cultivating connections - wisconsin garden club federation€¦ · “cultivating connections ......

After the many programs and events, attendees of the Central Region

Convention found new and/or renewed inspirations in Abe Lincoln’s

Hometown, Springfield, IL.

Abe, himself gave insights as to his life before traveling to Washington

DC.

There were leadership and awards workshops, reports from the state

presidents and CR Chairmen, table discussions lead by CR Chairmen

and tours visiting many of the historical places honoring Abraham Lin-

coln. Thank you to all who made the 2016 Central Region Convention

such coming wonderful event.

Looking forward to winter and the fast approaching New Year, it is

time to prepare and submit award applications for State, Central Re-

gion, and NGC Awards. The award application is the same for Central

Region and NGC Awards. Listings of all awards are on the CR and

NGC websites. State Presidents, CR Chairman, District Directors

please encourage clubs with projects to apply. There are so many wor-

thy projects garden club members are doing which only their district

and/or state hear about in reports or in newsletters. A word of encour-

agement to four or five chairmen and club presidents resulted in five

award applications. All five applications received awards at the Cen-

tral Region Convention.

Applications for the Award of Excellence and Award of Excellence for

State Garden Clubs are due before January 1, 2017. Member Award of

Honor applications should be sent to the State Award Chairman to be

submitted the Region Awards Chairman. The Region Awards Chair-

man forwards application to National Awards Chairman by February

20th.

Cont. pg.2

NGC Central Region Direc-tor’s Report Pgs. 1-2

The State We're In:

State President’s Reports

Pgs. 3-6

Garden Therapy Pg. 7

2016 Award Winners

Pgs. 8-9

2017 Awards Pg. 10

National Garden Club Week

Pg. 11

Membership Pg. 12

Native Plants Pg. 13

Smoky Bear / Woodsy Owl

Pg. 14

Unified Project Pg. 15

Scholarship Pg. 16

Schools Pg. 17

2016 Central Region

Convention Reprise Pg. 18-19

Contact Info & Next

Newsletter Deadline Pg. 20

“Cultivating Connections”

November

2016

Winter

INSIDE THIS ISSUE

1

Thank you to the

Illinois Conven-

tion Committee

and the Hotel

President Abra-

ham Lincoln,

Springfield

(Doubletree by

Hilton) and its

staff .

They are to com-

mended for

providing a

friendly, helpful

venue for a won-

derful 2016 NGC

Central Region

“How do you plan to stay connected?”

CONNECTIONS IN ACTION

Remember to send flyers, programs, newsletters; etc.

with the CR and NGC Logos to Liz Murken by Decem-

ber 1, 2016 so she can compile NGC Award #25 Award

of Excellence for Regions. Thank you to all the of clubs

and members who have already incorporated the NGC

and CR logos on some form of publicity

Even after we put our gardens to bed for the winter sea-

son, garden club activities continue. This Central Re-

gion Director is most thankful for all of the Connections

Cultivated in 2015-2016 and looking forward to creating

more “Connections in 2017”.

Judy Newman

NGC Central Region Director

2

Wisconsin Attendees

2016 NGC Central Region

Convention

CONNECTED TO THE STATES WE’RE IN

INDIANA:

Hello from your gardening friends in Indiana. We are winding

down the gardens and projects here in Indiana. The Indiana Bi-

centennial is coming to a close for 2016. That means the two leg-

acy projects the Garden Club of Indiana was sponsoring is com-

ing to an end.

First, the floral tribute of yellow and blue flowers planted in

each of the 92 counties was completed.

Secondly, as I am writing this, the Blue Star Memorial dedica-

tion at the Richard Roudebush VA Medical Center will be com-

pleted on November 10 in Indianapolis.

All seven districts have hosted their fall district meetings with

much excitement and fan fair.

Additional Blue Star markers are scheduled in the future in

Munster, the Northwest District, and Sullivan.

We wish you much happiness and good health through the holi-

day season.

Jodi Meyer,

President, The Garden Club of Indiana

Iowa:

What beautiful weather we have had. Plenty of time to get every-

thing accomplished that needs doing. Iowa will be continuing to

work on planting native plants. We have encouraged our clubs

to beautify public places with native plants. We know they will

survive easier and longer in our environment. We are exploring

increasing our number of Blue star Markers. We installed a new

one in August and hope to install another in the Spring. We

were very glad that NGC Central Region succeeded in securing

our 501(c)3. We are encouraging each of our clubs to do the

same.

Loretta Daisy

President, Iowa Federated Garden Clubs, Inc.

