GRAPEVINEGARDEN CLUBGENERAL MEETING MINUTES

“TOP OF THE VINEYARD” STACY FURNITURE

January 26, 2010

Suzi Guckel called the meeting to order at 10:00 AM. The minutes from the General meeting on December 8, 2009, which had been emailed and were available on the tables, were approved as written.

Suzi urged everyone to enjoy the wonderful articles in the newsletter and thanked Kathy Dohrer for doing an outstanding job. She told us the story of how she became a member of the garden club because of picking up trash with Marion Brekken and asked others to send their own storiesto her of how they became members.

PROGRAM:

Joan Kowalski introduced our speaker, Elizabeth Anna Samudio. She is the owner of “Elizabeth Anna’s Old WorldGarden” in Fort Worth and the director of “With My Own Two Hands,” a program which encourages urban gardening. Her presentation was called “Gardens that Heal, Creating your Sacred Spaces.” She described her experiences with cancer and the healing effect of the garden that was the beginning of her business. She combined readings from her journal with practical advice on being more in tune with the spiritual aspects of gardening.

BUSINESS MEETING:

Suzi called the business meeting to order at 11:00 am.

REPORTS OF OFFICERS:

  1. Treasurer: Chuck Voelker presented the December report from Treasurer, Karen Rice; copies were available on each table. Total monthly income was $2,673.00; total monthly expenses were $1,773.00 and total assets at the end of December were $34, 651.00. The biggest expense expected in January will be the scholarships awards.

Chuck also explained that updates to the yearbook were on each of the tables and that he had more available, if they were needed.

  1. Membership: Pat Mingus announced that we had 96 members present and 15 visitors and welcomed each of our guests.
  1. Election of Officers: René Herndon, the chairman of the Nominating Committee,thanked the members, which included Elayne Vick, Kathy Dohrer, Sheri Jones and Karen Rice. René presented each candidate for office and asked if there were any nominations from the floor. There were no additional nominations. Suzi Guckel explained that in accordance with our by-laws, if there is only one nominee for each office, no vote is required for the election of the officers. The new officers were recognized and will be installed at the luncheon in May.

The new officers will be:

Sarah Erickson, President

Joan Kowalski, 1st VP Programs, assisted by Kathy Clark

Harriet Perrellio, 2nd VP Membership, assisted by Chris George

Elayne Vick, 3rd VP Communications

Barbara Oldani, Recording Secretary

Angela Ozymy, Corresponding Secretary

Pam Braak, Treasurer

Gloria Land, Publicity Coordinator

REPORTS OF COMMITTEE CHAIRS:

  1. Flowercade:Sarah Erickson told us that this year, the Fort Worth Garden Club Council Flowercade will be on April 24 and that the theme will be “The Grande Tour.” Entries for the horticulture competition will be collected on April 23 and taken that afternoon to the Botanic Garden. There will also be several types of design competitions including floral design, artistic crafts, topiary, decorating a purse and “Treasures of India,” which will be jewelry using plant materials. Anyone interested can call Sarah for more information.

Another category will be table settings and Rachel Clark set up an example to show us. She said that as a large club we need more participation in this event and offered to help anyone who is interested.

More information will be available in the Flowercade schedule which will be available at the Fort Worth Council meeting on February 17. Members were invited to attend this meeting.

  1. West Texas Street:Suzi explained that this project is a mission to aid the elderly in the HUD housing on West Texas Street. We have previously installed flower beds and plantings. A work day is scheduled for February 16 and volunteers are needed for pruning and weeding.
  1. Plant Sale:Joyce Quam reminded us that the club’s annual plant sale will take place on Saturday, April 17in the area of the Grapevine gazebo on Main Street. There will also be a sale on Friday, April 16 for members only. Many volunteers are needed and there will be sign-up sheets on the tables at the February meeting. Donated heirloom plants will besold and volunteers will be available to help with potting them up for sale. Volunteers will also be needed for setting up on Friday, selling plants, acting as cashiers or cashiers assistants, manning the holding area and cleaning up after the sale.

Val Reed said that she had sign-up sheets available for volunteers to help dig heirloom plants and also had forms for ordering caladiums.

  1. Membership: Pat Minguspresented door prizes to the guests and members and thanked those who had generously provided the door prizes
  1. Hostess Recognition: Paula Wilbanks thanked today’s hostesses, Edie Williams (Chair), Marian Brekken, Linda Harris, Joan Stewart, Joan Kowalski, Chuck Voelker, Carolyn Ernst and Sheri Jones.

ANNOUNCEMENTS:

  1. Suzi told us that Joetta King would be available after the meeting with information about the trip to Houston.
  2. Additional copies of the club cookbook were for sale after the meeting for $1.00 each.
  3. Laura Ball explained details of the Redbud Tree program for 3rd graders and asked for volunteers. Redbuds will be bagged on February 26 and distributed at Heritage Elementary and Holy Trinity schools on March 5.

The meeting was adjourned at 11:40 a.m.

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Suzi Guckel, GGC PresidentDate Approved

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Barbara Oldani, Recording SecretaryDate Approved