2002 Fall BOG: Gloucester

March 4, 2022

The eighty-third Board of Governors meeting, chaired by Petie Matheson and Betty Barr Ould, was held in Gloucester on October 8-10, 2002.

The Board of Directors met for lunch and board meeting on October 8 at White Marsh Plantation, the beautiful, historic home of Connie Ingles.

Mary Hart began the board meeting by reminding liaisons of their duties, and then requested that a recap of board minutes be provided, not to replace minutes, but to serve as a quick reminder of tasks to be accomplished and by whom.

Board members discussed increases in Journal expenses and decreases in ad revenue. The discussion also revealed confusion in Journal budgeting practices.

Personnel Chairman Mina Wood reported that Maggie King began work on September 16, 2002, as Administrator to the Garden Club of Virginia, replacing Kathy Rolph. Maggie was hired to manage and care for the Kent-Valentine House; function as the contact and communicator for GCV activities at the KVH; manage the GCV website; coordinate email; and perform database entry and maintenance.

At the recommendation of the Finance Committee, Dianne Spence moved that costs associated with registration and meals at GCV events be waived for the President of the Garden Club of Virginia beginning January 1, 2003. Motion carried.

Additional topics included more detailed financial discussions, announcements of upcoming events and plans to expand HGW online ticket sales. Following administrative business, the meeting was adjourned.

Cocktails and the Dutch treat dinner were held at “history-filled Warner Hall and water’s edge, to wine and dine and walk on ballroom floors where George Washington learned to dance.”

Mary Hart called the Board of Governors to order Wednesday morning at the historic, Ccolonial courthouse building in Gloucester and introduced Peggy Bowditch, president of the Garden Club of Gloucester, who described a “reverence for the past.” She continued, “You meet today in our 1766 courthouse, the oldest courthouse in continuous use in the United States. John Clayton, an internationally known botanist, served as clerk of the Gloucester court from 1720 to 1773.”

Club historian Sarah Finney followed with a brief history of the club. She pointed out the brick wall and sidewalks in the historic courthouse area — funded by the club’s first project in the early 1920s. She also described a project begun by president Maude Perrin MacKubin in the 1930s, offering a prize to the child who killed the greatest number of tent caterpillars. “Method of proof and number killed is not noted.” Sarah continued, “Today I am wearing a part of my history with the Garden Club of Gloucester. In 1976, when I was president, I went to my first GCV meeting in Virginia Beach. When I came home, I told my husband that I could not possibly continue as president without an ultrasuede suit as 99% of the ladies present at the meeting had them on.”

Mary Hart described her whirlwind of summer and fall activities and encouraged the club presidents in attendance to get to know each other as “the best line of support.”

Rachel Cottrell, the Garden Club of Norfolk, presented an update of their 2002 Common Wealth Award project, “The Virginia Native Plant Garden at the Norfolk Botanical Garden.” The $6,000 funding was used to purchase 862 plants, composting and pine straw — “hardwood trees and appropriate under planting in the bottomland/hardwood forest with emphasis on rare, threatened and horticulturally interesting species.” Rachel added that the Norfolk Botanical Garden would continue to maintain the garden.

Business reports followed. Conservation and Beautification Chairman Mary Bruce Glaize urged attendees to vote YES for a $119 million Virginia Parks and Natural Areas bond referendum. If approved, bond funds would be used to help conserve Virginia’s important natural resources and provide more recreational offerings.

Historian and Custodian of Records Lynne Beeler reported,

“On September 9 most of you attended the presidents’ luncheon at the Kent-Valentine House. While you were enjoying an informative speaker and a delicious luncheon, I was there combing the archives. It was then that I came across some words in a report from the ’70s that I feel sum up the purpose of recording our club histories. These words are: ‘That the future may learn from the past.’ With these words in mind, I proceeded upstairs and explored each club’s file box. It was then that I discovered a lot of the ‘past’ was not in these boxes. I was sorry to see that some clubs had not put anything in the box since 1996 or 1998. I then thought, the future will have very little to learn if our files are not up to date.”

Development Committee Chairman Susan Ewing outlined her committee’s focus to “secure the Kent-Valentine House endowment and motivate members to keep it growing for the future.” A coordinated effort was underway to establish procedures that would allow GCV to request foundation funding for KVH needs.

Following business reports, speakers Brent and Becky Heath presented, “Past, Present and Future: Over 100 Years of Daffodils and More.”

Attendees were treated to lunch at Wareham Farm, home of Barbara and Peter Hunt, and Five Gables, home of Emily and George Barbee, followed by choice of an afternoon bus tour of historic sites and gardens at Rosewell, Lisborne and Elmington, or a river tour by boat on the Yorktown Lady.

Cocktails and a lavish awards banquet were held al fresco that evening at Goshen, the historic home of Adriane and Edwin Joseph overlooking the Ware River. Clam shell place cards and floral centerpieces of cattails, bittersweet and roses adorned each table. The 2002 Common Wealth Award was presented to the Garden Club of the Eastern Shore for their “Community Garden Central Park” in Cape Charles.

Mary Hart reconvened the Board of Governors on Thursday morning at the Virginia Institute of Marine Science’s Waterman’s Hall and business reports continued. Parliamentarian Lucy Ellett provided an overview of GCV policies concerning member clubs, the GCV membership list, lobbying, tax-exempt status, contributions and budget allowances. Fleet Hurlbatt and Linda Consolvo described a trial unification of the Slides and Public Relations committees.

At the close of business, attendees were offered three seminars: a local expert discussing “Gardening Without Water; Bessie Carter and Lucy Ellett on the Restoration Committee; and Honorable Albert Pollard on “How to be an Effective Lobbyist for your Legislature.”

Meredith Scott offered a tribute to the Garden Club of Gloucester and the meeting was adjourned.