State Flowers

3

NGC Central Region

STATE WE’RE IN, CON’T

MICHIGAN :

Michigan has had many measurable successes including four new Clubs join-

ing our organization this year for a total of 165 Clubs with 5,977 Members. In

October, we completed our 90th Blue Star Memorial Dedication and had three

rededications. MGC awarded $20,000 in Scholarships of $1,000 each to 20

deserving students in our colleges and universities.

We have been practicing “giving back” to our Clubs by instituting a “Profit

Sharing Plan.” Districts and Clubs who host any of our Flower Show, Land-

scape Design, Garden Study or Environmental Studies Schools, Symposiums

or State Conventions who do a good job in advertising with increased attend-

ance over the proposed budget, receive a check upon completion. The State

Garden Club receives 50%, District 25% and the local club(s) 25%. Sixty-four

students attended Landscape Design Course I in the new series.

We continue to celebrate excellence through the Club of Distinction Award.

Levels of achievement include Silver, Gold, Platinum, Diamond, Double Dia-

mond and Triple Diamond. Points are given for Membership, Meetings and

Schools (hosting and attendance), Youth Involvement, Award applications,

Projects, Publicity, Communications and Contributions.

To achieve a stellar Michigan Garden Clubs, Inc. operation, we have recom-

mended to our members, the comprehensive 596 page Michigan Nonprofit

Management Manual for human resource administration, laws, regulations,

government reporting, filing, budgets, fund development, accounting, technol-

ogy, record keeping and evaluation.

Marilyn McIntosh, President

4

5


MINNESOTA:

Greetings from the State of Minnesota.

Together We Can Cultivate Connections by Leaping into Action

Thinking back on this year, we have accomplished great things. I wish to thank all our

members for their hard work. We supported and honored our Veterans by the Blue

Star Markers and the flowers to the veterans in the VA home. We held two Basic De-

sign classes and are planning the next in the summer. The Symposium had good at-

tendance from three states. Our booth at the Renaissance Festival netted the highest

sales ever. We had FUN at our Flower Shows, garden tours and plant sales. These are

a few of our activities. Did we accomplish everything on the wish list? No. These are

opportunities for the future. I look forward to next year challenges.

Betty Beck

President, Federated Garden Clubs of Minnesota, Inc.

Current NGC Central Region Director and the Seven State Presidents


WISCONSIN:

Greetings from the great state of Wisconsin! The members of the Wisconsin

Garden Club Federation (WGCF) have had a busy summer tending local com-

munity gardens and plantings. Many clubs post signs in their plantings to pro-

vide information about their clubs. Our WGCF project is Gardening for Good.

We collaborated with the University of Wisconsin Hospitals and Clinics on

their new Therapy Garden. Built on the sight of an old helicopter pad, the gar-

den design created obstacles with weight limitations and water control. It is on

the roof over the hospital’s radiology department. Professional gardeners de-

signed and installed the permanent plantings including trees, bushes, perenni-

als and a green roof. (Even the Little Free Library, located in the garden, has a

green living roof.) WGCF members happily volunteered their time, money and

talents to plant annuals in all of the containers. The plantings will be changed

out with the seasons. Our small effort and contributions encouraged a donor

to step forward to supply funding for the annual plantings in the future. We

hope to continue volunteering our time and talents designing and planting the

containers. Named the Hilary Grace Healing Garden, this beautiful setting is a

welcome respite for patients, staff and visitors. A hummingbird was even re-

cently spotted enjoying the sweet nectar of the blooms.

Other activities, on an organizational level, are the creation of our new full col-

or membership promotion brochure and the recently published Month by

Month Garden Journal. We have gone electronic with our quarterly newslet-

ter. This has met with mixed results and will continue to be reviewed to meet

our members’ needs. We have held Garden Study School Courses 1 and 2 with

courses 3 and 4 planned for April and September 2017. A Flower Show Sym-

posium is scheduled for August 2017. We continue planning for our Garden

Education Summit/Tri-Refresher/CR meeting in October 2017. We hope to

see all of you in Wisconsin Dells, next year.

6

GARDEN THERAPY

7

Many of the Garden Clubs in Central Region already work on projects which can be classified

as Garden Therapy. However, there may be many clubs which are seeking to become involved

in Garden Therapy as a club project. First of all, it is helpful to understand what comprises

Garden Therapy. Horticultural activities as a means of rehabilitative therapy date all the way

back to the 1800s to Dr. Benjamin Rush, who was the first to record the positive effect on pa-

tients with mental illness of working in a garden. After World War II, garden therapy gained a

wider acceptance as a form of treatment for an extensive array of diagnoses and therapeutic

options. A therapeutic garden offers a plant-dominated environment which offers color, tex-

ture and scents, all designed to stimulate feelings of comfort, and vitality.

