What if the annuals that have graced downtown Ashland each summer since the city’s Bicentennial could beautify Main Street perennially, long into the future?

That’s the vision Ron and Barb Leddy had as they launched a campaign to pay for the flowers in perpetuity by repurposing and matching an existing endowment fund with Ashland County Community Foundation.

The Leddys originally planned to contribute the $10,000 needed to establish a new fund with the foundation. At the suggestion of ACCF Executive Director James Cutright, and with the blessing of Bicentennial co-chair Rick Spreng, the Leddys decided to pool their money with $100,000 left over from the Bicentennial.

The Leddys signed on to become co-chairs in a campaign to raise the remaining $90,000 that will need to be invested in the Ashland Downtown Flowers Fund. With a total of $200,000, the fund will generate enough income to pay for the flowers every year, for generations to come