Hi everybody--Yesterday Bobbi, Mary Ann A. and I went to Middlebury to attend the Annual District Meeting of the Garden Club of Indiana. We had a terrific time--the drive was easy and even with Bobbi and I navigating we managed NOT to get lost--a miracle in its own right. Thanks to Shirley for getting us excellent directions. Rosie and Shirley--we are so very sorry you couldn't go--we are sending you happy thoughts for a quick recovery. (And to Nick too).
Since our group is slated to host one of these shindigs in 2016 I want to describe my first impressions here. As time goes on I really hope more of our group can attend--this is a very pleasant way to spend a day with a lot of great people.
The meeting was held at Middlebury Church of the Bretheren. We were greeted by a number of club members, given our name badges and directed to the church fellowship room. There was a lovely array of breakfast treats laid out and the room was busy with people getting coffee, having snacks and checking out the Ways and Means table, silent auction and raffle items, as well as the informative displays from all the committees.
There are lots of committees and things associated with this crowd--my brain kind of locks up when confronted with all this heirarchy and stuff--but as I learn what it all means things will become more understandable. What it boils down to is; there are committees for most or all of the various aspects of horticulture that might interest a garden club, and each club can involve itself or avail itself of resources depending on the interest of its membership. For example there is a Conservation Committee that sponsors projects associated with reforestation of Indiana woodlands. One of their main interests is the "Penny Pines" project, by which the interested clubs can sponsor the planting of trees in Indiana. The Scholarship committee oversees the process by which money from individual clubs goes to the state scholarship fund, and then in turn directs the selection process for candidates to receive the awards. Each Committee had a display: Birds and Butterflies, Horticulture, Conservation, Trees, Scholarship, Membership, Youth Gardening, Wildflowers, Garden Therapy, Civic Development--I hope thats all. But you get the idea. We all settled into tables that were decorated with centerpieces and gift bags--the call to order went out. After moving into the Church Sanctuary, the meeting itself began. We said the Pledge of Allegiance and the Conservation Pledge (written in a little program book for those of us who had no clue what it is). Then Stephanie Weber of the Middlebuy Garden Club welcomed us--apparently she has a peony farm that we need to go visit--and then Judy Cook from Elkhart responded sort of like--"welcome everybody"--"Hey thanks for having us". Joan Stone, the District President Welcomed everybody and introduced us to the District Officers as well as the wonderful Joyce Bulington, our state president. These meetings always have a reading committe--3 people that later on review the minutes of the meeting and approve them, and they were introduced at this time. Marlene Pratt (Middlebury) lit a candle and read a wonderful prayer as a memorial tribute to two past members who died this year. It was about end and renewal as it happens in the garden and how the meaning of that is manifested in the life of everyone.
After this touching moment, the various officers gave their reports, and all the club presidents of gave their annual reports. Then the district Chairpersons attending gave their reports, and the Scholarship chair asked me to tell the group a little bit about Ben. You can imagine how eloquent I was, not being aware ahead of time that I would be asked to do this--of course I neglected to tell everyone Ben's LAST name--thanks to some wiser person who asked me what it was--but at least I don't think Ben will have to attend the State Banquet with a bag over his head. Then Joyce addressed the group--she is such a hoot. We are very lucky to have formed our club during her tenure. She "gets" groups like ours--she is pretty much like us--irreverent and caring--and as Bobbi noted--she is the correct height to be a member of our club. Now that Bobbi knows that Mr. Bulington is not the pilot of the REAL Air Force One, she knows that Joyce is just like the rest of us.
Then we went on to Business stuff--at this point my brain froze and I couldn't absorb everything. The nuggets I came away with are as follows:
There is a committe forming to work on the 2012 State Meeting which our district will be hosting. EVERYONE is going to be needed to help out in some way. I have a form that I started to fill out, figuring the committee post would just fall to me--but it occurred to me that someone else might be willing to step in and contribute to this. Working on this project will necessitate attending meetings that will move from one location to another throughout the district to equalize the distance driving between all the members. If someone is willing to take this on--I would love it--just let me know. You can finish filling out the form and I will get it back to Joan.
Also--we figured out how to send in new member stuff. I will get on that quickly so our new members can start getting their newsletters and be counted in the district's new member head count.
And speaking of newsletters--there was a questionairre about how you want it--postage is insane so the idea is for it to be electronic only. They come as PDF's now, but they want to know if you have other preferences. I will get this out to everyone so you can answer the questions and I will just send the results on.
After all the official jazz it was time for lunch--so back to the Fellowship room we went, to visit, eat, and check out the displays some more. In a very sweet gesture, the prayer before lunch included all of us singing one verse of "America the Beautiful".
The program for the day ensued back in the Sanctuary, where Sonya Miller, owner of Country Comfort Greenhouse, told us all about the quilt gardens in Amish Country. This grass roots undertaking has grown to a total this year of 17 plantings, and has proven to be a much needed boost to Elkharts tourism industry. Sonya was a great speaker--knowledgable and spontaneous, and she had a very nice powerpoint display with photos of all the gardens in various stages of growth.
After all that--the winners of the raffles were announced, people went back to finish up purchasing things from the Ways and Means, do a little more networking, and then it was time to go home.