A therapeutic garden can offer a wide range of designs geared to facilitate interaction with the

healing elements of nature. Since there are many levels of involvement, depending on the lev-

el of impairment of the target group, a club’s project must take into consideration the level of

ability and activity the patients being treated can apply to the garden. For instance, many

clubs offer flower arranging to a local nursing home’s patients, as a way to bring the beauty of

nature within their environment. There are other clubs who work with the nursing home on a

grander scale to provide raised garden beds, with wide, paved pathways around the raised

beds to make the plantings accessible to even those residents confined to a wheelchair. Some

clubs involve the nursing home residents who are capable with spring planting programs, and

who assist with maintaining the beds throughout the growing season. Such gardens can be

placed where they are readily visible from the nursing home’s community rooms, so they can

enhance the environment of even those patients who cannot leave the facility.

A more ambitious project would be to work with a local botanical garden or park to establish a

garden designed to be appealing to those who are blind, as well as those with other physical or

mental disabilities. When planning such a garden, be sure to provide a firm surface for path-

ways, with a change in texture at the edges, to warn when people are veering off the path.

Paths should be a minimum of 5 feet wide for one-way traffic, and 7 feet wide for two-way traf-

fic. Avoid steep grades, and offer frequent seating options. Select plantings which present a

variety of textures, scents, and colors, while avoiding any plants with toxic elements. Water

features can also be incorporated to mask intrusive surrounding noises, such as street traffic,

and can provide a soothing sound to enhance the interest of the garden.

These are just a few suggestions for projects which can be undertaken to provide the therapeu-tic benefits of gardening to members of local communities. If you would like more infor-mation, please contact me at Sandra R. Wales, 563-299-1873, or [email protected].

HE

AT

H &

WE

LL

NE

SS

mailto:[email protected]

Central Region Awards, 2016

The following awards were presented in Springfield, IL at the 2016

Central Region Meeting.

Illinois

Award 2 Sharing our Gardens

4. Cress Creek Garden Club Dist. 2, Naperville

Award 6 Caring through Garden Therapy

1. Cress Creek Garden Club, Naperville

3. Garden Club of Decatur Dist. 3, Decatur

Award 8a Standard Flower Show Schedule

3. Twin City Garden Club, Urbana

Award 11 Sharing the Future

1. Garden Club of Decatur, Dist. 3

HM Cress Creek Garden Club Dist. 2, Naperville

Michigan

Award 2 Sharing Our Gardens

1. Tri Cities Garden Club, Inc.

3. Garden Club of Dearborn

Award 6 Caring Through Garden Therapy

2. Livonia Garden Club Dist. 1 Club 286

HM Garden Club of Dearborn, Inc


1. Muskegon County Garden Club

Award 8b Horticulture

1. Muskegon County Garden Club


2. Meek’s Mill Garden Club Constantine

HM Garden Club of Dearborn

Award 12 Caring by Planting It Pink

1. Garden Club of Dearborn

3. Charlevoix Area Garden Club

HM East Jordan Garden Club, East Jordan MI

2016 AWARDS

8

Missouri

Award 2 Sharing Our Gardens

2. Mountain View Garden Club

Award 6 Caring Through Garden Therapy

HM Mountain View Garden Club

Award 7 Protecting Our Future


Award 10 Sharing National Garden Week

1. Windsor Garden Club, Windsor, MO

2. Mountain View Garden Club, Mountain View MO



Award 12 Caring By Planting Pink


Award 13 Sharing Native Plants


Award 14 Celebrating Blue Star

1. Arrowhead Garden Club, Lake Ozarks, MO

Wisconsin

Award 5 Sharing with Habitat

1. Milwaukee Dist. Milwaukee


2. Floral Designers of WI, Brookfield

Award 8c Educational Exhibit

1. Floral Designers of WI

Award 9 Cultivating Community Plantings

1. Western Acres Garden Club, Menomonee Falls, WI


3. Hill and Dale Garden Club, Elroy WI

Award 13 Sharing Native Plants

2. Elmbrook Garden Club. Brookfield

* First Place Winners are designated with blue.

