2005 Reports of State
Presidents
| The Tennessee Federation of Garden Clubs is made up of over 200
clubs with a membership of over 4800. The state is divided into 4
Districts, each containing a major city, Memphis, Nashville,
Chattanooga and Knoxville. This year our new Executive Residence Flowers Program got into full swing. in addition to members contributing funds to provide fresh flowers for the residence, each district had the opportunity to decorate the front gates or front doors of the Governor's mansion in seasonal splendor. The Governor's wife has requested, for her next occasion, a fundraising luncheon honoring all of Tennessee's former first ladies, that we design a stand-up floral gown that guests may stand behind for photographs. And, to follow that, the Tennessee Federation plans to enter a float in the Rose Parade, just kidding ! We celebrated our 51st annual Conservation Camp at Montgomery Bell State Park last fall. A highlight of the camp was our special guest from the west. It was our pleasure to host National Garden Club President, June Wood. Still a southern gal at heart, June charmed us all as we learned and laughed through two days of camp fellowship. The camp's theme was based on subjects near and dear to the heart of another honored guest, Deep South Region Director, Bonnie Borne. Programs on water and trees were presented and each camper left with a four-foot dogwood in a gallon bucket. And, speaking of trees....the Tennessee Federation is proud to announce a new program that partners the TFGC with the Tennessee Urban Forestry Countil in certifying arboreta across the state. Presently in Tennessee twenty-one arboreta have qualified for the purpose of education and/or research. During the last two years, Tennessee Garden Club members have planted more than four hundred thirty thousand (430,000) trees. Over two-thousand trees were of various blooming varieties, but the vast majority of the new plantings were pines. These were to replace the great numbers of pines killed by infestations of pine beetles. Two of our members own quite a bit of land, and their replanted acres boosted our total. Members in the Knoxville area are beaming with pride as final preparations are being made for the erection of a new Blue Star Memorial Marker this June. After surveying club presidents at Districtg Meetings, the board voted to pursue the use of a tax umbrella that would extend to the individual clubs. Club members were enthusiastic at the prospects of having a tax number when applying for grants and when making purchases for large projects. National Garden Club convention delegates look forward to learning more about implementing this program during the tax workshop at that convention in May. And, speaking of National Garden Club conventions....another reminder, Memphis, Tennessee will be the location of the 2008 National Convention. As you may have heard by now, Tennessee's own Annette Stanbery will serve as the next Regional Director, with Ruth Lamb as Alternant. But what you may not know is that my successor will be the eminently qualified, clever and talented Kay Lee. I have thoroughly enjoyed this job. It has been a wonderful experience I will treasure forever. Worrying about what to do with all my spare time once I was no longer president, I have taken on another endeavor that will surely fill my empty hours. I am going to be the 2006 Deep South Convention Chairman. And, taking the liberty of speaking for Annette, Ruth, Kay and all my fellow TFGC members, we hope to see you all again next year when the Deep South Convention comes to Chattanooga. Thank you. ____________________________ Anne E. Leonard President, TFGC State President's Report, The Garden Clubs of Mississippi, Inc. Since this President's last Deep South Report, the Garden Clubs of Mississippi, Inc. held its 75th Convention in beautiful Greenville, Miss. - "The River, The Writers and Rows of Cotton". Our National President, June Wood, honored us with her attendance. The summer held 2 programs for the state's youth. The 3-Day Horticulture Summer Seminar was attended by 24 high school students who enjoyed activities in horticulture, floral design, landscape design, turf grass management and other topics. They also got to experience "college life" during their stay on the beautiful campus of Miss. State Univ. The Seminar will be held during National Gardening Week this year. The next event for youth was the Lanoux Youth Nature Camp held at Grenada Lake. Fourteen children ages 9-12 attended as well as 9 counselors and "helpers". The activities they studied were forestry, entomology, arts and crafts, swimming and a lot of fun. Another camp is being planned for July, 2005. Flower Show Judges School was held in Greenwood, MS in September. Many attended and 11 garden club members "took the test". School II is planned for May, '05. After a busy summer, GCM held its annual fall Board of Directors Meeting in conjunction with the 49th Landscape Design Symposium held at Miss. State University. Professor Emeritus, Mr. Edward C. Martin, who started this program and Mr. Dabney Peeples of South Carolina, who is a landscape architect, were the featured speakers. GCM is looking forward to this October 19th when we will hold our 50th Symposium. This is the longest running program of its kind in the nation. To celebrate GCM's 75th Anniversary, a