2023 Garden Club Annual Meeting

The Garden Club of Jacksonville celebrated a year of accomplishments at the Annual Meeting on May 16. Garden Club members gathered to approve the new Board of Trustees, hear a report from the treasurer, and learn about progress on the work to build a resilient campus landscape for the next 100 years of the Garden Club.

The day’s biggest announcement was the Garden Club of Jacksonville won Garden Club of the Year from the Florida Federation of Garden Clubs. #GardenClubJax, one of 235 in FFGC, was nominated for the club of the year award by member LaVonne O’Shields of the Garden Divas Circle.

Garden Club President Tiffany Davis began the program with a warm welcome and a moment to honor Garden Club members who have passed over the last 12 months. Treasurer Cathe Gray presented a financial report, outlining a summary of this year’s income and expenses. Florida Federation of Garden Clubs District IV Director Sam Runyon presented this year’s awards.

Garden Club Awards

• National Garden Clubs Plant America Community Project Grant for $475: San Marco Garden Circle
• FFGC Butterfly Conservation Award: Garden Divas Garden Circle
• Deep South Garden Clubs Butterfly Conservation Second Place: Garden Divas Circle
• FFGC Garden Therapy Geriatric & Exceptional Award: Wildflower Garden Circle
• FFGC Horticulture Series Award: Garden Club of Jacksonville, Co-chairs Mika Hardison and Susan Painter
• FFGC Fun with Flowers Series Award: Garden Club of Jacksonville, Co-chairs Martha Davis and Madiha Zahir
• FFGC Environmental Education Involving Youth Award: Garden Club of Jacksonville Budding Gardeners Program, Co-chairs Maureen Baiocco and Jean Moyer

Programs

Vice President of Programs Lynda Erwin outlined the past year’s programs and thanked each program chair for their work. Executive Director Denise M. Reagan outlined the Garden Club’s upcoming programs, outreach initiatives, and this year’s membership numbers. One highlight was that this year’s Flea Market and Blooms Galore & More were the most successful ever. She also discussed the status of the campus landscape master plan. The renderings were displayed with sticky notes available for attendees to offer feedback.