Lynda Grass has been a member of the Charleston Rose Society since 1993, when she and her husband, Steven, joined after exhibiting in their first rose show that June.  Their winning entry was in the Small Gardener class with "Love".  Both quickly became active members of the Society, with Lynda serving first as second vice president for one term and then as secretary until her election last fall as President, and Steven being responsible for the Society rose garden at Sunrise Museum.  Both are consulting rosarians.  They served as rose show chairmen in 1996, and are serving in this capacity again this year.

Lynda grew up with roses.  She remembers her paternal grandfather having a rose bed in his back yard, which he fed with horse manure from a neighbor's yard; her mother is also a rose grower.  She and Steven have grown roses over 20 years.  At the time they joined the Society, they had only 12 hybrid teas, and knew nothing of miniatures.  Now their small yard is filled with miniatures and large roses.  "If there's a spot with enough sun and earth, Steven will put a rose there", Lynda says of her husband.  They currently grow over 140 bushes.

The Grasses are exhibitors, having won two Queens and several other awards in various categories at local, district, and national shows.  It is their intention to travel to the Colonial District's fall rose show in Richmond, as well as the national show in Atlanta, Georgia.  "The rose shows out of state are so much fun; we usually go with other Society members in a caravan of sorts and just have a great time.  It's always interesting to visit other societies, and to see the beautiful specimens that the national exhibitors enter in the shows," Lynda says.  "We look forward to seeing friends we have made on the rose trail, visiting the sights, and competing with our roses."

On a personal level, Lynda graduated from Stonewall Jackson High School in Charleston and West Virginia State College.  She is employed by the West Virginia Housing Development Fund in Charleston as a Planning Assistant.  She has no children, but considers her five cats to be in that category.  Her other interests include bowling (she serves as league secretary in a women's league and also bowls in a mixed league), reading, gardening, and canning.