state flower show was held at Hinds Community College, near Jackson, MS. The show, entitled "Christmas in Mississippi, Celebrating 75 Years of Gardening", was a complete success and enjoyed by all who participated and attended. The Holiday Show featured 96 designs, over 300 horticulture specimens and 20 educational exhibits. An afternoon tea was held to celebrate The Garden Clubs of Mississippi, Inc.'s 75th Anniversary. A state flower show will now become an every other year event. Throughout the year, and whenever possible, planning for this convention took center stage. This president is forever in debt to Convention Chairman, Cidy Allgood and C o-Chairman, Mildred Moore. Also, thanks go out to all the committee chairmen and members who have helped make this a fantastic convention. Four GCM clubs were awarded Historic Gardens Project Grants. This President was honored to cut the ribbon for the dedication of the gardens at the Lundy Stage Coach House in Lexington, MS. Other gardens are near completion. The dedication of the Visitor's Park at Miss. State Hospital, in which GCM received a full grant, will be at the 76th Annual State Convention in April. The 76th Annual State Convention, " A Capitol Celebration", will be held April 12-14 in the state capitol of Jackson. The NGC's "America's A-Bloom" Project has been promoted at all district meetings, with literature in the President's Kit and in the MIssissippi Gardener publication. The 2004 total was 952. The state Chairman will give the '05 total number of trees planted at the upcoming state convention. Our next President of the Garden Clubs of Mississippi, Inc will be Viola Harrison, with Ann Turnbow as 1st Vice President; Gay Austin as 2nd Vice President, and 3rd Vice President will be Nancy Moore. _____________________________ Carol M. Bullard, President The Garden Clubs of Mississippi, Inc.LGCF Deep South Report March 2005 The Louisiana Garden Club Federation, Inc. has been very busy over the past two years. How the time has flown. We have accomplished much because all of our members have worked very hard to help meet our goals. We have completed two very successful Flower Show Schools in District IV & VI. We have hosted a Gardening Study series at Delgado Community College in New Orleans and have also completed a Landscape Design School series in Baton Rouge. We have come of age and there were many celebrations for 75th, 60th and 50th anniversaries of garden clubs around the state. We have worked on Habitat for Humanity homes, and dedicated several Blue Star Highway and By-Way Markers. It is almost impossible to keep up with how many live oaks have been registered with our Live Oak Society during this time. I know it is well over 1000. The Cleanest City Contest continues to clean up Louisiana one municipality at a time. We recognize our long time members by inducting them into the Circle of Roses. The Deep South Unified Regional Projectg kept us very busy. "Volunteers with 20/20 Vision" focused on "Tomorrow's Visions and Yesterday's Treasures". We planted Star Spangled Gardens, studied Water Conservation, focused on "Glitter not Litter", worked to gain new members, and kept the youth busy with "Don't Hide Your Pride" projects. Our National Garden Clubs projectgs taught us "Preserving the Past - Forging the Future". We planted over 1,000 blooming trees with America's A-Bloom, and planted over 20,000 non-blooming trees. We received grants for restoring Historic Gardens while promoting all of the other NGC goals set before us. There is no stopping us now. We are about to embark on two brand new projects for the Louisiana Garden Club Federation. We are in the process of beginning the Basic Design Courses, a series of five 1-day Workshops to assist beginners and help refresh those of us who are not novices anymore to sharpen our skills. Secondly, a new adventure for us will be to begin the Environmental Schools. Things have been exciting all along the way and will continue to be so, as long as we all remember that "The World Is Our Garden" . It's up to each one of us to work the plan and to spread the good news about Garden Clubs. ____________________ Margo Racca President, LGCF Deep South Report Florida Federation of Garden Clubs, Inc. Joan W. Pryor, President March 2005, At Deep South Region Convention Tunica, MS Greetings from Florida's 17,663 members The theme for the Florida Federation this administration has been "KEEP GROWING". Some clubs have been in existence for over 80 years, and we have many outstanding programs in place. But, we have expanded several existing programs and tried some new ones. Just like any garden, you stick with the basic trees and shrubs, but you like to try some of the new flowers. Gardening in Florida had setbacks this fall. The 5 hurricanes, one right after the other, changed the looks of our lush landscapes. It will take years to overcome the devastation in our communities and homes. We not only lost trees and beaches, but even some garden club buildings were destroyed. The clean-up has been enormous and the piles of trash and dead trees have filled football fields and even some airports. Sand on the beaches was washed away and now the waves break on the sea walls. If you flew into Florida in October, it looked like the new fad was to have a blue tarpaulin on your roof. And not all of them have been