submitted your application? Thank you and we look forward to reviewing it!</font></b></span></div><div dir="ltr" style="font-size:13px;color:rgb(29,34,40);font-family:"Helvetica Neue",Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif;margin-bottom:0in;line-height:normal"><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Helvetica,sans-serif;background-image:initial;background-position:initial;background-size:initial;background-repeat:initial;background-origin:initial;background-clip:initial"><b><br clear="none"></b></span></div><div style="font-size:13px;color:rgb(29,34,40);font-family:"Helvetica Neue",Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif;margin-bottom:0in;line-height:normal"><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Helvetica,sans-serif">After two years of COVID-19 restrictions, <b>Chicago Excellence in Gardening Awards (CEGA) is back, and there are just a few days left to enter!</b></span></div><div style="font-size:13px;color:rgb(29,34,40);font-family:"Helvetica Neue",Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif;margin-bottom:0in;line-height:normal"><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Helvetica,sans-serif"><b> </b></span></div><div style="font-size:13px;color:rgb(29,34,40);font-family:"Helvetica Neue",Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif;margin-bottom:0in;line-height:normal"><span style="font-family:Helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:10pt">CEGA is Chicago’s only city-wide gardening awards program, designed to honor the hard work and creativity that make our city a healthier, more beautiful and more sustainable place.</span></div><div style="font-size:13px;color:rgb(29,34,40);font-family:"Helvetica Neue",Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif;margin-bottom:0in;line-height:normal"><span style="font-family:Helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:10pt"><br></span></div><div style="font-size:13px;color:rgb(29,34,40);font-family:"Helvetica Neue",Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif;margin-bottom:0in;line-height:normal"><span style="font-family:Helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:10pt"><b>We hope you will enter your community garden in the contest</b>, which returns to in-person judging this year. If your garden is an award winner, you'll receive a certificate and a beautiful all-weather sign, courtesy of the Forest Preserve District of Cook County. Plus, your entry will place your garden into a raffle for one of three rain barrels provided by the Chicago Metropolitan Water Reclamation District (MWRD). Which means you can win a rain barrel just for entering!</span></div><p style="font-size:13px;font-family:"Helvetica Neue",Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif;margin-bottom:0in;line-height:normal"><span style="color:rgb(29,34,40);font-size:10pt;font-family:Helvetica,sans-serif"><b>We're accepting entries for any garden venue located in the city of Chicago: small and large residential gardens, parkways, container gardens, schools, community gardens, other organizations (businesses, churches, fire departments, etc.) and urban farms</b>. As always, native plants, wildlife habitat and sustainability will be key elements of the judging criteria for the awards.<br clear="none"><br clear="none">To learn more, please visit the website at </span><a rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" shape="rect" href="https://chicagogardeningawards.org/" target="_blank" style="color:rgb(25,106,212)"><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Helvetica,sans-serif;color:rgb(17,85,204)">https://chicagogardeningawards.org/</span></a><span style="color:rgb(29,34,40);font-size:10pt;font-family:Helvetica,sans-serif"> or go directly to the entry form at </span><a rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" shape="rect" href="https://chicagogardeningawards.org/enter-your-garden/" target="_blank" style="color:rgb(25,106,212)">https://chicagogardeningawards.org/enter-your-garden/</a><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Helvetica,sans-serif"><font color="#1d2228">.<b> </b></font><b><font color="#b45f06">Entries will be accepted through July 7, 2022.</font></b><br clear="none"></span></p><div style="font-size:13px;color:rgb(29,34,40);font-family:"Helvetica Neue",Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif"><b><br clear="none"></b></div><div dir="ltr" style="font-size:13px;font-family:"Helvetica Neue",Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif"><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Helvetica,sans-serif"><font color="#38761d"><b>Will you help us spread the word to your volunteers and other gardens?</b> </font><font color="#1d2228">You'll find graphics and all the information you need at </font><a rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" shape="rect" href="https://chicagogardeningawards.org/media/" target="_blank" style="color:rgb(25,106,212);font-family:Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif">https://chicagogardeningawards.org/media/</a><span style="color:rgb(29,34,40);font-family:Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif">.</span></span></div><span style="font-size:13px;font-family:"Helvetica Neue",Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif"><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Helvetica,sans-serif"><br clear="none"><font color="#1d2228">Sincerely,</font><br clear="none"><b><font color="#b45f06">The Chicago Excellence in Gardening Awards Committee</font></b></span></span><br></div>