2016 AWARDS

9

Any changes to the Award list will be made after our new Director is installed at

the NGC Convention to be published in the summer newsletter. Use the NGC

form to make application with a labeled folder and return envelope. This Sep-

tember date is necessary to have projects judged by the CR meeting in October.

State Awards Chairmen should send the 2016 Press Books by February 23 and

2017 Yearbooks by March 1. Each state should send one Yearbook from each cat-

egory for member garden clubs and may send one for group of member clubs or

states. (see pages 16-20 under NGC Awards) Please include an NGC application.

Member categories are as follows: 1 Clubs under 20 members. 2. 20-29 members

3. 30-44 members 4. 45-69 members 5. 70-99 members 6. 100-299 members 7.

300 or more members.

One Press Book per state should be submitted to be judged. Follow the guide-

lines as stated on the NGC website (gardenclubs.org). Please include the NGC

application.

Mail these to Sherry Wilson, 214 Lakeridge Road, Poplar Bluff, MO 63901. Any

questions please call me at 573-718-4421.

Check with your Youth chairman for Poetry, Essay, Smokey Bear and Frightened

Frog due dates.

Sherry Wilson

NGC Central Region Awards Chairman

2017 AWARDS

10

2017 Awards

for the Project Chairman should be postmarked

by

September 10, 2017.

NATIONAL GARDEN CLUB WEEK

11

Plan an event to celebrate National Garden Week in your community. Use your talents

imagination and creativity. I know you can do this.

Beautify a community Building with a bouget of flowers or a centerpiece in a prominent

place. Add signage and pamphlets with your clubs name and a contact person.

Sponsor a hand on make and take workshop for children or adults.

Have a wine tasting party with hourdervers and spread the word about Garden Clubs.

Whatever you choose to do enjoy it.

Share the news of the project with your local newspaper and T.V. Without recognition

no one will be aware of your club and what it has to offer. Be sure to promote your club

as well as Central Region and National Garden Clubs.

There is a Central Region Award 10-Sharing National Garden Week.

There is also a National Award #53 National Garden Week.

Information for both of these awards is on their Websites.

Leap into Action

and

celebrate

National Garden Club Week

June 4-10,2017

CE

LE

BR

AT

E!!!

Membership Thoughts & Ideas

As one travels from meeting to meeting, or from club to club, there is a common

thread: Where and how can we recruit members? Certainly there are the obvious

ways: have open events and invite the public; have a simple brochure made up telling

the who, what, when, where, why of your club and it’s meetings. Be sure to have cur-

rent contact info included, and FOLLOW UP!!! Next, have a small note, perhaps an-

chored with a piece of candy with contact info…and drop it in the shopping cart of

someone you see getting gardening type supplies at a nursery or box store…or better

yet, compliment them on their choices, be friendly, and invite them to a meeting.

Once they actually come to a meeting….remember some key points as club mem-

bers….be extremely welcoming, be sure they don’t go home empty handed…brochure

about your club, upcoming meetings and topics, contact info, or even a plant or floral

arrangement. Also…no bickering!! This sounds silly, doesn’t it? I cannot tell you how

many club meetings I have visited, even when there are guests present, and then been

dismayed at the “complaining or kvetching” that took place! Be positive…instead of

chewing on the downtown merchant about how they didn’t take care of a planter, en-

gage with that merchant and find out what can be done collaboratively to remedy the

situation! As our regional director, Judy Newman would remind us: CULTIVATE

those CONNECTIONS! Then, after the meeting, follow up and nurture that person to

come again…it may take several attempts, but won’t it be worth it!

Now: the real challenge is cultivating relationships with the Gen-X and Millennial

generations. They tick differently, but they so want to learn what we know and they

are quite sensitive to community and environmental concerns. Tap into that and take

advantage. Have a show and tell and take workshop…keep it brief, well organized…

i.e.: how to dig and divide plants…have them help at your civic garden space…and

then give them a plant to take home. If you are cleaning a blighted area, invite the

public to come and help. This may be the member of the future! These folks really

don’t want to sit through the tedium of a meeting (as they do this all week long at

work!) but getting into the dirt, or doing a public service for an hour or two could be

right up their alley! If you have a website for your club, or a Facebook page, put it on

there.

Consider a discounted new member rate of membership. If they come and partici-

pate actively in some community service project offer a half rate first year member-

ship. The investment could pay off nicely.

BE FUN~ everyone gravitates toward the happy and fun people in a room…look

around! So note that and BE FUN at your meeting, at your work day, etc. Dissuade

those old stereotypes and be pleasant to be around…and be inclusive to all.