repaired yet. Many thanks to those of you who sent checks to help us with replanting in our public parks and schools. We are now learning to grow in the SUN instead of the SHADE. But we can do it, Growing is our thing. We are growing new clubs. More new clubs have been formed this administration than in many years. We gave special recognition to clubs that were 80, 70, 60 and 50 years old by presenting them with certificates at their fall meetings. The younger clubs that had been in the federation for 40 and 30 years were also recognized. It was amazing to see the long line of presidents that came to the front to receive certificates. All club presidents will receive a red carnation at the state convention to show them how much their hard work is appreciated. Clubs need to feel that they are an important part of FFGC's success. Our new state project of planting wildflowers on trails is growing. We are eager to see the results as the flowers begin to pop up this spring. This is the time of year we reap from all the hard work of planting along the roadsides. Florida is beginning to really take on the look of "The Land of Flowers". The clubs are preparing to make the entrance into Florida a real "Path of Sunshine" for the 2006 National Convention to be held in the Orlando are next spring. Our Deep South Director challenged each state to encourage our clubs to participate 100% in the multiple projects of planting Flowering Trees, Historic Preservation and Water wise programs. Florida felt rather defeated before began since all we can get from some of the clubs is their dues. However, we are happy to report that of the 265 clubs 80% reported they had a water program or project and 65% reported they had a Historical Preservation program or project and 9,767 flowering trees have been planted. The total tree count for the year is 31,281 including flowering trees. Our Florida Gardener magazine has grown in quality. We now have 8 color pages, which allow for the addition of color photos. There has been renewed interest in our High School Gardeners, and we have more Ecotots this year. They just love watching the butterfly come out of the chrysalis. Our 6 weeks nature camp which is held each summer continues to improve. The Nature curriculum is being updated; the 8th grade program is taking a new direction, and a special adventure week is being added this year. We are very proud to announce that Wekiva Youth Camp has obtained certification by the American Camping Association. This tells parents that everything is being done for the safety of their children and ACA also advertises our camp. Education is a large part of our mission statement. Florida is proud to report that all 4 NGC schools have been offered to our members and we have 4 councils to provide leadership to the consultants. The Landscape Council has adopted a new state project giving more meaning and focus to the group. The Gardening Council is working on a state butterfly project in schools to provide a reason for belonging to the council. The Environmental Council has sent water resolutions to the state legislature requesting that water not be moved from one part of the state to another for the promotion of more development and that our pristine springs be protected. Our 4-STAR membership is GROWING ! Florida offers two Short Courses each year, one in June in Gainesville and one in January in the Palm Beach area. These seminars are filled with excellent horticulture speakers with loads of plants for sale. Floral design programs are presented by exceptional designers from all over the nation. There are also two flower show symposiums conducted each year as refreshers for the 570 Florida Flower Show Judges and others. For additional education, we hold two nature study courses for the members, and Presidents' Summits are organized in each of the 12 districts for incoming club officers. Continuing Education keeps us growing. The Florida designers who have had a design published in our Flower Arranging Calendar are invited to participate in a Mother's Day Flower Show at Epcot. It is fun for the designers and it gives FFGC some great exposure to the publis. Hostesses are posted around with brochures and giving information about the garden clubs. Florida's FUN WITH FLOWERS program has really taken off ! These units have reached out to new groups of people and membership has increased. Everyone loves to have some fresh decoration made for their home for each holiday. Some times it is a door swag or a simple red, white and blue arrangement, or an Easter basket design. A Manual has been produced with color pictures to assist the instructors in presenting these programs. Our website is OVERGROWN. In the last seven years, we have publicized all club, district and FFGC events and projects. Now that most of the districts and many of the clubs have their own websites, we can delete some of the sections. We are in the process of cleaning up and linking, so please pardon our appearance for the next few months. We will soon be back up and running. Florida Federation offers a variety of opportunities to our club members and they KEEP ON GROWING ! Our President-Elect for the Florida Federation of Garden Clubs is JOAN OCHS, who will serve the next term of office, during the years from 2005 to 2007 Jaydee Ager(Georgia) and Mary Summerville(Alabama) no reports online |