Medal Winning Hybridizers

The American Iris Society has a variety of awards for recently introduced irises. These are topped by a series of Medals for different types of irises and capped by the American Dykes Medal that all types of irises compete for.

The hybridizers who create irises each have their own page listing their registered irises. We have begun adding picture galleries of Medal Awarded Irises to the individual hybridizer's pages. You can find them at the bottom of those pages.

This is very much a project still under construction. As medal picture galleries are added to the hybridizers' pages, "with gallery" will be added to their listing.

The list below is the hybridizers who have won any of these medals. Currently creating this list by listing all the hybridizers who won the American Dykes Medal - 57 hybridizers as of 2024.

Hybridizers who have won the American Dykes Medal

1. Dr. Wylie McLean Ayres - with gallery
2. Sanford Babson - with gallery
3. Cliff Benson - with gallery
4. Paul Black - with gallery
5. Opal Brown - with gallery
6. Eugene Buckles
7. Charles Bunnell
8. Tom Burseen
9. Monty Byers
10. Clarence Phillips Connell
11. Paul Cook
12. L. W. Cousins
13. Fred DeForest
14. Edward Essig
15. Orville Fay
16. L. Merton Gage
17. Larry Gaulter
18. Joseph Ghio
19. James Gibson
20. Howard Glutzbeck
21. Robert J. Graves
22. J. H. Grinter
23. Ben Hager - with gallery
24. David Hall
25. Robert Hollingworth
26. Sterling Innerst
27. Thomas Johnson - with gallery
28. Keith Keppel
29. Frederick Kerr
30. James Kirkland
31. Mrs. Hilbert Kuntz
32. Larry Lauer - with gallery
33. P.A. Loomis
34. Edith Lowry
35. Walter Luihn
36. William Maryott
37. Lynda Miller
38. Hubert C. Mohr
39. William Mohr
40. Tell Muhlestein
41. O. David Niswonger - with gallery
42. Elvan Roderick
43. Nate Rudolph
44. Schreiner
45. Hans Peter Sass
46. Jacob Sass
47. Neva Sexton
48. Mrs. Edward C.Stahlman
49. Marky Smith
50. Michael Sutton
51. Esther Tams
52. Richard Tasco - with gallery
53. Edward Watkins
54. Mrs. C. Whiting
55. Bryce Williamson - with gallery
56. Mary Williamson
57. Jesse Wills

Hybridizers who have won the Wister Medal. 35 Hybridizers.

1. J. Terry Aitken
2. Paul Black
3. Lowell Baumunk
4. Barry Blyth
5. Tom Burseen
6. Monty Byers
7. Anna and David Cadd
8. Adam Cordes
9. Howard Dash
10. Roger Duncan
11. Richard Ernst
12. Joseph Ghio
13. Ben Hager
14. Sterling Innerst
15. Ben Johnson
16. Thomas Johnson
17. Evelyn Jones
18. Douglas Kanarowski
19. Brad Kasperek
20. Keith Keppel
21. Frederick Kerr
22. Larry Lauer
23. Tom Magee
24. William Maryott
25. Anton Mego
26. Lynda Miller
27. Ron Mullin
28. Hooker Nichols
29. Tom Parkhill
30. Schreiner
31. Marky Smith
32. Donald Spoon
33. Michael Sutton
34. Richard Tasco
35. Lloyd Zurbrigg

Hybridizers who won the Caparne-Welch Medal and Award for MDBs - 30 hybridizers

1. J. Terry Aitken
2. Paul Black
3. Carl Boswell
4. Mildred Brizendine
5. Alta Brown
6. Paul Cook
7. Helen Doriot
8. Bonnie Dunbar
9. Ben Hager
10. Melba Hamblen
11. E. L. Hodson
12. Wilma Greenlee
13. Thomas Johnson
14. Bennett Jones
15. Brad Kasperek
16. Keith Keppel
17. Carol Lankow
18. Leona Mahood
19. Walter Marx
20. Lynda Miller
21. Earl Roberts
22. Henry E. Sass
23. Jacob Sass
24. David Sindt
25. Eva Smith
26. Donald Spoon
27. Augustino Todaro
28. Bee Warburton
29. Walter Welch
30. Dorothy and Anthony Willott

Next up Cook-Douglas Medal for SDBs - https://wiki.irises.org/Main/InfoMedalCookDouglas

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-- WayneMesser - 05 Mar 2025