2001 Spring Annual Meeting: Martinsville

February 21, 2022

The eighty-first Annual Meeting of the Garden Club of Virginia was hosted by the Martinsville Garden Club on May 15-17, 2001, at Chatmoss Country Club, chaired by Nancy Moore and Susan Pannill.

The Board of Directors met on Tuesday at the home of former GCV President Dot Montgomery for a delicious lunch, followed by the board meeting. After describing recent GCV events — Legislative Day, Daffodil Show, the presentation of the Executive Mansion’s formal garden and Historic Garden Week, Mina concluded with the following:

“That is just three months of activity of the Garden Club of Virginia in the year 2001. Today I want you to contemplate our history from the 1920s, when eight clubs grew to twelve, then twenty, etc. The ability to have a flower show was a standard by which a candidate club’s membership to the GCV was judged. And now we are going full tilt, 47 clubs strong, with not only three large flower shows a year, but a Flower Arranging School, Conservation Forum, Horticulture Field Day and many related activities that take club members’ time — not to mention the local projects and fund-raisers to which different clubs are committed. It is the responsibility of the leadership of the GCV to make sure we do not overburden our member clubs in any one area and to try to set realistic goals for all concerned — especially in a day when women work both in the home and outside the home. The demands on their time are great, and we must bring these thoughts to bear as we discuss the various aspects of the Garden Club of Virginia.”

The board meeting continued with committee reports. Concern was raised about the geographical location of flower shows, Annual Meetings and Board of Governors meetings and the lack of communication when scheduling the events. It was pointed out that events appeared to have been placed too heavily on one side of the state. Treasurer Deedy Bumgardner announced that an unrestricted gift of $25,000 had been received from Lynn Wiley of Middleburg. An earlier recommendation by the Long-Range Planning Committee to consider alternating club participation in Flower Shows had met with concerns from the Flower Shows Committee. As a result, the Board of Directors requested a report from the Flower Shows Committee on their recommendations for show changes, to be presented by January 2002. The Development Committee raised the question of renaming the Kent-Valentine Endowment to the Garden Club of Virginia Endowment, after being advised that many people chose not to give to bricks and mortar. And, the Common Wealth Award Committee was searching for ways to increase the number of applicants, having received only one in 2001.

Mina read a letter from a member club requesting that consideration be given to the proposal that clubs be allowed to retain a percentage of their Historic Garden Week proceeds. The discussion was tabled unitil Mina could communicate directly with the club president.

Conservation and Beautification Chairman Sue Cecil read a letter from the U.S. Home Corporation that offered to donate several parcels of property in Henrico County. She was directed to respond that the Garden Club of Virginia could not accept the offer. She then urged board members to support a permanently funded conservation fund, trash import legislation and funding for the Virginia Birding and Wildlife Trail with letters and phone calls.

Following the board meeting, attendees were invited for cocktails in the infield of the Martinsville Speedway and were treated to a demonstration by race car drivers. The Dutch treat dinner was held in the speedway press box. It was reported that attire included Jeff Gordon and Bobby Labonte T-shirts, and at least one pair of leather pants.

Mina called the 2001 Annual Meeting to order and introduced Lynne Beeler, president of the Martinsville Garden Club. Former GCV President Dot Montgomery provided an entertaining club history, beginning with its establishment in April 1923 “to add visual beauty to our community; to enhance our landscapes; to exchange gardening information; and to fight those nasty billboard companies, who regard us as mindless, old peahens and call us ‘the scenic sisters.’”

Dot continued, as if whisked away by Merlin to the April 1923 inaugural meeting, hoping for an invitation to join the Garden Club of Virginia:

“With this exciting possibility in mind — it is only a possibility — and at the risk of incurring your displeasure, I feel it is my duty as chairman to speak to you candidly, ladies, about your appearance. Ladies, my dear ladies, where are your hats, where are your gloves and your pearls? You don’t have pearls? Heaven protect us! I even saw as I entered just now, not only exposed bare legs, but skirts pulled up above bare knees. I could not look! Well, only for a few moments! And one or two — I shall not name them — a show of cleavage! What is the world coming to?!!! I beg you dear, dear ladies, to examine yourselves when you appear in public, and to resolve that henceforth you will not disgrace yourselves and your gardening sisters by inappropriate attire. Now, let us continue with the meeting.”

And so, the club was established that day and, “the ladies departed with fire in their eyes, declaring death to litterers, tar and feathers to the billboard industry and no-nonsense words to the City Council, who had not in all instances acted as the distaff side would have wished.”

Brought back from Merlin’s spell, Dot proudly described the club’s numerous and worthy accomplishments and added, “So here we are, ladies, more than three-quarters of a century later, still doing what we were organized to do – help preserve our heritage and ride herd on whatever threatens to sully our beloved Virginia.”

Mina provided highlights of recent GCV events — Conservation Forum, Legislative Day, presentation of the Executive Mansion Gillette garden, the Daffodil Show at Lewis Ginter and Historic Garden Week.

Common Wealth Award Chairman Ann Gordon Evans reported that the only application received for the 2001 award was submitted by the Garden Club of Norfolk for “The Virginia Native Plant Garden at Norfolk Botanical Garden.”

Flower Shows Chairman Carolyn Jones reported the new Flower Shows Handbook would be available soon and to expect significant changes in upcoming shows, a result of the ongoing effort to reduce the burden on host clubs. Mary Winn McDaniel was recognized for Hilldrup’s generous offer to store and transport flower show properties; Historian Cora Sue Spruill reported on a meeting at the Kent-Valentine on March 19, 2001, that featured a lecture by Dr. Nelson Lankford, Assistant Director of Publications and Education at the Virginia Historical Society; and a presentation by VHS staff member and GCV member Gwen Litchfield.

Horticulture Chairman Rosemary Wallinger presented the 2001 Horticulture Award of Merit to the following: Mabel Baldwin, Three Chopt; Martha Cook, Winchester-Clarke; Mary Hamlin, Gabriella; Lynn Rush, Rivanna; Betty Webb, Petersburg; and Lois Wickham, Ashland.

At the conclusion of business reports for the morning, Mina declared a recess and Robert Inman, literary preservationist and author, presented, “Life, Love and All Things Southern.”

Lunch was hosted in members’ homes followed by afternoon activities that included “Insects with Virginia Heritage,” presented by Richard L. Hoffman at the Virginia Museum of Natural History and a tour of Piedmont Arts Association with a flower-arranging demonstration by Jerry Blankenship of Elegant Design and Consulting. His extraordinary creation around an armillary sphere was positioned in the center of the ballroom at Chatmoss Country Club for the Awards Banquet that night.

Reports continued Thursday morning, after which Paul F. Calloway (Chip) of Calloway Designs in Greensboro, North Carolina, gave an informative and entertaining program on gardens and grounds of historic buildings.

When the business meeting resumed, Restoration Chairman Lucy Ellett provided committee updates and introduced 2000 Favretti Fellow Brooke Whiting who presented a slide lecture. Lucy then introduced Will Riley who presented slides and narrative of recent work.

Nominations Chairman Nancy Talley presented two names on the slate for 2001-2003 Directors at Large: Meg Clement, the Garden Club of Danville, and Helen Pinckney, the Tuckahoe Garden Club of Westhampton. These were the first Directors at Large elected for two-year terms.