Wyck-Strickland Award
Wyck Honors Bill Thomas, Executive Director, Chanticleer, a pleasure garden, as the 2025 Wyck-Strickland Awardee
Thursday, November 13, 2025 | Merion Tribute House, Merion Station, PA
5:30pm Cocktail Reception
7:00pm Dinner and Award Presentation
Award Chair: Nicole Juday
Address
Merion Tribute House
625 Hazelhurst Ave, Merion Station, PA 19066
Attire
The suggested dress is business or cocktail attire.
Parking
Free parking is available in the parking lot just beyond the Tribute House. The Tribute House is also within walking distance of the Merion Station on SEPTA’s R-5 line.
Sponsorships are available by calling the office or emailing kstaub@wyck.org
About the Awardee:
Bill Thomas arrived at the 50-acre pleasure garden Chanticleer on April Fools’ Day, 2003. Previously, he was at Longwood Gardens for 26 years, the last five in Research and Production and the prior 21 in Education. Bill leads the talented and creative Chanticleer staff in its continued development of the young garden, now in its 32nd year. He emphasizes an educational, environmentally sensitive, and multi-century approach to the property and is unifying the former estate into one cohesive garden. The staff and he co-authored The Art of Gardening (Timber Press), recipient of the American Horticultural Society (AHS) Book Award. He received the Scott Medal and Award in 2017 and the AHS Professional Award in 2016. He holds a B.S. and an M.S. in Ornamental Horticulture from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, where he studied under Professor Edward Hasselkus.
The Wyck-Strickland award honors individuals who have made outstanding contributions to the cultural life of Philadelphia through work that reflects a drive for progress and modernity with a sensitivity to the past.
About the Award
The Wyck-Strickland Award Dinner has been Wyck’s annual benefit for over 30 years. The Award is inspired by the balance of tradition and innovation created at Wyck when architect William Strickland remodeled the house in 1824 for his friends, then residents Jane and Reuben Haines. The award honors individuals who have made outstanding contributions to the cultural life of Philadelphia through work that reflects a drive for progress and modernity and a sensitivity to the past. This honor has evolved over the years to include architects, landscape architects, engineers, urban planners, historians, museum curators, and librarians. All share a love of Philadelphia and its rich history and cultural life.
Previous Recipients
1988 Ehrman B. Mitchell, Jr.
1989 Robert Venturi
1990 G. Stockton Strawbridge
1991 Edmund N. Bacon
1992 Denise Scott Brown
1993 Romaldo Giurgola
1994 Sir Peter Shepheard
1995 Nicholas Gianopulos
1996 Beatrice W. B. Garvan
1997 Vincent Scully
1998 David G. DeLong
1999 Laurie D. Olin
2000 Joseph J. Rishel
2001 Elliot L. Shelkrot
2002 Paul R. Levy
2003 Robert McCracken Peck
2004 Judith Rodin
2005 Ted and Stevie Wolf
2006 David Brownlee
2007 Jane Pepper
2008 Signe Wilkinson
2009 Stephen Kieran and James Timberlake
2010 Paul W. Meyer
2011 John Milner
2012 Alan Greenberger
2013 Meryl Levitz
2014 Paul B. Redman
2015 David Hollenberg
2016 Sam Katz
2017 John M. (Jeff) Groff
2018 Harris M. Steinberg, FAIA
2019 Penny Balkin Bach
2020 Wyck’s Way Forward
2021 Sharmain Matlock-Turner
2022 Alan Metcalfe & Aaron Goldblatt
2023 José Almiñana
2024 Dr. Page Talbott