I am certain I have forgotten a lot of stuff--my brain just doesn't function well in stuff like this. Mary Ann and Bobbi--poke me if you remember other things that happened so I can add them to this account. The main thing we all came away with was the fact that we had a very nice time, and this organization we are a part of is full of wonderful people united by the common love of gardens and gardening. As time goes on we will find our "place" within its structure so they can benefit from us, and we in turn from them.
Since our group is slated to host one of these shindigs in 2016 I want to describe my first impressions here. As time goes on I really hope more of our group can attend--this is a very pleasant way to spend a day with a lot of great people.
The meeting was held at Middlebury Church of the Bretheren. We were greeted by a number of club members, given our name badges and directed to the church fellowship room. There was a lovely array of breakfast treats laid out and the room was busy with people getting coffee, having snacks and checking out the Ways and Means table, silent auction and raffle items, as well as the informative displays from all the committees.
There are lots of committees and things associated with this crowd--my brain kind of locks up when confronted with all this heirarchy and stuff--but as I learn what it all means things will become more understandable. What it boils down to is; there are committees for most or all of the various aspects of horticulture that might interest a garden club, and each club can involve itself or avail itself of resources depending on the interest of its membership. For example there is a Conservation Committee that sponsors projects associated with reforestation of Indiana woodlands. One of their main interests is the "Penny Pines" project, by which the interested clubs can sponsor the planting of trees in Indiana. The Scholarship committee oversees the process by which money from individual clubs goes to the state scholarship fund, and then in turn directs the selection process for candidates to receive the awards. Each Committee had a display: Birds and Butterflies, Horticulture, Conservation, Trees, Scholarship, Membership, Youth Gardening, Wildflowers, Garden Therapy, Civic Development--I hope thats all. But you get the idea. We all settled into tables that were decorated with centerpieces and gift bags--the call to order went out. After moving into the Church Sanctuary, the meeting itself began. We said the Pledge of Allegiance and the Conservation Pledge (written in a little program book for those of us who had no clue what it is). Then Stephanie Weber of the Middlebuy Garden Club welcomed us--apparently she has a peony farm that we need to go visit--and then Judy Cook from Elkhart responded sort of like--"welcome everybody"--"Hey thanks for having us". Joan Stone, the District President Welcomed everybody and introduced us to the District Officers as well as the wonderful Joyce Bulington, our state president. These meetings always have a reading committe--3 people that later on review the minutes of the meeting and approve them, and they were introduced at this time. Marlene Pratt (Middlebury) lit a candle and read a wonderful prayer as a memorial tribute to two past members who died this year. It was about end and renewal as it happens in the garden and how the meaning of that is manifested in the life of everyone.
After this touching moment, the various officers gave their reports, and all the club presidents of gave their annual reports. Then the district Chairpersons attending gave their reports, and the Scholarship chair asked me to tell the group a little bit about Ben. You can imagine how eloquent I was, not being aware ahead of time that I would be asked to do this--of course I neglected to tell everyone Ben's LAST name--thanks to some wiser person who asked me what it was--but at least I don't think Ben will have to attend the State Banquet with a bag over his head. Then Joyce addressed the group--she is such a hoot. We are very lucky to have formed our club during her tenure. She "gets" groups like ours--she is pretty much like us--irreverent and caring--and as Bobbi noted--she is the correct height to be a member of our club. Now that Bobbi knows that Mr. Bulington is not the pilot of the REAL Air Force One, she knows that Joyce is just like the rest of us.
Then we went on to Business stuff--at this point my brain froze and I couldn't absorb everything. The nuggets I came away with are as follows:
There is a committe forming to work on the 2012 State Meeting which our district will be hosting. EVERYONE is going to be needed to help out in some way. I have a form that I started to fill out, figuring the committee post would just fall to me--but it occurred to me that someone else might be willing to step in and contribute to this. Working on this project will necessitate attending meetings that will move from one location to another throughout the district to equalize the distance driving between all the members. If someone is willing to take this on--I would love it--just let me know. You can finish filling out the form and I will get it back to Joan.
Also--we figured out how to send in new member stuff. I will get on that quickly so our new members can start getting their newsletters and be counted in the district's new member head count.
And speaking of newsletters--there was a questionairre about how you want it--postage is insane so the idea is for it to be electronic only. They come as PDF's now, but they want to know if you have other preferences. I will get this out to everyone so you can answer the questions and I will just send the results on.
After all the official jazz it was time for lunch--so back to the Fellowship room we went, to visit, eat, and check out the displays some more. In a very sweet gesture, the prayer before lunch included all of us singing one verse of "America the Beautiful".
The program for the day ensued back in the Sanctuary, where Sonya Miller, owner of Country Comfort Greenhouse, told us all about the quilt gardens in Amish Country. This grass roots undertaking has grown to a total this year of 17 plantings, and has proven to be a much needed boost to Elkharts tourism industry. Sonya was a great speaker--knowledgable and spontaneous, and she had a very nice powerpoint display with photos of all the gardens in various stages of growth.
After all that--the winners of the raffles were announced, people went back to finish up purchasing things from the Ways and Means, do a little more networking, and then it was time to go home.
I am certain I have forgotten a lot of stuff--my brain just doesn't function well in stuff like this. Mary Ann and Bobbi--poke me if you remember other things that happened so I can add them to this account. The main thing we all came away with was the fact that we had a very nice time, and this organization we are a part of is full of wonderful people united by the common love of gardens and gardening. As time goes on we will find our "place" within its structure so they can benefit from us, and we in turn from them.
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