Huntsville Botanical Garden Receives Prestigious Dorothy E. Hansell Marketing Award

Recognition Spotlights Rebranding Completed in Collaboration with Red Sage Communications 
  
HUNTSVILLE, Ala. – Huntsville Botanical Garden is this year’s recipient of the Dorothy E. Hansell Marketing Award. Announced at the 2025 American Public Gardens Association (APGA) Annual Conference in Denver, Colorado, this national award recognizes excellence in public garden marketing and communications. The award honors the Garden’s recent rebranding initiative with Alabama-based Red Sage Communications. 
 
Since its unveiling in late 2024, the “Naturally Delightful” brand has contributed to record revenue growth and attendance at Garden events, while strengthening donor and partner relationships. The Garden has also seen a substantial rise in its Net Promoter Score, a customer loyalty metric measuring willingness to recommend a brand’s products or services to others. 
 
“Receiving this award is an incredible honor and a reflection of our commitment to purposeful growth,” said Sue Wagner, CEO of Huntsville Botanical Garden. “We are grateful to our community for embracing and celebrating this transformation with us so enthusiastically, and to Red Sage for helping us showcase our identity with strategy, creativity, and heart.” 
 
Garden leadership worked closely with Red Sage, an integrated agency specializing in destination and attraction marketing, in a ground-up reexamination of the Garden’s true value as a dynamic community resource connecting people to plants. The effort included deep research and persona development, logo and brand design, messaging, and a new website. Together, these fundamentals position the Garden as an inclusive year-round destination, while reinforcing appeal as a regional environmental trailblazer. 
 
“Huntsville Botanical Garden’s leadership had a clear, inspiring vision for the future. It was an honor for our team to bring this brand to life, which so vibrantly captures HBG’s place as a leading national garden,” said Michelle Stark, V.P. of Sales & Marketing at Red Sage. “This award is a testament to the power of mission-aligned storytelling and the hard work of everyone involved.” 
 
The Dorothy E. Hansell Marketing Award is presented annually by the American Public Gardens Association to recognize exemplary marketing efforts that enhance public awareness of gardens and their missions. Huntsville Botanical Garden joins a distinguished group of recipients including some of the most well-known gardens nationwide. 
 
“This award is about more than excellence in marketing,” said Laura McPhail, Director of Communication and Guest Experience, “It’s about impact, and our ability to engage more people, more authentically, for the betterment of our entire community. The outcomes have already been tremendous, but we know the best is yet to come!” 
 
About Huntsville Botanical Garden  
Huntsville Botanical Garden is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that exists to connect people to plants in order to support a healthier quality of life for the region. Open year-round, the Garden contains diverse ecosystems to explore within its 118 acres. From grassy meadows to woodland paths, aquatic habitats to stunning floral collections, the Garden invites guests of all ages to discover the beauty and wonder of the natural environment. For more information, visit hsvbg.org. 
 
About Red Sage 
Red Sage Communications, Inc. is one of the nation's leading fully-integrated agencies in destination, attraction, and place marketing. The agency specializes in building audience awareness and loyalty for brands, driving revenue, tourism engagement, economic development, and talent attraction. Top Ranked by Business Alabama Magazine in both Advertising and Public Relations, Red Sage is also a Google Partner agency. Connect with us and more about Red Sage at redsageonline.com. 
  
Media Contacts: 
  
For Huntsville Botanical Garden: 
Laura McPhail, APR 
Director of Communication and Guest Experience 
lmcphail@hsvbg.org 
256-830-4447 ext. 226 
  
For Red Sage: 
Michelle Stark 
V.P. Sales & Marketing 
mstark@redsageonline.com 
256-693-5243