Other thoughts or ideas? Email me, and we will post and share on the Central Region

FB page: [email protected] Sarah Nahmias, Membership Chairman

Mem

ber

ship

CONNECTIONS

12


Native Plant Gardening

Because we are told that ninety-five percent of land in the lower

forty-eight states is in development for agriculture, roads, and

buildings, native plants and animals are in trouble. Exotic spe-

cies have invaded our parklands, while pollinators like bees and

butterflies are in peril. Instead of wringing our hands, we can

make a real difference by creating native habitat in our own

yards. Native gardening is fun and empowering with stunning,

hardy native plants. Yet many of us do not understand the im-

portance of natives that support our pollinators. In the past we

have not designed gardens to play a critical ecological role in the

landscape, but we must do so in the future.

NGC has developed many classes and sponsored many speakers

who talk about these issues. It is important that we not only

create these native plantings but must continue to manage them

for everyone’s enjoyment and education. Some local landscap-

ing ordinances are often very specific about aesthetics and per-

mitted plantings. They often require wide expansive lawns with

narrow foundation plantings, demand a limited vegetation

height, and prohibit some native species such as Milkweed and

Goldenrods, among others. This must be challenged and

changed if we are to make a difference in protecting both native

plants and pollinators that need each other to survive. As gar-

deners, representatives of NGC/CR, and members of our own

state garden clubs, we must become stewards of our lands to

save biodiversity from extinction. First, we must commit to

learn. Then share what we know. Finally, stress the importance

of this issue through teaching. Leap into action. Cultivate con-

nections. Help accomplish this mission through membership.

Ronnie Dush

PLANT NATIVE

13

Central Region was well-represented in the 2016

Smokey Bear & Woodsy Owl poster contest spon-

sored by NGC and the United States Forestry

Service.

This chairman appreciates the time club mem-

bers spent in getting Smokey Bear’s message

‘Only You Can Prevent Wildfires’ and Woodsy

Owl’s message ‘Lend A Hand, Care For The Land’

to students throughout Central Region.

The 2017 contest is underway once again for stu-

dents in first through fifth grade. Timelines and

complete rules are located at

www.gardenclub.org. For any questions, please

contact this chairman at [email protected].

Suzanne Potts

NGC, Central Region Smokey Bear/Woodsy Owl

Chairman

SMOKEY BEAR & WOODSY OWL POSTER CONTEST

14

http://www.gardenclub.org


Each state ‘s Unified Project chairman should send to me all the

information they have from their state where the NGC, Central

Region and their State Logo was used to publicize their event in

their state.

Please send to :

Liz Murken (at my winter address)

2844 Spinnaker Drive

Avon Park FL 33825

NGC CENTRAL REGION UNIFIED PROJECT

15

The Unified Project

deadline is

February 1, 2017

Plan a Blue Star Memorial Project

Check the website for additional information.

NGC Central Region members invest in our future with

their support and donations to the Central Region

Scholarship Fund. When a Central Region Life Mem-

bership is purchased, when a Gold CR Life Member-

ship Star is purchased, when a Memorial, Honorarium

or a donation to the Scholarship Program is made WE

make an investment for the future.

Each of the seven Central Region states: Illinois, Indi-

ana, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Wisconsin

is asked to submit a candidate for the Central Region

Scholarships. We use the same forms and schedule

as NGC. Very Easy: simply send a copy of your NGC

Scholarship Applicant’s forms for consideration to

Central Region Scholarship Chair:

Deannie Picciotti 2394 Sunset Bluff Dr. Holland, MI 49424 [email protected] 616-399-2323 Cell: 616-283-7744

Central Region Scholarships:

Sch

ola

rship

16

“Investing in Our Future”


Flower Show Symposium

Landscape Design School

Course III April 21-22,2017

Appleton, WI

Course IV September 8-9, 2017

Sch

oo

ls

17

Central Region Schools

“Planning for Our Future”

Gardening Study School

Flower Show Symposium

August 25-26, 2017

Milwaukee, WI

Design from 2016 NGC Central Region Convention

2016 Convention Reprise

18

2016 Convention Reprise

19

Please send articles and notices to:

Rene’ Lynch

NGC Central Region

Newsletter Editor

952-361-6393

[email protected]

NGC Central Region, Inc.

Director

Judy Newman

cell 414-861-7134

[email protected]

Published by

NGC, Central Region, Inc.

Deadline for next Issue

February 25, 2017 20

Display from 2016 Central Region Convention

cultivating connections - wisconsin garden club federation€¦ · “cultivating connections ......

Documents